Another M42 on my K-r

Flushed with success after the invaluable help I was given by Forum members when first using my old Helios 58mm f/2 lens but wanting something a bit 'wider' and closer to the 35mm film standard 50mm I have taken the plunge and bought an old M42 30mm lens off ebay.

I watched the auctions for several weeks before taking the plunge and was amazed at the ridiculous (to me) prices being fetched by old Pentax, Takumar and Tokina lenses. However, whilst I am perfectly happy with the quality of many old Russian and GDR lenses (e.g. the Helios) this doesn't seem to be the general perception.

Hence, I managed to pick up a Pentacon 30mm f/3.5 for less than a tenner (including postage!)

Having 'cut my teeth' on a fully manual lens with the Helios I find the Pentacon very easy to use. It has a sprung loaded pre-set ring for aperture and the usual separate ring for opening up for focussing and stopping back to shoot.

Following the advice given earlier I find using the K-r in AV mode very easy but have had to increase EV by 2 stops as also advised previously.

The results after just 2 days (actually 2 hours !) trials can be seen in the Lilly shots on the gallery.

The only drawback so far is that f/3.5 makes focussing a little difficult for my well worn eyes ! Anyone got an f/2 30mm M42 going for a song ???

Peter