Rarest 50mm m42 lenses?

[Paul Howell]

This one is listed at $700. Somehow I missed it as well.

 

[xkaes]

In another thread, seems that Yaschia made a M42 57mm 1.2. likely very rare and expensive.

OK, it's the 55mm f1.2. It's hard to find and no doubt expensive, but it's not "very rare".

 

[ic-racer]

I must have 25 50mm lenses. They all perform about the same and lose contrast when wide open. They have different mounts and some are faster than others. In terms of 'rare' 42mm lens, this Enna Edixa Color-Ennalyt f1.9 is my rarest.
It has a unique auto aperture that has to be cocked after each exposure. One step ahead of a pre-set lens.

 

[Lucius]

a later M42 with better coating such as the Fuji with BBC coating Super coated Pentax might be the reason to pick one of these 2 over the others

I remember reading more than once that lesser coatings may contribute to smoother bokeh, though I wonder if this too may be more relevant for digital.

 

[Lucius]

OK, it's the 55mm f1.2. It's hard to find and no doubt expensive, but it's not "very rare".

There's a quite rare DS-M version of this lens though, which was computer-calculated and apparently more advanced than the earlier Tomiokas.

 

[Lucius]

In terms of 'rare' 42mm lens, this Enna Edixa Color-Ennalyt f1.9 is my rarest.
It has a unique auto aperture that has to be cocked after each exposure. One step ahead of a pre-set lens.

Hadn't come across this one before, thanks!
Semi-auto aperture must have been used for a short period only -- among my fully-automatic and preset lenses, I only have two that have it...

 

[Alan Johnson]

I have a 50mm f1.8 Voigtlander Color Ultron which generally gets good reviews. It is 7 element.

50mm Lens Comparison II – Sharpness II

In this article, I would like to focus on sharpness along the very important areas of the golden ratio and the rule of thirds, because we don’t usually have a subjects eyes in the frame cente…

mbphotox.wordpress.com

 

[xkaes]

There's a quite rare DS-M version of this lens though, which was computer-calculated and apparently more advanced than the earlier Tomiokas.

"quite rare", "very rare". Rare is rare. Here are Tomioka's Yashica-labeled f1.2 lenses:

Auto Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f1.2 M42 7/6
Auto Yashinon DS-M Tomioka 55mm f1.2 M42 7/6
Yashica ML 55mm f1.2 C/Y 7/6

Just like the other Tomioka-made f1.2 lenses with other labels, they are all hard to find, and expensive, but none are rare -- let alone "quite rare" or "very rare". My favorite? EXTREMELY RARE!!!

"Rare" rarely needs an adjective -- other than "not".

 

[Lucius]

I have a 50mm f1.8 Voigtlander Color Ultron which generally gets good reviews. It is 7 element.

50mm Lens Comparison II – Sharpness II

In this article, I would like to focus on sharpness along the very important areas of the golden ratio and the rule of thirds, because we don’t usually have a subjects eyes in the frame cente…

mbphotox.wordpress.com

I had the impression that it's not better than the Pancolar, but this comparison seems to suggest otherwise. I have the QBM version of it -- will give it a try.

 

[Lucius]

"quite rare", "very rare". Rare is rare. Here are Tomioka's Yashica-labeled f1.2 lenses:

Auto Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f1.2 M42 7/6
Auto Yashinon DS-M Tomioka 55mm f1.2 M42 7/6
Yashica ML 55mm f1.2 C/Y 7/6

Just like the other Tomioka-made f1.2 lenses with other labels, they are all hard to find, and expensive, but none are rare -- let alone "quite rare" or "very rare". My favorite? EXTREMELY RARE!!!

"Rare" rarely needs an adjective -- other than "not".

Well, obviously rarity is a relative quality, so I see nothing wrong with a scale of 'rare-ish', 'rare' and 'quite rare' or some such, especially as we don't have an established definition of what counts as rare. My impression is that the DS-M version is rarer than the earlier versions (esp. if Yashinons are counted together with Chinons, Cosinons and Revuenons -- unless there's a reason to assume that these are not optically identical?) -- but do prove me wrong if I am.

 

[xkaes]

These Tomioka f1.2 lenses appear to be the same optically -- 7/6 -- but there may be some changes to some of the glass formulation. I suspect the difference is only in the cosmetics -- name, label, metal/rubber ring design, coloring, lens mount, etc.

It is rare when a person uses the word correctly. It's truly rare to see an EBAY seller use it correctly. More accurate words would be uncommon, unusual, hard-to-find, etc.

 

[markjwyatt]

I remember reading more than once that lesser coatings may contribute to smoother bokeh, though I wonder if this too may be more relevant for digital.

The Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 35mm f4.5 Lydith (or equivalently Pentacon 35mm f4.5) is an example of this thinking, as are many triplets. Not necessarily "smoother", but maybe "more interesting". I think it applies to film also.

 

[Lucius]

The Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 35mm f4.5 Lydith (or equivalently Pentacon 35mm f4.5) is an example of this thinking, as are many triplets. Not necessarily "smoother", but maybe "more interesting". I think it applies to film also.

We may be speaking about different effects: the earlier (and simpler) optical formulas often produce more interesting bokeh, but different coatings too seem to affect bokeh differently, even with the same optic formula. I remember someone comparing different generations of the Takumar 55mm f1.8, concluding that the later multi-coated models produced a crisper image, while the earlier ones with lesser coatings gave a more muted image but with a smoother bokeh.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

We may be speaking about different effects: the earlier (and simpler) optical formulas often produce more interesting bokeh, but different coatings too seem to affect bokeh differently, even with the same optic formula. I remember someone comparing different generations of the Takumar 55mm f1.8, concluding that the later multi-coated models produced a crisper image, while the earlier ones with lesser coatings gave a more muted image but with a smoother bokeh.

But the formulas for the 55mm lenses also changed during the 1970s. At least one thorium element early, different glass later.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Rather than 'rare,' I would like to see folks' opinion of the 'most desirable' ~50mm M42 lens.

 

[j-dogg]

I would like to put my name in the hat for the fairly common Sears/Rikenon 55/1.4 that came usually attached to a TLS401. I actually did a full CLA on one and posted the procedure on PHOTRIO last year. Outstanding lens sharpness wide open and sharp stopped down, good color rendition too. Feels great in the hands and fairly easy to service if you follow my DIY tutorial.

 

[xkaes]

Rather than 'rare,' I would like to see folks' opinion of the 'most desirable' ~50mm M42 lens.

Here's what the OP asked for in Post #1:

"Let me rephrase: what are the rarest and/or the most unusual/interesting 50(-ish)mm m42 lenses you know and like?"

Maybe you should start a new thread. It's probably a completely different animal -- and much more subject to personal opinion.

 

[Lucius]

I would like to put my name in the hat for the fairly common Sears/Rikenon 55/1.4 that came usually attached to a TLS401. I actually did a full CLA on one and posted the procedure on PHOTRIO last year. Outstanding lens sharpness wide open and sharp stopped down, good color rendition too. Feels great in the hands and fairly easy to service if you follow my DIY tutorial.

I'd love to see a proper comparison of the different incarnations of this Tomioka 55mm f1.4: reports I've seen range from raving to disappointed, in no consistent way...

 

[Lucius]

Here's what the OP asked for in Post #1:

"Let me rephrase: what are the rarest and/or the most unusual/interesting 50(-ish)mm m42 lenses you know and like?"

Maybe you should start a new thread. It's probably a completely different animal -- and much more subject to personal opinion.

We are talking semantics again, but I think the lens must be rare and/or expensive in order to count as desirable.

 

[Trask]

I would like to put my name in the hat for the fairly common Sears/Rikenon 55/1.4 that came usually attached to a TLS401. I actually did a full CLA on one and posted the procedure on PHOTRIO last year. Outstanding lens sharpness wide open and sharp stopped down, good color rendition too. Feels great in the hands and fairly easy to service if you follow my DIY tutorial.

I agree with you -- it's a very sharp lens, sharper than others I can think of. I wouldn't part with mine! As for semi-auto aperture, I have at least one -- the first Takumar 35mm f/3.5 lens from the early 1960's. (It was preceded by a 35mm f/4, different optical formula, that had an entirely manual aperture -- from what I've seen online, made quite sharp images.)

 

[Smannikk]

Yep. And there's an earlier full-metal version with radioactive glass, which is scarcer still. And then a somewhat unusual (and rarish) 55mm f1.6 model.

I didn't even realize they were scarce. I bought one in absolutely pristine condition (except for the extreme yellowing) for less than I've ever seen a 50/1.4 Takumar go around here. I also have the 55/1.6, albeit in the Fujica X mount instead of M42. Both are great lenses.

 

[Ian Grant]

I must have 25 50mm lenses. They all perform about the same and lose contrast when wide open. They have different mounts and some are faster than others. In terms of 'rare' 42mm lens, this Enna Edixa Color-Ennalyt f1.9 is my rarest.
It has a unique auto aperture that has to be cocked after each exposure. One step ahead of a pre-set lens.

View attachment 335360

These semi-auto pre-cocked stop down mechanisms were first used on the CZJ lenses for Praktina FX cameras and then their M42 lenses, even some early Takumars used the same system.

Ian

 

[Bob Palmieri]

FWIW, as one who owns an embarrassingly large number of 50-55mm lenses, I hafta say that there's a version of the Mamiya/Sekor 55 f/1.4 (M42) that's my favorite "normal" of that speed, including Canon RF and Leica Summilux, for 2 such examples. Although there's an 8-element Miranda that also has my attention in the non-M42 world...

This Mamiya/Sekor MIGHT be related to the Tomioka/Rikenon lenses. don't know for sure

 

[Ian Grant]

The Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 35mm f4.5 Lydith (or equivalently Pentacon 35mm f4.5) is an example of this thinking, as are many triplets. Not necessarily "smoother", but maybe "more interesting". I think it applies to film also.

The Lydith was always a 30mm f3.5 lens, very sharp, the Pentacon equivalent was a 29mm f2.8 lens.

Ian

 

[markjwyatt]

The Lydith was always a 30mm f3.5 lens, very sharp, the Pentacon equivalent was a 29mm f2.8 lens.

Ian

Yes, I meant 30mm. Sorry. My Pentacon is 30mm.