Pentax M42 lenses?

[William Lewis]

After getting back my test roll for a Honeywell Pentax H1a with a 55/2 lens I am quite pleased with it.

What are some M42 screw mount gems to look for? Id like a wide and portrait length for it.

 

[RichardC]

Fashionable lenses which have been promoted as 'gems' on Youtube, tend to be offered for steep prices (some crazily high) - and very much a case of diminishing returns.

Pancolar 80mm lenses, for example, are regularly offered for $900+, which is 3-4x the price of a nice used Contax Sonnar T* 85mm.

I recently sold a Pancolar 50mm for £129 and it was snapped up so quickly, I probably could have got more for it.

The exterior differences between, for example, some Helios lenses (swirly bokeh) are not always obvious.

There have been a number of instances of fake vintage lenses (swopped front ring ) which have been brought to people's attention on this site.

IMHO, for the uninitiated non-expert, best bet is to buy from thrift shops and try them out and keep them until you are lucky enough to find something you like more.

Nothing quite like picking up a really interesting lens for £5.

 

[Iron]

Plenty, at the moment but they are getting on the more expensive side already.

• Carl Zeiss lenses particularly the:
  • 35mm Flektogon f/2.4 or f/2.8
  • 35mm Distagon f/1.4
• Flektogon-licensed versions. These have the same lens design as the Carl Zeiss ones but produced in either USSR or France:
  • Angeniex 35mm f/2.8 Retrofocus
  • MIR-1 Automat 2.8/37 - This is the actual focal length that the Flektogon and Angenieux use.
• 35mm and 28mm Takumars, both f/3.5s - Be wary that 35mm M42s at f/2.8 or slower usually have a smaller rear element than usual, making extinction in the OVF a bit more quick vs lenses with larger ones.
• Super Takumar 35mm f/2.3 - Rather rare but decent enough. The rear element on this one is much larger than usual.
• SMC Takumar 35mm f/2.0 , both the older fat model and the newer one. Be careful with the yellowing of the thoriated glass, although it can be mitigated using a UV light.
• Helios 58mms. They are at the short tele- end but with my K-3 it's perfect for portrait. The centre sharpness can be off the charts, though, and many times, one would like a diffuser filter as the lens would show the blemishes in high resolution. Take note of an extremely high sample variation present with Helios 44 lenses. We used to be able to ask the vendors to get us the sharpest sample possible but the eBay sellers are now properly limited.
• For an 85mm, the Jupiter-9 2/85 is just something to grab right now. It makes rather beautiful portraits on small format or "full-frame"

Those are the usual popular ones. To be fair, many M42 produced up to the early 70s can be quite sharp and full of character. As long as the optics are clean, they are worth a try.

 

[RichardC]

Plenty, at the moment but they are getting on the more expensive side already.

• Carl Zeiss lenses particularly the:
  • 35mm Flektogon f/2.4 or f/2.8
  • 35mm Distagon f/1.4
• Flektogon-licensed versions. These have the same lens design as the Carl Zeiss ones but produced in either USSR or France:
  • Angeniex 35mm f/2.8 Retrofocus
  • MIR-1 Automat 2.8/37 - This is the actual focal length that the Flektogon and Angenieux use.
• 35mm and 28mm Takumars, both f/3.5s - Be wary that 35mm M42s at f/2.8 or slower usually have a smaller rear element than usual, making extinction in the OVF a bit more quick vs lenses with larger ones.
• Super Takumar 35mm f/2.3 - Rather rare but decent enough. The rear element on this one is much larger than usual.
• SMC Takumar 35mm f/2.0 , both the older fat model and the newer one. Be careful with the yellowing of the thoriated glass, although it can be mitigated using a UV light.
• Helios 58mms. They are at the short tele- end but with my K-3 it's perfect for portrait. The centre sharpness can be off the charts, though, and many times, one would like a diffuser filter as the lens would show the blemishes in high resolution. Take note of an extremely high sample variation present with Helios 44 lenses. We used to be able to ask the vendors to get us the sharpest sample possible but the eBay sellers are now properly limited.
• For an 85mm, the Jupiter-9 2/85 is just something to grab right now. It makes rather beautiful portraits on small format or "full-frame"

Those are the usual popular ones. To be fair, many M42 produced up to the early 70s can be quite sharp and full of character. As long as the optics are clean, they are worth a try.

A more positive answer than mine

 

[Iron]

A more positive answer than mine

Thanks. I am careful about this as I don't want to fuel someone's M42 GAS. These lenses are just well-built. My copies have zero plastic parts! Takumars are more serviceable than lenses from other Japanese counterparts. I don't have the Flektogon yet but that one's overflowing with character. I am keen on getting one but it will easily be more expensive than many Pentax Limiteds.

 

[JensM]

Good topic.

I am pondering getting a Spotmatic, and have, along with that pondered M42 lenses, and somewhat fallen into the Takumars and Super Takumars.

A classic primes set of good copies of those, could probably be used as a set of "reference" lenses with suitable adapters across all brands if one is interested in getting a clear picture (snigger) of how the differents sensors behave. It may be a tad geeky.

 

[rayvonn]

After getting back my test roll for a Honeywell Pentax H1a with a 55/2 lens I am quite pleased with it.

What are some M42 screw mount gems to look for? Id like a wide and portrait length for it.

Wide - If you mean 35mm, then the Flektogon 35mm F2.4. Zeiss optics and very close focusing abilities.

Portrait - Jupiter 85mm. Warranted on the basis it'll render different to any current lens and in a good way. It's nice to have a variety.

 

[agentlossing]

The Super Takumars are often lauded as fantastic lenses. I don't have a whole lot of experience with them at this point, but I have owned a 1.4/50 and a 3.5/35 which I adapted to M4/3 a bit and liked. Of course, adapting on a crop sensor isn't a good way to experience these lenses in their full glory. I particularly liked the small size of the 3.5/35.

 

[Bart J D]

This one is really good for vibrant colours and not that expensive: Schneider Kreuznach Edixa Xenar 50mm f/2.8

 

[stratokaster]

M42 EBC Fujinons tend to be excellent.