M42 mount.... desirable lenses

[wayne naughton]

i've played around with that 17mm. it's very strange...sort of semi fisheye, semi rectilinear....if that makes sense. not quite sure what it's meant to do

 

[MattKing]

I'd avoid this one:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pho/1041000130.html

Matt

 

[Jeff Searust]

Here is the greatest list of M42 lenses for all the m42 junkies:

http://m42.artlimited.net/site_lenses.php

I too have a couple of the "radioactive lenses" -- here is a good bit of information from Oak Ridge about that.

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer products/cameralens.htm

 

[wayne naughton]

I'd avoid this one:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pho/1041000130.html

Matt

very, VERY little chance at that price.....grin

 

[wayne naughton]

Here is the greatest list of M42 lenses for all the m42 junkies:

http://m42.artlimited.net/site_lenses.php

I too have a couple of the "radioactive lenses" -- here is a good bit of information from Oak Ridge about that.

/QUOTE]

i just knew sooner or later someoneone would come up with a list as long as your arm, thankyou very much....grin

so these thoriated lenses are more oneoffs or oddities rather than a complete range or series?

 

[Adrian Twiss]

I have a Tamron 105 mm in an FD mount. Its so old it still has the old BBAR name engraved on the barrel. However it is a very light, sharp and contrasty lens.

 

[dynachrome]

I have quite a few lenses in M42 mount and some have already been mentioned. Here are a bunch more: 55/1.8 SMC Takumar, 55/2 SMC Takumar (as far as I can tell this is the same as the 1.8 but just marked f/2), 20/3.8 Vivitar, 28/2.5 Vivitar, 35/1.9 Vivitar, 35/3.5 Noflexar, 55/1.2 Chinon Tomioka (I gave this to someone as a gift years ago), 55/2.8 Vivitar macro, 135/2.8 Vivitar Close Focusing (1:2), 200/3 Vivitar Series 1, 90/2.5 Tamron SP (2nd version), 24/2.8 Vivitar TX, 55/1.4 Mamiya Sekor, 50/2.8 Rikenon (very small, front element focusing), 300/6.3 Tele Takumar (pre-set), 200/5.6 Tele Takumar (pre-set), 400/5.6 Vivitar Fixed Mount.

 

[wayne naughton]

i just had a look at what KEH has on offer under pentax screwmount and, man, they ARE EXPENSIVE!!!!!!! I'm beginning to wonder whether this is such a good idea...... <G> and who was the daddy warbucks (not this very knowledgable list of course) who told me that pentax screwmounts were as cheap as chips! maybe i might make up an alternative non pentax list and try and give my poor suffering cc a bit of a break.....

wayne

 

[Oren Grad]

I dont think the 120 and 150 were carried over in the K lineup.

They were, in both the K and M series.

 

[mudman]

Wayne - screwmount is inexpensive from local buys. KEH charges what they're worth.

 

[Galah]

Is Leica screwmount the same as M42?

Pardon my ignorance, but is the Leica screw-mount compatible with the Asahi-Pentax M42 mount: are the lenses interchangeable?

 

[Galah]

Most of the Carl Zeiss Jena are worth checking too. I had a 50mm f/2.8 Tessar that really had a nice look, and I keep chastising myself for selling it. The 135mm Sonnar would probably be very cheap (nobody seems to like 135mm).

I have a CZJ 24mm PKA-mount, and it is sooo sharp. (It has a minimum focusing distance of around 9 inches -almost don't need a Macro lens). Also a 28-220 zoom in Olympus OM mount, it gives a lovely rendition. Unfortunatley, the build quality is not as good as either the Takumars or the Zuikos (some plastic bits where there should be metal, like the stop-down and lens-release buttons), athough the IQ is pretty good and the focus & zoom rings very smooth.

So, any time I come across anything by CZJ, I'll be looking closely at it.

(They are not actually manufactured in Germany, but "under licence" in Japan. The Lord alone knows who made them!:confused:

 

[wayne naughton]

Wayne - screwmount is inexpensive from local buys. KEH charges what they're worth.

that's true, the only way you can find a bargain at KEH is to take a punt on their ratings system.....grin

oh and from what i have read the leica screwmount is a different thread to the M42

wayne

 

[k_jupiter]

Pardon my ignorance, but is the Leica screw-mount compatible with the Asahi-Pentax M42 mount: are the lenses interchangeable?

Im this case, your ignorance is rather charming.

Leica Thread Mount is 39mm as opposed to the M42 series. Difference besides the thread itself is the mechanism of the lens. Rangefinders have a different way of telegraphing their focus.

And no, they are not interchangeable.

tim in san jose

 

[wayne naughton]

just to clarify can you adapt leica screwmount to minolta cl's? (sorry if this off topic, just curious)

wayne

 

[mudman]

yes, the Minolta CL uses the M-mount, and is actually the same camera as the Leica CL or whatever they call it. the "mini-leica". Get a M39-M mount adapter ($25-50) and you're golden.

 

[wayne naughton]

yes, the Minolta CL uses the M-mount, and is actually the same camera as the Leica CL or whatever they call it. the "mini-leica". Get a M39-M mount adapter ($25-50) and you're golden.

....and i'm bankrupt...grin

 

[Stock Dektol]

I have the Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm. A great lens but when I put the Nikon to M42 mount on one of my nikon bodies it was extremely hard to get off. Ie the mount would not budge without considerable force. Any suggestions?

 

[Galah]

Im this case, your ignorance is rather charming.

Leica Thread Mount is 39mm as opposed to the M42 series. Difference besides the thread itself is the mechanism of the lens. Rangefinders have a different way of telegraphing their focus.

And no, they are not interchangeable.

tim in san jose

Dear tim,

Thank you for taking the time to explain (as you can plainly see, I have no experience whatever of things Leica).

 

[Galah]

I have the Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm. A great lens but when I put the Nikon to M42 mount on one of my nikon bodies it was extremely hard to get off. Ie the mount would not budge without considerable force. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure which bit is "sticking", however the M42 to "whatever mount" adaptor has a retaining spring which you have to detent with a small screwdriver (or special tool) to release it from the camera body, or it won't budge.

Alternatively, some M42 lenses have a drop-down pin on the flange (which is used in open aperture metering on the bodies for which they were originally designed) which, when used with camera bodies of other brands, tends to drop into existing openings on the "foreign" camera's mount -for which it wasn't designed- often causing serious release problems.

 

[Stock Dektol]

Thanks for the response. This lens is from 1950. So, the camera it was made for had no internal meter resulting in no pins or projections. The adapter I have is only a simple piece of metal. No springs... please see here for pictures or if you have further advice.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Thanks alot

 

[Ian Grant]

That adaptor is very similar to the one I use for M42-Canon EOS, simple but effective, but unlike my M42-PK(M) adaptor there's no looking tab.

You just have to use brute force to remove them which is not as severe as it sounds.

Ian

 

[Stock Dektol]

Ian, Thanks for the response. This adapter has a hole where the lens "fixation" pin pops through when fully on the camera body mount. I am having problems getting it to that point. Should I just really force it? I would really rather not.

 

[Ian Grant]

No definitely don't force it on. I guess it's like mine made in a back-street machine shop in Hong Kong or China & the tolerances aren't that good. Mine goes on fully and the pin locks. The problem is getting it off as there's nothing to grip, that's quite different.

Ian

 

[John Koehrer]

yes, the Minolta CL uses the M-mount, and is actually the same camera as the Leica CL or whatever they call it. the "mini-leica". Get a M39-M mount adapter ($25-50) and you're golden.

The Minolta's Is the CLE and uses an electronically controlled shutter.
The CL is Mechanical.