Please Help on Compatibility Zenitar & Praktica M42

[CMartin]

I know the lens will fit well on the M42 Praktica body, but please can someone tell if the lens will operate as expected, regarding auto aperture setting on the lens, and focusing to infinity.

Will it operate like the native Prakticar M42 lens? Or, would I be better off with Zenit M42 camera?

I am about to purchase Praktica MTL5 or MTL3, but with Zenitar lens already in my possesion, I am concerned about compatibility.

Thank you.

 

[AgX]

You mix up things.

Praktica lenses are NOT the same as Prakticar lenses.
The latter have the Praktica B bayonet mount. Pentacon though made an adapter to fit plain M42 lenses to their B-mount cameras.

Zenitar lenses have various mounts.
Including M42.

 

[AgX]

All "M42" lenses are built to the same basic standard. This means the thread will fit and the flange-to-film distance is right too. Even the position of the scales indicator at the top becomes right more or less. If the lens got an automatic-diaphragm pin and the camera automatic-diapgragm feature too, that will work.
Any other feature though needs proprietary compatibility between M42 camera and M42 lens.

I write "M42" for meaning a designation as there are also lenses which got M42 thread, but with another thread-pitch. This mount was part of a proprietary lens-to-camera adapter system. This M42 mount though is called "T-mount"

 

[CMartin]

Hello, thank you for replies. Let me rephrase my question: will Zenitar lens M42 be able to focus to infinity and its Auto apreture be fully operational if mounted on Praktica with M42 mount ?

In addition to it, I already knew threads will fit of course.

And, the most important: Does anyone here have the first hand experience with Zenitar lenses M42 and Praktica camera with M42 screw mount who can atest from personal experience and photo shooting that the lens and camera will be fully operational ?

Thank you.

 

[AgX]

The answer I gave in post #3.


1) You might read up on "flange-to-film distance".

2) There are various "Zenitar" lenses around. I assume that they all belong to the generation made by KMZ that already got automatic diaphragm. But without knowing for sure I cannot comply to your strict prerequisites...

3) Not all Praktica models have the automatic diaphragm feature. I say this as one time you have it on the MTL and then on Praktica in general. The MTL models got such.
A Praktica though without automatic diaphragm feature does not neccessarily function well with a M42 with automatic diaphragm.
Such lens must have a switch to change to manual aperture. (And even then stopping down canb be a hassle with theses lenses, as one typically has to count clickstops.)