M42 lenses - what to keep?

[carpman]

Hi, the misses brought me a Fuji XE-1 as a wedding gift, i have been meaning to get one for a while and have hung onto two M42 lenses i have for when i did.

These are:

Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 made in japan
Super Takumar 135mm 3.5 made in japan

nether have SMC coating, and i do get lot of flare with 50mm.

Arriving saturday is a:

CARL ZEISS JENA 35mm f/2.4 FLEKTOGON DDR AUTO MC

This gets good reviews and on the XE-1 will be about 53mm so much more usable then 50mm.


Now i managed to pick up a case of lenses and bits as job lot, was not really sure what was in it, but knew is was screw fit and had at least 3 lenses, these turned out to be M42 fit:


Auto Reflecta 55mm f1.7 made in japan
Auto Chinon 135mm 2.8 made in japan
Miranda 70-210mm 4.5-5.6 MC Macro made in japan

also got 2x converter
extension tubes
2 x flashes

and few other bits.


So now i have:

Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 made in japan
Super Takumar 135mm 3.5 made in japan
CARL ZEISS JENA 35mm f/2.4 FLEKTOGON DDR AUTO MC
Auto Reflecta 55mm f1.7 made in japan
Auto Chinon 135mm 2.8 made in japan
Miranda 70-210mm 4.5-5.6 MC Macro made in japan


Will be keeping the 35mm f/2.4 FLEKTOGON, and would like to keep one of the 135mm though not sure which one?

On the pentaxforums they both close in user reviews, and even though the Auto Chinon has less reviews and slight lower mark the 2.8 and suitability for portraits looks good.

Will test both.

The 50mm on XE-1 not wide enough, and not quite long enough, though have been getting some nice images from it, though with lot of CA and flair in sunny conditions. It gets good reviews, but the SMC version seems to be better.

55mm is getting better at long end, though have not tried it and have not been able to find out much info?

This leaves the Miranda 70-210mm 4.5-5.6 MC Macro, not sure a zoom is going be of much use unless it is very good, the macro is appealing and it does have MC coating.

Any thoughts or experience with these lenses?

thanks

[eddieitman]

The autoreflecta 1.7 should be the same as my chinon 1.7 an excellent lens with lots of character

[Aanything]

The non SMC taks are lovely lenses, almost all of them, you just need to take a little care in avoiding direct sunlight, maybe using a hood, so I'd keep them.
The 3.5/135 though has a peculiar bokeh, that can be quite distracting, so it's not the best for portraits, but very good nonetheless for general purpose.
The flektogon 35 is an amazing lens, IMHO.

I don't know the others, so can't say.

[skida]

Why not try them all out and dispose of what you don't like. From what I have read here, people have had mixed experiences with those branded lenses, some good and some bad.

[TrueLoveOne]

I used to have a Chinon 2.8/135. Don't underestimate them, they are pretty good imho! Who the actual manufacturer was, i don't know, here's a pic of it, and an example shot at f/2.8.




Bubbles by TrueLoveOne, on Flickr

[carpman]

Thanks for replies, have the 35mm f/2.4 FLEKTOGON now so will give a try over weekend.

Will test them all when have time, off to ice Iceland on thursday for honeymoon so will take some lenses for that trip plus d700.

Not sure if i will keep any of the 50's now have 35mm, would prefer a wider lens and something in 75mm - 90mm range to go with 135mm.

May keep both 135mm as think that will suit different uses.



thanks

[cooltouch]

Purely as a practical matter, if your X-E1 came with the 18-55 kit lens, I'd plan on using it a lot. Fuji makes some outstanding optics and, while I don't have any experience with that lens, I'll bet its resolution and contrast are excellent. So don't feel like you shouldn't use it for some reason. Consider your mf lenses to be fast supplements to it, or additional focal lengths when they fall outside its range.

Whenever I get a "new" lens to use on my DSLR, I put it through a series of tests, and I try to test it against another lens I own of known quality. That gives me a benchmark to compare it to. In the case of your 50ish lenses, I'd do a comparison between the Tak 50/1.4, that 1.7, and the kit zoom at 55mm. Of course the kit zoom can't be evaluated at the wide open speeds of the primes, but it can be at 5.6, 8, and 11, the three most used apertures during daylight shooting. I would take a look at center and corner sharpness and overall CA with each lens.

Because your Fuji is a MILC, you are lucky -- you can shoot Canon FD lenses with your Fuji. High on my list of 50s to get would be a Canon 50/1.4 SSC. I have a couple of these 50s which I've used on my EOS with an adapter but without the glass element -- so macro only photos -- and the FD 50/1.4 SSC is a fantastic lens. Absolutely NO CA with my DSLR and excellent shaprness, clarity, and contrast.

So what I'm saying is, don't needlessly limit yourself to M42 glass. You can mount just about anything to that Fuji, even M39, so take advantage of this.

[carpman]

Due to wedding and honeymoon finances only allowed the XE-1 body, as you say having the 18-55mm and some fast primes is good solution and what i will be aiming for.

Not sure 50mm on the crops sensor is a length i like, on my d700 i like my sigma 35mm 1.4 best.

Will look at other lenses, though some of them can be not far off native fuji lens.

thanks

[Lloydy]

The Miranda macro zoom might surprise you. I've got a 75-200 / 4.5 - 3.5 in Pentax PK fit, and while it is probably an average to poor lens for general photography I do use it for quick and easy macro work. The macro is 1:12 to 1:4, not great, but enough for some jobs. And it is very sharp at close focus.

[asterinex]

The flek is my workhorse on my X-E1. Colors are amazing !
I think all m42 Zeiss Jena's are worth to keep or to gather

the Flek wide open...

lazy afternoon... by G.Don, on Flickr


the fountain run by G.Don, on Flickr