What slr should I get to go with my M42 lenses?

ianmarsh

ianmarsh

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I've a bunch of m42 lenses that I use on my fuji digital bodies with an adapter but I'd like to give film another try. What decent body should I be looking out for? Not the big clunky Zenits though, I am looking for something smaller and lighter like my old OM1.
 
Oh, I've had a Spotmatic a Fujica and a Ricoh m42 mount, the Spotmatic "felt" a cut above average, but not the smallest if millimeters matter.
 
I too have a few nice M42 lenses and wanted a decent camera body, I used a Fujica ST705 for a while, it is a sort of poor mans OM-1, more recently I have been using an early Pentax Spotmatic F, it is a joy to use!
 
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H'mm as small as an OM1 :eek: well I had a Petri MF-1 that was about the same size and liked it, but couldn't cure a light leak so broke it up for spare screws (got robbed by two old ladies at a bootie, selling the camera for £2 with extension tubes :( ;) )....Also on the mechanical side I don't think it was made for hard use. Anyway I only have a Pentax S3 and a couple of Prakticas but liked a Chinon CE3 I had briefly (couldn't get it working properly)...but for me, I prefer to put my M42 lenses (that can be stopped down) on say a Canon T90 and have advance metering, can use an advanced flashgun to 1/250 sec etc etc (y)

 
Look for Cosina CSM,CSR,CSM, Well made bullet proof and good in the hand. I have the full range and they are a very good camera's. These should cost about £10.00 to £15.00 on e-bay and wait for a good one. Should you be lucky enough to get the Cosinon f1.8

on the camera then good luck to you.(y)
 
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I have a couple of Fujica ST-801 bodies, bought for the same reason as the OP and because of the various reviews I read, it has the brightest viewfinder and a well-regarded meter. The metering only works wide-open with Fujica EBC lenses, though, other lenses have to be metered stopped down which makes them more difficult to focus. I believe that's the same with other M42 cameras, something to be aware of as it's an annoyance when you're using the camera.

No doubt I could get used to it if I put my heart into it but my desire for M42 has abated since discovering that. My view now is that if I'm going to lug an SLR around with me, I might as well take one that can meter wide open and has good support and a wide range of lenses, which my FE2 does.
 
I have a spotmatic and it is lovely and feels right
later pentax k mount can be adapted to m42 in a clunky way, and my dads ones have a m42 mixed with modern feel to them
 
I love my Praktica Super TL. Very well built, still going strong after around 50 years of use by a few owners. Still regularly shoot with it, it's my only film camera.

It does have the noisiest shutter in the world though. :D
 
Whilst the Spotmatic was an excellent SLR, the M42 mount had so many inconsistent variations by different manufacturers that depending on your lenses, you might have trouble with the SLR you pick.

Additionally, I don't think there's an SLR in M42 which matches the OM-1 for size and weight.
 
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