What do you think is the most versatile M42 lens?

PGraham3 · Jan 23, 2018

Howdy, APUG!
I've always been a Nikon guy and I've also shot my fair share of Ricoh cameras and lenses. Both have been great complimentary systems. I recently developed in an interest in M42 cameras and lenses, and I landed a clean Yashica J-3 with a Auto Yashinon 50mm f2 last year. I had heard good things about the Auto Yashinon being sharp and such, and it is very sharp indeed. I picked up a Auto Rikenon 50mm f2 that I plan to do a comparison check with the Yashinon, but from what I can tell, there are not many accolades for this particular Rikenon. However, if it renders colors like the K-mount Ricoh lenses that I have, then I will be pleased.
Anyways, I'm curious, from your experience, would any of you care to share what you think is most versatile M42 lens out there, and/or perhaps your favorite and why?

Thanks, APUG! Looking forward to read your responses.
-Paul

E. von Hoegh · Jan 23, 2018

Probably a 35mm f:2.
The way you put the question, it's sort of unanswerable.

Ian Grant · Jan 23, 2018

My most versatile M42 lens was my 55mm f1.8 SMC Takumar on my Spotmatic F. After a break of a few years I bought anoth Spotmatic F with a 55mm f2 SMC Takumar which is just as good.

Ian

E. von Hoegh · Jan 23, 2018

Ian Grant said:
My most versatile M42 lens was my 55mm f1.8 SMC Takumar on my Spotmatic F. After a break of a few years I bought anoth Spotmatic F with a 55mm f2 SMC Takumar which is just as good.

Ian

For good reason, they're the same lens. The f:2 has a restricting ring to limit the max. aperture.

narsuitus · Jan 23, 2018

PGraham3 said:
...from your experience, would any of you care to share what you think is most versatile M42 lens out there, and/or perhaps your favorite and why?

When my first SLR with 50mm lens broke, a colleague gave me one of his Pentax Spotmatics with a 50mm f/1.4 (8-element) Takumar. I eventually replaced my broken SLR with a Nikon. However, the image quality from that M42 Takumar was so good and that focal length was so versatile that it was decades before I purchased a 50mm lens for my Nikon.

50mm 8-element Takumar (left) by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Marco Gilardetti · Jan 23, 2018

Asahi Super Takumars are the answer.

We could argue from here to enternity how Zeiss or other German lenses were terrific, or how Nikon F system was groundbreaking, but what really changed amateur photography in my opinion and my memory are the Asahi Super Takumars. Fantastic lenses, easily available everywhere, sold at an affordable price, with a truly universal mount. I still use three of them today, enough said.

Paul Howell · Jan 23, 2018

I have and use 42mm lens for past 52 years, I have almost all of the Takumars, missing the 120mm and most zooms. Not sure what OP means by versatile, the lens I have the most often is the 105 2.8, followed by the 50 1.4, then the 135mm 2.0 and 85 1,8, don't use wide angles often, may boil down to what OP shoots most often. If OP intends to shot on a digital camera with adaptor, I like my 300mm.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 23, 2018

narsuitus said:
When my first SLR with 50mm lens broke, a colleague gave me one of his Pentax Spotmatics with a 50mm f/1.4 (8-element) Takumar. I eventually replaced my broken SLR with a Nikon. However, the image quality from that M42 Takumar was so good and that focal length was so versatile that it was decades before I purchased a 50mm lens for my Nikon.

50mm 8-element Takumar (left) by Narsuitus, on Flickr

That f:1.4 Takumar was in that era probably the best f:1.4 lens made. It's pretty impressive by today's standards, too.

jim10219 · Jan 23, 2018

Of my M42 lenses, I like the Super Takumar 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 best. But seeing as how neither are zoom lenses, it would be really hard to argue that they're versatile. You might could say I find my Super Takumar 35/3.5 my most used one. It's not the sharpest and at 3.5, it's not very fast, but 35mm is a good semi-wide focal length that works with a large number of subjects.

Versatility and quality don't really go together in the M42 lens world. I own a bunch of Pentax and Super Takumar lenses, but they're all primes. Pentax, in my opinion, doesn't have a ton of high quality full frame zooms in their lineup. But their older manual focus prime lenses were top notch! When I want versatile, I grab my Nikon with all of it's fancy zooms. Or, more accurately, I grab my digital with it's variable ISO, ridiculous shutter speeds, and image stabilization and wide range of fancy zooms. To me, M42 is all about the joy of working within the restrictions of prime lenses and 35mm film.

Paul Howell · Jan 23, 2018

I agree, my only additional thought is that outside of the first generation Vivitar S1 zooms or maybe a Soilgar CD zoom, which were offered in M42, there were not a good very good zooms in that time frame. Zooms really came of age in the 80 and 90s.

faberryman · Jan 23, 2018

M42 lenses come in all focal lengths and apertures, as well as qualities, so it is a matter of first determining what focal length and aperture is most versatile for you, and then finding its counterpart in M42 thread. The bell curve of choices will fall around 35mm or 50mm, with an aperture of f2 or faster, for which there are scores to choose from..

Sirius Glass · Jan 23, 2018

What do you mean "versatile"? Shoot both wide angle and telephoto in the same shot? Clean kitchens and bathrooms? Please explain better.

narsuitus · Jan 24, 2018

To me, a versatile lens is one that allows me to capture the largest number of images I need. For shooting general subjects under average conditions, a normal lens allows me to capture about 70% of the images I need. About 10% of the time, I will need a lens longer than a normal lens. About 10% of the time, I will need a lens wider than a normal lens. About 10% of the time, I will need a specialized lens such as a macro, perspective control, fisheye, pinhole, or waterproof lens.

A normal lens is defined as a lens that is close to the diagonal of the camera's image format. For 35mm film camera with its 24 x 36mm image size, the diagonal is 43mm (the square root of 24 squared +36 squared = 43).

The prime lenses I have owned that were close to the 43mm focal length were:
50mm f/1.4
50mm f/1.8
50mm f/3.5
45mm f/2
45mm f/2.8 (no longer own)
40mm f/1.7

Of those normal prime lenses, four of them were M42 lenses.

Of those M42 lenses, the 8-element 50mm f/1.4 Asahi Super Takumar delivered the best image quality for 70% of the images I needed to capture on 35mm film.

I never found an M42 zoom lens that produced high quality images and was fast enough to meet my needs.

Fritzthecat · Jan 24, 2018

It's apparent none of you has owned an Olympus FTL with dedicated Zuiko M-42 glass. Try getting any now.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 24, 2018

Fritzthecat said:
It's apparent none of you has owned an Olympus FTL with dedicated Zuiko M-42 glass. Try getting any now.

I don'y have an FTL, but I do have Zuiko OM lenses. I prefer Nikkors and Takumars, generally.

Paul Howell · Jan 24, 2018

There are lots of quality M42 lens, not only Pentax, as noted Olympus FTL, but Fuji, Mamiya, Chionon (sp?), Ricoh, Zeiss, Cosina, late model Petri, Yaschia and other that slipped my mind. In addition to Pentax I have a smattering of other M42 lens in various mounts, all are good to excellent performers. I don't have any Olympus FTL, would like to pick up a sample, but not a priority.

John Wiegerink · Jan 24, 2018

I don't know about the versatile part, but the two I like the best are because of the quality of the output. My most liked is the same as Ian Grant's above and that's the 55mm f1,8 Takumar. I think the 55mm f2 Takumar is the same lens, but with a F-stop change. I have had and still have the 1,4 M42 Takumars, but I like the 55m f1.8 the most.. The second lens is a Pentagon 50mm f1.8 Electric. This is an outstanding lens with a Zeiss quality look to its output. I'll throw in the little 200mm Takumar also, but it's certainly not as versatile. Actually my most versatile would have to be my Yashica 55mm f2,8 macro lens. It's the same as the Vivitar 55mm f2.8 lens that came in various mounts. The lens goes all the way to 1:1 with no fancy tricks or adapters. It also needs no hood or shade since it's front element is deeply recessed. But most of all it was made by the outstanding optical company Tomioka Optical of Japan. Image quality is outstanding and even good adapted to digital. These are usually not cheap, but they are worth it. JohnW

dynachrome · Jan 24, 2018

I don't know whether I have ever seen the Yashica 55/2.8 Macro in M42 mount. I think you may be referring to the 60mm f/2.8 pre-set Yashica macro. That lens was made by Tomioka and has a following with collectors. The 55mm f/2.8 Macro which goes to 1:1 by itself and has the Vivitar and Panagor names (a Quantaray version is marked f/3) was made by Komine. I just bought one in Olympus OM mount, with the Panagor name, from an eBay seller. The last 55/1.8 M42 Takumar (marked SMC and with a rubber covered focusing ring) is my favorite M42 standard lens and I also find that the 55/2 is the same lens with the same performance. I agree that versatility is a somewhat general criterion. Some of my other fun M42 lenses include: 20/3.8 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 28/1.9 Vivitar Series 1, 28/2.5 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 30/3.5 Meyer Lydith, 35/3.5 Noflexar, 50/1.4 Yashinon DS-M, 35/1.9 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 90/2.5 Tamron SP (52B or 52BB w/M42 adapter), 100/2.8 Yashinon, 135/2.8 Vivitar Close Focusing, 200/3 Vivitar Series 1.

mshchem · Jan 25, 2018

Marco Gilardetti said:
Asahi Super Takumars are the answer.

We could argue from here to enternity how Zeiss or other German lenses were terrific, or how Nikon F system was groundbreaking, but what really changed amateur photography in my opinion and my memory are the Asahi Super Takumars. Fantastic lenses, easily available everywhere, sold at an affordable price, with a truly universal mount. I still use three of them today, enough said.

I agree. I started with a Pentax SP 500. I moved on to Nikon. I recently found a 50 mm 1.4 Super Takumar, what a beautiful lens. To this day a Spotmatic still feels and looks so good. Pentax M42 products played an important part in bringing very high quality lenses into the mainstream.

Neil Grant · Jan 25, 2018

PGraham3 said:
Howdy, APUG!
I've always been a Nikon guy and I've also shot my fair share of Ricoh cameras and lenses...
Anyways, I'm curious, from your experience, would any of you care to share what you think is most versatile M42 lens out there, and/or perhaps your favorite and why?

Thanks, APUG! Looking forward to read your responses.
-Paul

I've got a number of Nikons too, using an M42 camera is really going back to basics especially with things like preset lenses and dead light meters. Part of their charm is the access to vintage lenses and their characterful imaging qualities. I can recommend: Lydith 30mm, Domiplan 50mm (a good one can be very sharp), Helios 58mm and Zeiss Jena 135mm. M42's are just much more work than using a modern camera but there's something to be said for that

E. von Hoegh · Jan 25, 2018

narsuitus said:
When my first SLR with 50mm lens broke, a colleague gave me one of his Pentax Spotmatics with a 50mm f/1.4 (8-element) Takumar. I eventually replaced my broken SLR with a Nikon. However, the image quality from that M42 Takumar was so good and that focal length was so versatile that it was decades before I purchased a 50mm lens for my Nikon.

50mm 8-element Takumar (left) by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Hey! That looks like a Nikon (HS-3?) hood on the black Spottie!

John Wiegerink · Jan 25, 2018

dynachrome said:
I don't know whether I have ever seen the Yashica 55/2.8 Macro in M42 mount. I think you may be referring to the 60mm f/2.8 pre-set Yashica macro. That lens was made by Tomioka and has a following with collectors. The 55mm f/2.8 Macro which goes to 1:1 by itself and has the Vivitar and Panagor names (a Quantaray version is marked f/3) was made by Komine. I just bought one in Olympus OM mount, with the Panagor name, from an eBay seller. The last 55/1.8 M42 Takumar (marked SMC and with a rubber covered focusing ring) is my favorite M42 standard lens and I also find that the 55/2 is the same lens with the same performance. I agree that versatility is a somewhat general criterion. Some of my other fun M42 lenses include: 20/3.8 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 28/1.9 Vivitar Series 1, 28/2.5 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 30/3.5 Meyer Lydith, 35/3.5 Noflexar, 50/1.4 Yashinon DS-M, 35/1.9 Vivitar Fixed Mount, 90/2.5 Tamron SP (52B or 52BB w/M42 adapter), 100/2.8 Yashinon, 135/2.8 Vivitar Close Focusing, 200/3 Vivitar Series 1.

Yes, my bad typo. The Yashica is a 60mm and my Vivitar 55mm f2,8 older M42 look identical if I remember right. I haven't used either in such a long time that maybe my old brain is fogged a little. I'm at my cottage at the moment and don't have the lenses at hand, but will certainly check when I get back home. I had the 35mm f1.9 Vivitar you mention above. that was in Nikon mount and was a very good lens also. JohnW

narsuitus · Jan 25, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
Hey! That looks like a Nikon (HS-3?) hood on the black Spottie!

You may be right.

At the time I took the photo, it is very likely that I was using a Nikon HS-3 or a Nikon HN-3 lens hood on the 50mm Takumar lens. I cannot tell from the photo.

However, I now have a genuine Asahi lens hood on the lens.

cooltouch · Jan 25, 2018

I have a couple of Takumars -- a 50/1.4 Super Tak and a 55/1.8 SMC Tak, but I've used them only rarely. I also have a Helios 44M (58/2) and a Yashica Yashinon DX 50/1.7. I did quite a bit of comparison shooting between the 44M and the Yashinon a while back, and the Yashinon is clearly the better of the two lenses. It's noticeably sharper. But I haven't done any comparison shooting with the Yashinon and either of my Takumars yet. I feel confident that it will compare favorably with either or both of the Takumars, however. Anyway, lenses like my Yashinon can be found for dirt cheap -- I paid $10 for mine at a pawn shop -- whereas the Taks, because they have more of a reputation, will likely cost more. Price aside, I wouldn't have any problems recommending the Yashinon DX as a good all-around lens.

PGraham3 · Jan 25, 2018

Are y’all ever concerned with the radioactivity of these old M42 lenses? I would hate to drop one and have it break inside my house or classroom.

What do you think is the most versatile M42 lens?

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