Did I get a bad one? Pancolar f1.8

[Carter64]

Having finally got round to trying a couple of old M42's on my 550D body, I was very disappointed with the Pancolar. I'm pleased it came with a cheap body I wanted and I didn't pay the £40-£60 they go for on fleabay. (£20 on a Fujica ST605n)
OTOH, the Takumar is delightful. I bought this separately to go with an SPII.
Have I just got a bad Pancolar?
All the raves I've read and get this as a result

PancolarAt1.8 by Michael B O'Brien, on Flickr


TakumarAtf2 by Michael B O'Brien, on Flickr


PancolarAtf8 by Michael B O'Brien, on Flickr


TakumarAtf8 by Michael B O'Brien, on Flickr

Even the Helios 58mm was far better than the CZJ!

 

[RaglanSurf]

Doesn't look too good, maybe you need to hunt for another example. Does it look ok cosmetically? i.e. fungus free etc.

 

[freecom2]

Shoot it in the real world and have a look? That slightly hazy look might lend itself to a very nice type of photo.

 

[Carter64]

It looks really good on visual inspection. Very little dust (none unless you try really hard to find it), no fungus, no dings. A little cleaning mark on the front element. No more than 1 or 2 mm's across and off to one side. Focussing is a teeny bit rough, seems to catch slightly, but glass is clear and blades snappy and clean.
Might be worth stripping and giving it a good seeing to? I have a total of 3 standard 50-58mm primes in M42 (the aforementioned Tak and Helios) and this is by far the biggest let-down.
I think if I can't sort it myself, I'll just stick with the remaining two as I'm very impressed with the Tak and even surprisingly pleased with the Helios.
And how many can I use at once anyway lol.
As I said, it effectively cost me a few quid so no great financial loss. I was just feeling a bit let down after all the great brouhaha about this lens. Some of our more teenage members may say that when I saw what was on the front of the £20 Fujica, I was so excited, a little bit wee came out haha.
Anyone want a desk-top paper-weight

 

[Carter64]

Shoot it in the real world and have a look? That slightly hazy look might lend itself to a very nice type of photo.

I was thinking that as well and when I get up this afternoon (nights last night) I'll give it a go.
The soft glow could be attractive but limited?

*edit: Off to bed, I'll catch up pm.