M42 to Nikon F adaptor

[MartinCrabtree]

I've searched around a bit and could find nothing.

So the question is are there any restrictions on what M42 lenses will work on my F mount Nikons? Other than full manual and no metering which I'm prepared to deal with. I want to try some Ziess glass and the budget won't allow new stuff.

[kuuan]

most decisive restriction is that on M42 lenses, if used adapted to a Nikon camera with a non-optical adapter, won't focus to infinity / only can be used at close focusing, resp. one needs to use an optical adapter if infinity focus is wanted.

[luisalegria]

No infinity focus on glass-less adapter.
The Nikon back focus is 1mm longer than M42.
This makes most shorter focal length lenses useless or very limited.
A 50mm would have "infinity" at @10 feet or so (guesstimate).
Wide angles would be much worse off.
Adapters with compensating lens permit infinity focus but tend to degrade quality, especially at corners.
They also increase effective focal length by @1.2x, so wide angles are less wide, etc.

If you are looking for cheaper lenses there are plenty of old lenses in Nikon mount.
Old Nikkors aren't very expensive either.

[MartinCrabtree]

I just wanted to try some Ziess glass w/o the price of newer stuff. Oh well guess we'll start saving. Thanks for the help.

[Basilisk]

You are stuck with the irony that Nikon lenses are the most adaptable out there, but Nikon bodies probably the least adaptable.
The sensors in Nikon bodies are fortunately available in much more useful bodies made by Sony. Get yourself an A6000 and LensTurbo II for the cheapest way to get the full frame experience with a good quality sensor and EVF.

[philslizzy]

[SkvLTD]

Can always cough up for a Voigtlander. Heck, there are plenty of older manual Zeiss primes $<500 and that's as much of a bargain as you can have with full functionality. New system and an enlarger gimmick pretty much cost almost as much as a modern Nikon Zeiss.

[DConvert]