Which camera to use for my M42 lenses?

eli griggs · Feb 29, 2020

Excuse me if I go over something already mentioned, but I suggest a Pentax Spotmatic II , as simple a camera as you can get, and starter camera for thousands of photography students, or, ,(because I have and use one), a Canon F1N AE or older F1, 2ed issue, or a Ftb Q, with a Canon 'P' adapter, if you do no mind stopped down shooting.

The F!N AE offers both aperture,with the AE head and shutter priory as well as full auto, with one of the Canon motor drives, as well as a modern battery, TTL meter, every sort of accessory you might want, including inter changeable focal screen, with three types of metering patterns.

And a fully mechanical body, built like a rock and is probably the best of the metal body SLRs, ever built, plus FD lens to fill the gaps in your m42 kit, are inexpensive and have world class optic, from that era.

The older New F1, 2ed model F1, also has the same basic line of lenses to work from, TTL and many of the same accessories, but in non-exchangeable mounts (the FL/FD lenses work on both).

The Canon FTB QL is a rock of reliability, quick loading system a gem and is a pleasure to shoot.with.

It uses an older button battery, however, a quick diode insulation and SR-44's or LR-44's are in like Flynn!

A lot of folks though will no bother with the diode and just shoot it with the LR-44.

A match needle and loop is easy to read, stopped down preview and shooting is good ( in the New F1 too. and it's all mechanical, if that's you pleasure.

Any of these cameras will give years of service, and the two F1's were built to the best standards of any professional 35mm SLR camera, ever, and of their time, standards which they set and raised the bar on, twice.

IMO.

IMO.

focus_on_infinity · Feb 29, 2020

GRHazelton said:
A bit slow for any sort of action shots, wouldn't you say?

Probably would be, but there are other solutions for that. If it's anything but the most predictible motion, I'll be shooting digital with full autofocus on a zoom lens.

Bill Burk · Feb 29, 2020

Ian Grant said:
A Spotmatic SL would ve an oxymoron With no internal meter it's not a Spotmatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . just a Pentax SL.

Ian

Ack what a gaffe. You’re right. Of course none of the Spotmatics live up to the “spot” name - except for the prototype.

Ian Grant · Feb 29, 2020

Bill Burk said:
Ack what a gaffe. You’re right. Of course none of the Spotmatics live up to the “spot” name - except for the prototype.

I like the top mounting shutter speed coupled Pentax CDS meters, I have one with a Pentax SV I bought last year for £10 ($13) in really nice condition with a 55mm f2 SMC Takumar. My first SLR was a Zenit E with its uncoupled selenium meter so I'm used to working with this style of metering, it's the same with my Yashicamat 124.

Ian

BMbikerider · Feb 29, 2020

GRHazelton said:
A Praktica LTL would be cheap. They're tough, and they have perhaps the best implementation of stop down metering there is. My old LTL's shutter sounds good after several years of disuse, the meter as a bridge circuit can use a silver oxide cell rather than the original mercury cell.

I have heard about these 'bridge circuits' how different are they to say ones in an Olympus OM1 or Minolta SRT 101/303 models. I know the early Spotmatics also used bridge circuits too. Do you know of any others?

waynecrider · Feb 29, 2020

What ever you buy, make sure you get one that has good shutter speeds and seals and can be returned if you find something wrong. If it's a no money back situation and the seller knows nothing or can't figure it out say no thanks. A CLA can cost alot, cost more then the cost of a used body plus you'll pay the cost of shipping. My last purchase of a Spotmatic F seemed ok on reciept till I picked it up one day and ran it thru multiple clicks to exercise the shutter and found out that it started screwing up and no matter what the speed was set on it was one speed only whereas at first t was ok.? Now I will have to pay, what $150 plus shipping for a cla that wll probably have to include a meter repair that may or may not be fixable. The achilles heel for the Spotties were the meters and they were not always fixable. Even my K1000 meter couldn't be fixed by a well known repair shop. Now my screwmounts will reside on an adapter attached to a A6000.

btaylor · Feb 29, 2020

Concerning CLA costs, last time I had work done on a broken SP500 I sent it to Pentax guru Eric Henderson. I think it was a whopping $80. Well worth it, the SP500 was basically mint but jammed for $25– now it’s perfect! Very well worth it for me. I love the way the Pentax handles.

GRHazelton · Feb 29, 2020

focus_on_infinity said:
Probably would be, but there are other solutions for that. If it's anything but the most predictible motion, I'll be shooting digital with full autofocus on a zoom lens.

But we're talking about a body for using M42 lenses.....

GRHazelton · Feb 29, 2020

BMbikerider said:
I have heard about these 'bridge circuits' how different are they to say ones in an Olympus OM1 or Minolta SRT 101/303 models. I know the early Spotmatics also used bridge circuits too. Do you know of any others?

Generally speaking, a bridge circuit can be identified if the meter shows a mark in the view finder to which the meter's needle is to be aligned with. The alignment indicates that both halves of the circuit are equal. If others out there can further elucidate, bring it on! Such a metering circuit is relatively independent of voltage, within the parameters of the sensor, the meter, etc.

eli griggs · Feb 29, 2020

Then there are the Zenit 12XP and Yashica TL Super, which was the first SLR to use the sr44 battery.

The Zenit is nice, has TTL metering and self-timer and the Yashica has a self-timer and mirror lock-up, with B, 1. to 1/1000 sec shutter speeds and a cloth curtain.

My TL Super needs a new curtain, but feels solidly built in the hand, but my Zenith, a weighty camera, feels ever so lightly, 'hollow' even though it is a solidly built camera as well.

The Zenit 12XP only have shutter speeds up to 1/500, but the camera is much newer than the Yashica and can be had in new condition for surprisingly little money.

IMO.

Bill Burk · Feb 29, 2020

I picked up my Spotmatic F as a parts camera. I wanted the rewind knob.

Turned out it was just dirty on the outside. Rag and towel, new seals and mirror foam made it like new (but caps at 500 and 1000). For the money it was a very good deal.

What I like about it is the ability to meter in low light at apertures like f/8 because metering is performed wide open. But I don’t like that the meter turns itself off (deliberately) when it’s too dark to meter. And it’s hard to tell, unless you rack through settings, whether you are set just right for conditions or if the meter is powered off (or battery disconnected or dead).

focus_on_infinity · Mar 2, 2020

GRHazelton said:
But we're talking about a body for using M42 lenses.....

Yes, I'm talking about my Spotmatic, which is an M42. Someone complained that they're too slow for action photos. Soooo ... what?

GRHazelton · Mar 2, 2020

focus_on_infinity said:
Yes, I'm talking about my Spotmatic, which is an M42. Someone complained that they're too slow for action photos. Soooo ... what?

Back in the dim, distant past I shot for my high school newspaper, the year book, and occasionally for the local weekly. I used a Beauty 35mm rangefinder. Yes, that was its name! Totally manual. I got some excellent action shots, IIRC one showed a batter, face in a grimace, with the ball just above the moving bat! None of the current "spray and pray" mentality. The camera's fastest shutter speed was 1/500 sec. You learn your camera, and how to anticipate the action. Takes a little practice. And do remember that most of the great sports shots of the 30's, 40's, and well into the 50's were shot with 4 x 5 Speed Graphic or similar. No fast sequence shots there!

focus_on_infinity · Mar 2, 2020

GRHazelton said:
Back in the dim, distant past I shot for my high school newspaper, the year book, and occasionally for the local weekly. I used a Beauty 35mm rangefinder. Yes, that was its name! Totally manual. I got some excellent action shots, IIRC one showed a batter, face in a grimace, with the ball just above the moving bat! None of the current "spray and pray" mentality. The camera's fastest shutter speed was 1/500 sec. You learn your camera, and how to anticipate the action. Takes a little practice. And do remember that most of the great sports shots of the 30's, 40's, and well into the 50's were shot with 4 x 5 Speed Graphic or similar. No fast sequence shots there!

Sure. You said the Spotmatic was "a bit slow for any sort of action shots". I said I could use it for predictible motion, which exactly what you did. It has nothing to do with "spray and pray".

Yes, the Spotmatic uses M42 lenses. No, it's no slower than any other manual camera. If you want to take action shots, you'll probably have to pre-focus. So, you stop it down then.

johnha · Mar 2, 2020

GRHazelton said:
Back in the dim, distant past I shot for my high school newspaper, the year book, and occasionally for the local weekly. I used a Beauty 35mm rangefinder. Yes, that was its name! Totally manual. I got some excellent action shots, IIRC one showed a batter, face in a grimace, with the ball just above the moving bat! None of the current "spray and pray" mentality. The camera's fastest shutter speed was 1/500 sec. You learn your camera, and how to anticipate the action. Takes a little practice. And do remember that most of the great sports shots of the 30's, 40's, and well into the 50's were shot with 4 x 5 Speed Graphic or similar. No fast sequence shots there!

Exactly, one of my favourites is this from the '50s, even today you'd be hard pushed to better it: https://www.fifa.com/news/finney-makes-splash-2279708

ts1000 · May 27, 2020

Well, M42 lenses -- means manual focusing.
Manual focusing needs as good of a viewfinder as possible.
Additionally, I personally, can no longer focus without a split-prims focus screens.

Folks on this forum probably know more about which m42 cameras came with split prims focus.
I know of Pentax P30t (and it will need M42 to Pentax-K mount ring adapter).

The last m42 production camera that was manufactured (around 2003) was BessaFlex TM
https://cameraquest.com/voigtFlexTM.htm

Donald Qualls · May 28, 2020

From my experience, ranging from a Spotmatic SP that I bought used in 1981 to present, I'd suggest anything with a Copal Square shutter (vertical travel, metal). My own current favorite is a Vivitar SL220, which is some model or other of rebranded Ricoh -- but there isn't much difference in features over the range (unless you could that Bessaflex, made twenty years after M42 was obsolete).

Daire Quinlan · May 28, 2020

I have a rake of Pentaxes, Yashicas, Fujis and Chinons. All of them are much the same in terms of functionality and ergonomics for the most part, the one standout, and the one which gets the most use, is my Chinon CE-3. They have a kind of hacked together Aperture Priority mode. The shutter push is a little longer than normal, and it stops down the camera, THEN takes a meter reading, and uses that meter reading to take the shot. It's pretty neat :-D

eli griggs · May 28, 2020

If you do no mind manual settings in depth of field preview mode, a Canon FD Series camera is a solid platform, with the Canon Adapter "P", which allows infinity viewing/taking.

My personal Favorites are the F-1s 2ed and 3ed 'n' and 'N' cameras and the Ftb qL cameras.

A manual setting A Series camera, is good too, but I almost never use those anymore, except for when I need the bright LED readings, such as when metering with a bellows.

Older 'T' series should work as well, but I haven't tried the adapter on any of these, and, as I recall, with out getting up to check, these are 'limited' to 1/500th second as well, which is a good reason to learn action shooting panning techniques, on and off mono and tripods as well as hand held.

If you find 1/500th limiting, add some ND filters for bright settings and work it out from there.

As I Recall, many of the 155mm and 8in. artillery canon shots I made in the 1970's of projectiles, many times as clear a photograph as you could want with the slightest movement indicated, were made with 1/500th cameras.

Timing, having alternatives like faster/slower films, filters that you actually know how to use and do so,and knowing your camera and lens handling, is the ticket to success of your photo adventures.

IMO.

flatulent1 · May 30, 2020

Eli is right, a Canon FD body is an excellent choice for an M42 lens. An adapter and stopped-down metering will be necessary, of course. The original Canon Lens Mount Converter P can be had for $50, and a cheap chinese knock-off for less than $10. And any of the FD bodies will work. I've used them on the T90 mostly.

Kino · May 30, 2020

I vote for the Pentax Spotmatic SP in black... what more do you need?

Donald Qualls · May 31, 2020

Kino said:
I vote for the Pentax Spotmatic SP in black... what more do you need?

Most of these have or will have failed meter cells, and replacements have been unavailable for fifteen or twenty years. There used to be a repair person in Kentucky who could modify the cells from a Pentax 6x7 or 67 (I forget which) to fit -- I've got an SP that was repaired that way, back in '04 or '05 -- but the stock of those was nearly gone then.

If you don't mind operating the camera as a no-meter, fully manual unit, they're still good, but the Copal Square bodies built by Ricoh (and maybe others) have superior shutters and, seemingly, longer lasting meter cells (I've got three, last I checked, with good meters).

Daire Quinlan · May 31, 2020

Kino said:
I vote for the Pentax Spotmatic SP in black... what more do you need?

Donald Qualls said:
Most of these have or will have failed meter cells, and replacements have been unavailable for fifteen or twenty years. There used to be a repair person in Kentucky who could modify the cells from a Pentax 6x7 or 67 (I forget which) to fit -- I've got an SP that was repaired that way, back in '04 or '05 -- but the stock of those was nearly gone then.

Yep, I have a lovely black SP, and a couple of other silver ones. Meters are pretty unresponsive on all of them. As above though, ignore the metering and the black SP just feels ... nice ... to shoot :-D

Donald Qualls · May 31, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
Yep, I have a lovely black SP, and a couple of other silver ones. Meters are pretty unresponsive on all of them. As above though, ignore the metering and the black SP just feels ... nice ... to shoot :-D

Yep, black is a good camera color. My Vivitar SL220 is black, and that's the one that's currently wearing my Super Takumar 50/1.4.

Les Sarile · May 31, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
Most of these have or will have failed meter cells, and replacements have been unavailable for fifteen or twenty years. There used to be a repair person in Kentucky who could modify the cells from a Pentax 6x7 or 67 (I forget which) to fit -- I've got an SP that was repaired that way, back in '04 or '05 -- but the stock of those was nearly gone then.

Are you referring to Eric Henderson at https://pentaxs.com/ in Knoxville, TN?
He is still the man when it comes to working on Pentax cameras and lenses.

Which camera to use for my M42 lenses?

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