Preferred M42 combo for portraits

[removedacct3]

Out of curiosity ... what is your preferred M42 combo (lens and camera) for half-length portraits and headshots? Studio or environmental. And can you state why it is? Sharpness? Ease of focusing? Colour rendering? Or out of focus rendering?

Looking forward to replies.

 

[Ian Grant]

Pentax Spotmatic F and 105mm f2.8 SMC Takumar I was using it yesterday but not for portraits it such a nice sharp lens and 105mm give a nice out of focus rendering to the background.

Ian

 

[Paul Howell]

+1 for Spot and 105 F 2.8 is very good for head shots and with room half lengths shots, if room is an issue 50mm 1.7 or is 1.8, other lens is 85mm 2.0, for really tight head shots the 120 is a consideration. In the past I have used Chinon CE 3 with motor winder or the 105 rn a adaptor with a SF1. If you are using a flash set up, and adaptor and newer body with high flash syn is worth considering, just be careful as not all newer AF bodies will work with non A lens.

 

[dynachrome]

A Spotmatic IIa with these lenses for close portraits: 105/2.8 Super Takumer, 100/2.8 Yashinon, 90/2.5 Tamron SP 52BB, 90/2.5 Tamron SP 52B, 135/2.8 Vivitar Close Focusing. A Mamiya Auto XTL with the Mamiya P adapter can be used with any of these lenses. The combination provides stop-down metering and auto diaphragm operation. Other possible bodies? Spotmatic F, Mamiya 500DTL, Ricoh Singlex II, Ricoh Auto TLS EE, Ricoh TLS 401, Mamiya MSX 500, Mamya DSX 500, Sears TLS 1000 MX [Mamiya DSX 1000], Vivitar 220SL, Mamiya NC1000S w/P adapter, Mamiya ZE w/P adapter. As for standard lenses, there are too many to list so I will mention a few: 55/1.8 Takumar SMC, 50/1.4 Takumar SMC, 50/1.7 Alpa, 50/1.4 Yashinon DS-M, 50/1.7 Yashinon DS-M, 55/2.8 Vivitar Macro.

 

[julio1fer]

Any old body that you like, with a Helios-44 at f/4 or 2.8.

 

[Fixcinater]

The S-M-C Takumar 85/1.8 is nice for half length portraits and the wide aperture can blur a background easily. It's transition from in focus to out of focus is pleasing to my eye but some say it is harsh compared to a Sonnar type lens.

If going for tight head shots, I prefer something longer like the 105/2.8 or 135/3.5 (I have not used the 2.5 but it is supposedly even better than the 3.5), or the 150/4 is very nice as well. The 100mm Macro Tak is quite nice but some say too sharp for portraits, I like the colors I get out of mine.