M42 advice

I had a go at posting this question last night, but something went wrong.

But I need a bit of advice from some people that know about these things. Sorry, but I have no idea.

I have brought my first M42 lens. I have never owned one, nor do I own, or have ever owned a M42 body. I do have a K1000 body, K mount of course. So the question is about an adapter from M42 to K mount. I understand that I need one, no problem there. So do I buy one adapter and keep it on the K1000 body permanently, or do I buy an adapter for each M42 lens that I buy? Anyone have an opinion, thought, suggestion, or ideas on what to do? I also get the impression from looking around on the net that an original Pentax one is better than a third party item.

While I am at it. Is there any advice that I should be aware of about using this lens on a K1000.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Gary

How many adapters you buy depend on how you're going to use the lens. If I put an adapter on a K-mount body I usually go out only with M42 lenses and switch them on and off as required, leaving the adapter on the camera. However, some people like to use M42 lenses interchangeably with K-mount ones, and they may prefer to get one adapter per lens and leave them on.

If you choose the latter then getting genuine Pentax adapters will be costly - they usually sell for around 25 to 30 GBP each for good used copies. The main problem with cheap ones is that they can get stuck on the camera, so people remove the little locking mechanism, but that leaves a risk of the adapter plus lens falling off.

The risk of getting stuck is very real so I don't touch non-genuine adapters. I have a total of three genuine ones which I use without any problem, and that's what I'd recommend for a trouble-free experience.

As for using M42 lenses on K-mount bodies, there isn't much to it. Make sure you set it to "M" (manual) mode on the lens so that the aperture responds to changes on the aperture ring. You may want to focus wide open, then stop down, meter the scene and take the picture. I find metering to be inaccurate so I usually set the exposure manually (which becomes quite easy with practice) and you can always shoot in raw format to leave yourself a few stops of leeway for adjusting exposure in PP.

What's your first M42 lens, out of interest?

Thank you for the swift reply.

A have heard a lot of people rave about the older Takumar lenses. I have my dad's K1000 film camera sitting idle. I got the chance of picking up a smc 35mm f3.5 for about ten GB pounds, so I pushed the boat out and took the risk. If that was a good price or not, who knows. I have no idea what to expect from this lens, but I am looking forward to having a go with it. It could be the start of a new addiction.


Regards

Gary

Also,

Nor do not I know if this is good lens or not. It is very clean, no fungus, and it looks like it has been well loved by it's past owner.

Regards

Gary

Gary


If you get the Pentax adapter which I would recommend, it works as follows:

You can put it on by either putting it inside the k mount and it will click into place, or you can screw the adapter to the lens first and then bayonet the lens to the camera.

but if you want to swap to another M42 lens you have to unscrew the lens as the adapter will remain in place. The adapter does not act like a k-mount fitting in that the lens release button has no effect on it. You remove the adapter by using your fingernail to release a little clip that is only accessible when there is no lens mounted.

So the idea of using a number of adapters on different lenses is not really an option....unless....... you remove the retaining clip and glue the adapter to the lens. you will then be able to swap lenses quicky by bayonet action, but there will be nothing to prevent the adapter rotating and your lens falling off.

10 quid is a darn steal

They kept the optics from that one for the 35mm lens for K mount

The genuine Pentax M42/K adapters (sometimes engraved Asahi Pentax) are undoubtedly the safest and best. Jessop used to market one that seems just as well made, and much cheaper when they come up on eBay. I was lucky and able to snap up a genuine Pentax one for less than ten quid a few years ago.

I fully agree with the comments by Jonathan, Peter and others above, about using these adapters.
From time to time there have been brisk discussions on PU about the various versions of adapters. Try searching the forums, or for one 2011 discussion look at:

link

Martin

Thanks everyone for your input.

I understand this a lot better now. I think I will go looking for the genuine item.

Regards

Gary