Do you use an M42 lens on your DSLR

didgit

didgit

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andrew
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I am toying with the idea of trying some M42 lenses on my Canon 350D , i have some still life ideas i want to do and the older glass can be really good , i just dont know if the adaptors give the full infinity focus or not so if anyone has experience of these would you advise and maybe post some shots using them please .
 
Yes they do work ok with adapter, manual only.
I used them on my 350d for a while, then I got my 70-200L and the images looked terrible against that, so I sold them all! (lenses, not images!:D)
 
you can get some pretty decent M42 lenses but sadly they are getting to such a high price these days its not actually worth while buying them when compared to a fully automatic lens
 
POAH said:
you can get some pretty decent M42 lenses but sadly they are getting to such a high price these days its not actually worth while buying them when compared to a fully automatic lens
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Very true, If I remember right, the best results came from a Helios 44mm f2.
Tried several 200mm primes but not really happy with them.
 
I got an M42 Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 lens for 8 quid from West Yorkshire Cameras recently - I already have a 50mm 1.8 AF lens but just got it for a bit of cheap fun trying to create the Helios 'swirly bokeh'. Am contemplating getting a 135mm too if I can find something decent but cheap - have been recommended the Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm f3.5 but even those have gone up in price a bit recently. The M42 Pentax Takumar 55mm f1.8 is nice too - but the novelty of always manually focusing can wear off after a while. :)
 
Thanks for the responses , got me quite looking forward to getting going now , i dont mind the manual focus as it takes me back to the old days with my AE1 and to be honest i quite prefer it i seem to be able to get better results .
 
Thats a superb shot , it is a 44-M that i have my eye on .
 
Although a nikon user, I still dabble in m42 - my 300mm tair lens.

Well worth an investment. Some glass is very sharp.

Adapter with plastic/glass will give you inifinity (or pretty close) but may soften the picture slightly. Much better than the ring adapters that area pain to get off the lens/camera.

Also you can usually get a prime lens to try out at a much cheaper price than the af counterparts. If you get on with it, then you know what to look for in af/newer lens range... or lower f# :)


Links in sig if you want to look :)

Good hunting!
 
didgit said:
Thats a superb shot , it is a 44-M that i have my eye on .
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Thanks. When shopping for any manual lens, ensure the aperture blades move freely without sticking and the focus ring moves smoothly. I bought a Zeiss 50mm f2.8 off eBay a few years ago, which was advertised as excellent condition, but sadly when it arrived the aperture blades were sticking and didn't move freely. The vendor did eventually refund the cash, but it was aggro I could have done without. Also, look out for fungus on the inside of the glass, which can be a problem to remove. A small amount of dust on the inside wont be an issue, but best avoided if possible.

I've bought a few decent lenses from charity shops for very little money, you can give them a good inspection before purchase. I usually take my camera with me and check the infinity focus, which can also be a problem if the lens has been dismantled for cleaning and not put back together properly.

I also bought a very nice Japanese made Helios 135mm lens off this forum and it's now one of my favorite lenses.

Good luck with you search.
 
I have three Helios 44 lenses. I think I might try to put a Nikon mount on the manual stop down one.


Steve.
 
I found a 28mm in LCE last year for a tenner, cracking lens but I could do with using it a but more.
BB
 
my new (old) lens arrived yesterday and wow am i impressed it is the Helios 44 M , the apature blades are gorgeous so smooth but i had to work so some sample shots to follow after a day off work tommorrow
 
So far..... err.... two.
I have just got an M42 'infinity' adaptor for the Nikon.
Trouble with the D3200 with manual lenses, is that apart from only mode you can use is fully manual, it gives absolutley no metering.
So its a question of using the kit lens to get a ball-park EV, then fitting the manual, and bracketing around it!
830331_563795433645378_972683326_o.jpg

Sunday night, went to drop my kids back; daughter saw the sky and asked for (as hot of!) the moon.... and I delivered! (A picture!)
857737_563795450312043_1664542171_o.jpg

Top: Kit 18-55, ISO320; f5.6 @ 1/30th on 'Auto'
Bottom: Prinzgalax 300mm, ISO 6400; f5.6 @ 1/200th.
First metering shot, burned out the detail in the moon, and lack of sharpness I suspect the lower Auto-Selected shutter speed and fairly fast moving clouds & hand-holding, where second shot I used the tripod; so hard to tell how much difference the glass makes.
But what the heck? I already have the M42 lenses, from my Halide Days; a 29mm Pentacon, 44mm Helios, 50mm Zies, 135mm Hanimex, 135mm Hanimar,the 300mm Prinzgalaxy, a couple of converters and a re-mounted Panomar 12mm-fish-eye, that was on an OM mount until last week!
Usung the 300 & the 50 on the adaptor, I am wondering if its 'over' compensating on the infinity adjustment... only thing I've pointed the camera at that far away though yet has been that moon shot, & had to back off a tad from infinity..... which is making me wonder about the fish-re-mount, because there's no focus adjustment on that, its infinity focus from about 6"! so I don't know if I need to tweek the mount, or the adaptors a bit 'out'!
All good fun, though!
Gives a new lease of life to this old kit, which I picked up 15-20 years ago for pocket money, or nix! (I actually paid a tenner for the 300mm... which came with a Zenith SLR and a Helios 44!)
And I have yet to start building up a kit around the Nikon, so gives me a bit of extra 'reach' until I can save pennies for another AF Lens.
And I dont have to buy 'film'!
 
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