m42 lens must-haves: what are they?

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

the flektogon 35/2.4 seems to be one. how is it $100 better than the flek 35/2.8? closer focusing? better coatings? IQ?

any others?

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

The Flek 35/2.4 has multicoating and is slightly faster. I found performance nearly identical to the 35/2.8.

Other M42 must haves - Pentacon 135/2.8 preset, Carl Zeiss Jena S 135/3.5, Super Takumar 50/1.4 or 55/1.8 or 55/2, Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8, Super Takumar 35 or 28, Helios 44 / 44-2 etc. Smile

If you can find a Vivitar 85/1.8 or Super Tak 85/1.8 you'll also be laughing. Find a Pancolar 80/1.8 and your life will be complete

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

i have the s-t 55/2 and helios 44-2 ... Laughing

the flek 35 really interests me most so far. does each of the fleks focus as closely as the other?

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

Yep the Fleks both focus really close, 18cm I think?

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

hey fish

the flek is undoubtedly a great lens, that comes at a high price. i found the mir 35/2.0 to be a wonderful lower cost alternative...

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

The present prices for the Flek 2.4/35 are silly... sorry... ridiculous. 50% is due to a hype.

This is my personal list of "must-have-M42s" (due to price and performance):

- Vivitar 2.8/28
- Takumar 3.5/35
- Takumar 1.4/50
- Helios-44-2 2/58
- Jupiter-9 2/85
- any good 135, such as a Pentacon 2.8/135 or a Jupiter-37 3.5/135
- if you like more tele, a Jupiter-21 4/200

Try to find a nice Spotmatic II or a Praktica or a Revueflex 4000EE (hidden gem!) or an EXA 1c (great with the waist level viewfinder!) and go ahead - have fun!

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Must-have for a DSLR user, M42 or other easily adapted mounts.
And they are so cheap, usually, that there is no reason not to have them.

- ANY f/2 or better 50-55mm "normal"
They are all good. The differences between them are minimal for most purposes, and hard to spot without close examination, if they are visible at all. There is only marginal benefit in getting an f/1.4 instead of an f/2.

- Tamron Adaptall 103A 80-210 f/3.8-4 zoom
Cheap, superb, versatile. The best value for the money in an MF long lens bar none. Get it with M42 or your DSLR mount if available, with any mount you can adapt if not.

Nesster · Expire: 2014-02-20

I have the 103a in my work bag today. It is great value, and I don't like teles, but I like this one.

Any of the Takumars will do.
Many or most of the lenses in the 80-105mm lengths seem to be excellent, like what Luis says about the 50/55's. I have a Soligor T4 105 that to me is reasonably equivalent to a Tak 105. (But Bill doesn't seem to like his Vivitar version)

I'd go Flek FleK FleK too, except I have no experience myself Wink

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

ok, i've got a spotmatic that is having take-up issues; a praktica ltl with a light leak - and a fujica st605 that is a jewel. i'll fix the spot at some point.
ok, i've got a helios 44-2 and s-t 55/2, so normals are covered, although i have a strange desire for an industar 50-2 just to create an ultra compact package with the little fuji.
i've a vivitar 35/28 and a spiratone 28/2.8. the viv just doesn't seem to have any soul, as good as it is. the spiratone is very good, but generally just too wide for me, and is BIG.
got a vivitar 135/2.8 and a spiratone 400/6.3. man, it is tough to dampen that lightweight 400 with a camera on one end, and tripod mount in the middle. i am SO slow with it.
the fleks seem to have soul. and i'm always up for another normal. so, maybe an 85 or 90 ...

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

fish, all i can say is, if you want soul, man try that mir 35/2.0--with the money you save over the flek you can buy a jupiter 85/2.0 and all your bases are covered. if you dont love the mir i could be talked into buying a second copy Laughing

thats how much character it has!

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/mount/m42lens/

All above, basically all M42 lenses are excellent which one is the best easy to figure out from their price level I did test many ,many. Cheap ones can be good also for sure , but rare reach higher priced lens level.

With cheap ones pretty easy buy all what you can afford and test them good affordable game and every second third will be pretty good.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1389 Location: Berlin, DE

womble · Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 987 Location: Hertfordshire

Of my small (but growing) collection of M42 lenses my S-M-C Takumar 28mm f/3.5 is by far my favourite.

Kris.

egidio · Joined: 02 Sep 2009 Posts: 222 Location: slovenia

Super Takumar 50/1.4 or Helios-44-2 are definitly must-have m42, oh and Pentacon 135/2.8 if you can find it cheap

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

doesn't have to be cheap, but i ain't paying leica prices, either. i really like the super-tak 55/2. it is compact, quick and solid to focus, and gets down pretty close.
there is just something about the photos so many of you guys have posted with the 35 fleks. an 85- 90-100-105 compact tele might be the ticket. it's gotta be VERY compact. it is physically necessary for steadiness any portrait lens be short-ish so i can use a double-elbow hold. my viv 135 - which is pretty stinking good - is just enough too long to be difficult to use hand-held.

hey, it's all good ... Very Happy

whelmed · Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 15

estudleon · Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 3754 Location: Argentina

About flekt 2,4/35 is good of course, but I had expect that it can be better, and it isn�t.

Don't like 35 mm in M42 so much. In other mounts yes.

I suggest: 1,4/50 SMC, 1,8/50 Pancolar, very economical 1,8/50 pentacon, 28 and 135 mamiyas, 3,5/200 chinon.

I found my mamiya sekor 2,8/135 equal to the 3,5/135 CZJ. Only difference in colors the Mamiya is colder.

The J-9 is another lens to have.

Rino.

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1389 Location: Berlin, DE

Most S-M-C and SMC Takumars are good, some of them great. In particular, S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5, 50/1.4 (hits the mirror on Canon 5D/5DmkII, but fine on crop cameras), 55/1.8 and 55/2. Second version (6/6 construction) of S-M-C Takumar 135/2.5 is a very nice lens, and S-M-C Takumar 200/4 is a fine lens, too (although I find the Nikkor 200/4 having a certain edge over it). S-M-C Takumar 135/3.5 is nice but nothing special, a good copy of Jupiter-37A (135/3.5) or CZJ Sonnar MC 135/3.5 would be nicer; both are M42 lenses.

All 85mm Takumars are reportedly great; however, the 105/2.8 is not - I tried two copies, and both were visibly soft wide open, and still not good enough by f/4; a real disappointment after the superb Nikkor 105/2.5. However, Kaleinar-5N (100/2.8 ) is superb - readily available in M42 and Nikon mounts, and can still be bought brand sparkling new. The Kaleinar is a very, very highly recommended lens.

If speaking of Russian lenses, Tair-11A (135/2.8 ) is great, with very nice and soft rendering. A good copy of MC Jupiter-9 (85/2) can be a good lens from f/2.8; it's useless in contra light though. MC Mir-24M (35/2) is one of the nicer 35mm with nice rendering. MC Zenitar-16 is a great fish-eye, as is Peleng (8mm f/3.5). Mir-10A (28/3.5)(only available single-coated) is a good 28mm lens, very nice even despite its coatings. Mir-20M (20/3.5), however, is controversial; it is a sharp and contrasty lens, but the large and highly convex front lens flares like hell in most shots. There is also Helios-40-2 (85/1.5), a lens requiring no introduction. Helios-44M-4 (58.2) and Helios-77M (50/1.8 ) are worth having; MC Zenitar 50/2 was a disappointment (really low contrast, soft until f/4).

Rollei also made lenses in M42 mount. Among them, HFT Sonnar 85/2.8 is a superb lens. Other than that, Mamiya SX lenses are really nice, including 85/2.8 (it compares favorably to said Sonnar), 100/2.8, and 135/2.8.

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

Another way of answering... if I can pick only one M42 lens to have, it would be Flek 35 f2/4

Arkku · Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 1416 Location: Helsinki, Finland

Best value that can frequently be found cheaply even today:

� Vivitar/Komine 28mm f/2.8
� Helios-44-2 (or other, but this is often cheapest)
� EBC Fujinon 55mm f/1.8

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

i've got a pentacon 58/1.8, but aperture mechanism has given up the ghost. it was a good lens, but no better than my super tak 55/2.
i'll look up some of these others. many thanks to all ...

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

Since you said m42 mount, and not native m42 mount. I will add 3.
They have mount replacements for these lenses.
Minolta Rokkor 58mm f1.2
Minolta Rokkor 85mm f1.7
Minolta 50mm f1.4 (money savings versions that tests really well)

fish4570 · Expire: 2012-03-21

no adapters. gotta be plain old pentax m42 ...

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

Not an adapter. They now offer relacement mounts for certain Minolta lenses that converts it to a true M42 mount. They are starting to get pretty popular to.