M42 Adapter - which one

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Mozziephotography

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Just bought a Yashica Lens ML 50mm 1:1,7 for my Nikon D700. I know nothing about the M42? adapters and which one is the best one to buy. Any help for a non-tech OAP would really be appreciated.
 
Viltrox?
 
Honestly, any M42 adapter to suit your mount does the job, I've had a bunch of no-name M42 adapters for both Fuji and M43 mounts. They all work the same. The only suggestion I would make is to get one that's built in 2 parts, not just a solid block. Some of them have a screw you can open and turn the inner section - this can be useful if you find a lens won't focus to infinity precisely, a slight tun can make the difference. I had to do this once with a Takumar 200mm lens
 
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Cagey75 said:
Honestly, any M42 adapter to suit your mount does the job, I've had a bunch of no-name M42 adapters for both Fuji and M43 mounts. They all work the same. The only suggestion I would make is to get one that's built in 2 parts, not just a solid block. Some of them have a screw you can open and turn the inner section - this can be useful if you find a lens won't focus to infinity precisely, a slight tun can make the difference. I had to do this once with a Takumar 200mm lens
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Yup.

I have some Novoflex adapters that cost around £100 but the £10-15 ones bought off evil bay seem to do the job just as well.
 
The Nikon film to flange distance is 46.5mm and the Pentax/Yashica film to flange distance is 45.46mm so I would have thought the M42 lens would not focus to infinity on the Nikon without a correction lens in the adapter. To avoid using a correction lens the adapter would have to seat inside the Nikon's throat, which is very unlikely given that the Nikon's throat is 44mm.

What am I missing here?
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
The Nikon film to flange distance is 46.5mm and the Pentax/Yashica film to flange distance is 45.46mm so I would have thought the M42 lens would not focus to infinity on the Nikon without a correction lens in the adapter. To avoid using a correction lens the adapter would have to seat inside the Nikon's throat, which is very unlikely given that the Nikon's throat is 44mm.

What am I missing here?
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You could be right, as any of the M42 adapters I looked up for Nikon seem to have a glass element, there's a bunch of them on Amazon claiming infinity focus compatible.
 
A decent adaptor will have decent glass to adapt the different flange/film/sensor distance. If you're happy with the compromises involved in using old MF lenses on "modern" bodies, a good adaptor won't make much difference (but cheap'n'nasty ones might.) As Terry (Ninja) suggested, SRB are a good supplier; a bit more expensive than some but IIRC they check everything they sell to make sure it works well enough for them to be happy selling it (if that makes any sense!) and do a little fine tuning if necessary. They used to do some machining themselves too IIRC.
 
mossienet said:
Hmm, wonder if I've bought the correct lens for a Nikon. Bit out of my depth.
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The correct lens for a Nikon is a Nikon :)

But seriously, you can pick up a 50mm Nikon AF lens starting at £60 on ebay (make sure it's a Nikkor and not a Nikon-fit Yungnuo or something). As above, I think a Yashica ML lens will be the later Contax/Yashica bayonet rather than M42. And neither M42 nor C/Y lenses will focus to infinity with a simple adapter on a Nikon camera - you'll need one with a glass element. The only other method for (some) C/Y fit lenses is to replace the lens bayonet:

http://leitax.com/Zeiss-Contax-lens-for-Nikon-cameras.html

Neither method is worth it, IMHO, unless you have a very special lens to adapt. Canon SLR and mirrorless users have it much easier, as the flange distance will in most cases allow you to use a simple glassless adapter.
 
I have a nifty fifty D series - it does the job well. Thought I'd splash out big time, the "new" old lens cost me £19.99 Hopefully worth the big expense. Life's too short to be mean. Just liked the look of it. I'm old, it's old … made for each other.
 
mossienet said:
I have a nifty fifty D series - it does the job well. Thought I'd splash out big time, the "new" old lens cost me £19.99 Hopefully worth the big expense. Life's too short to be mean. Just liked the look of it. I'm old, it's old … made for each other.
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I would take it as an excellent excuse to buy a more compatible camera! If you have any interest in film, there are some very nice Contax and Yashica bodies. And most mirrorless bodies are good platforms for experimenting with vintage lenses...
 
mossienet said:
Hmm, wonder if I've bought the correct lens for a Nikon. Bit out of my depth.
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Just in case you're interested... I had a Nikon SLR for a looooong time and I got a bit nostalgic and bought some old Nippon Kogaku lenses, a 50mm f2, a 50mm f1.4 and a 35mm f2.8. These would look lovely on a Nikon camera :D

They're built like tanks and could be the last lenses you ever buy. Here's the 50mm f2 on my Sony via a cheap adapter I bought on evil bay.

Jnzf7HW.jpg
 
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