Which m42 screw thread lens??

I now have a T-mount for the camera and I am looking forward to using some screw thread, M42, lenses. I have no idea which lenses are most sought after and which I should leave alone. Any pointers anyone? Thanks.


.

Choose pentax lenses and you won't go far wrong. The Super Takumar and SMC Takumar versions are the best.

As for other makes, there's the Elicar 90mm macro, the Lydith 30mm, the Kiron 28mm, the Vivitar 50mm Macro and probably lots more. All worth a go.

The SMC Takumar 85mm f/1.8 is legendary. Unfortunately, it goes for legendary prices too

The Super Tak/SMC Tak 135mm f/3.5 is relatively common but a nice lens.

T-Mount? Are you sure that is what you have? T-Mount is a Tamron device with a 42mm thread but a different pitch to the Pentax 42mm screw mount. They are not compatible, what is required is a Pentax screw to bayonet adapter in order to use M42 lenses on a bayonet mount Pentax body.

Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135/3.5

I've bought and sold a lot of M42 lenses lately and it's the only one to take up permanent residence in my kit bag. A truly stellar lens!

I've also got the Zeiss Flektogon 35, Zeiss Pancolar 50 and Zeiss Tessar 50. All nice lenses but nowhere near as impressive as the Sonnar.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say I think of the Sonnar as an extension of my FA Limiteds - it's in the same league optically.

There are 5 versions of the Pentax Takumar lens available

I have quite a collection of them building up at the moment.
Watch out for the Super Takumar, the glass has a tendancy to go yellow due to some additive during production, especially the f1.4 model

I have an SMC 50mm f1.4 and a Super-Multi-Coated 55mm f1.8 which are superb and a Super-Multi-Coated 35mm f2 which is quite chunky but another very good performer.

If you are after something longer go for the Super-Multi-Coated 200mm f4, there is a Takumar f5.6 preset version out there but its a little on the slow side.

There are many to choose from and can be picked up relatively cheaply, and are a lot of fun to use also. I have avoided the Takumar zooms, not because they are no good, I don't really know how they perform, I just prefer the primes.

I also have a Super-Multi-Coated 135mm f3.5 and a Takumar 500mm f4.5 (no SMC coating) Good luck and have fun

Gartmore,

I think your right about the T-mount! I bought it for use with my telescope and wrongly assumed the thread would be ok for mounting lenses with the m42 screw. No big deal I'll get a decent adaptor and then see about acquiring some of the suggested lenses above

Quite like the sound of Hefty1's Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135/3.5

Clarky, I've been toying with the idea of getting a 50mm since borrowing a friends for the weekend and your recommendation of the Takumars is just what I've been leaning towards

Are there any out there that are real dogs that shouldn't be got:

Thanks for the info so far!

.

I haven't seen any that you would call a dog, These Taks were right up there in thier day and were built to a very high standard.

What I have found is that the Coated versions are more susceptible to fungus, I don't know if I am just unlucky, but a lot of the coated models I have seen have fungus and the earlier non coated versions are clean.
Maybe the fungus has a liking to SMC coatings:

I have become quite adept at dismantling and cleaning them.

Yes. And I'm currently selling one of them on eBay: Link

Still got a bidder though!

Generally most primes from most manufacturers range from OK (Meyer, Sigma, Vivitar) through good (Pentacon, Fuji) to excellent (Pentax, Zeiss, Mamiya/Sekor, Rollei, Voigtlander, Angineux); but I'd avoid zooms from that period as they tend to be heavy, slow and of woeful quality.

There are exceptions to all these of course but that's a pretty good rule of thumb.

The better (and rarer) the lenses are the more they fetch - expect to pay four-figure sums for Angineux; several hundred pounds for Rolleis, Voigtlanders and West German Zeiss; less for Mamiya, Zeiss Jena and Pentax (which makes these hit the sweet spot of cost vs. performance); pocket money prices for the rest. Pentacons (especially the 50/1.8 ) have 95% of the performance of Pentax or Zeiss for a fraction of the money - making them the bargain basement champions.

Japanese lenses from Pentax and Mamiya/Sekor are in a league above *all* the others in terms of build (if not always optical) quality.

Happy hunting!

PS. Sonnars like mine usually go for around £70. By finding one that was mis-labelled, in the wrong section and finishing on a Sunday lunchtime (with UK shipping only) I was able to bag my minter for just £26 - there are bargains out there to be had!

It's the Canada Balsam that was used to cement elements together that they really like getting their teeth into. They don't like the new synthetic stuff which is why you hardly ever see a modern lens with fungus.

That's what I like to hear!

I remember when Pentax were advertising Super Multi coated lenses. Leica were quoted as saying it was unnecessary and that a single coating was all that was needed..... seems like they later changed their tune

shim

I have a Vivitar 55mm and 90mm f2.8 m42 f2.8 macro.
The 55mm is unused, still in its box with the price sticker on .. I got it off Ebay from an American seller for £30 with postage (that was when the £ was worth a lot more).
Very nice lens and interesting woman who sold it to me, it was part of her fathers old kit who used to be a press photographer at the whitehouse.

Hefty1,

Thanks for the info on the lenses, very useful knowledge passed on, saves me making some time-wasting errors.

Now I'll get the right adaptor - I've seen some on ebay and also from reputable camera outfits for around £16 or less. Does anyone think I should get the one from SRS at £22 ??? Would it be any better at doing its job, or do I just save myself £6 and get it from SRB-Griturn for example?

Thnx.

Get the Pentax one, with some of the others you lose infinty focusing. I've had my one since the MX came out - built to last.

I have an original Pentax adapter and a cheaper Bower version. Very difficult to tell the difference between the 2 other than the name embossed on them.

The Bower version is half the price of the pentax.