The big and very heavy Pentacon 300mm

I was fortunate to drop on a near mint Pentacon f4 300mm from the very last series made in the 1990s. You can try and use it hand held if you like but it puts a huge strain on the mount, especially as the lens is an M42 fitting, so it's best to put it on a tripod. Unfortunately, in this case, it screwed on 90 degrees further round than it ought to have done! The photos are simply to see what it might be capable of rather than for any artistic value.







Meyer Optik were renowned for their multi-bladed irises that produce a near circular aperture. Some end up with oily blades that can stick together when the lens is left unused for a long time. When you try to change the aperture, the offending blades cannot move and spring out of their guides. Only a complete rebuild will set this right so ignore vendors' comments that oil on the blades is of no consequence with a preset mechanism 'cos it just ain't true!
This one is pristine, as are all the coatings.




Some full frame images and heavy crops from them .....










Purple fringing can occur where there is high contrast but it isn't bad. Pixel peeping will show it round the white flowers. By the way, this common garden weed (hairy cress) is a good salad plant. Pull the entire plants up, cut off the roots and wash them. All gardens have them!









The same fuchsia bush that sheltered the hyacinth. It will need pruning shortly!



It's going to be a while before I get to grips with this thing but it certainly looks promising for a 30 year old film era lens.