43mm f/1.9 thread-mount missed

[Doug]

I was shocked to see on eBay yesterday a Pentax 43mm f/1.9 lens in Leica 39mm thread mount with about 3 minutes remaining on the auction, and with O bids.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2960364946&category=30063

I dithered around wondering whether I should bid on this rare gem. My Leica M2 doesn't have 43mm framelines.... use the included separate finder I guess. My Minolta CLE's 40mm framelines would be fine, but I've got a nice 40mm Rokkor. Gee... Use it on the Bessa-T?

Beginning bid price was $550 with a Buy-It-Now of $650. Lotta money, but worth it? Dither dither, while the clock counted down. Regretfully I let it go, and a "sniper" slid in with seconds to spare and snapped it up for the $550.

Given more time to ponder the idea I think I might have bid on it. What would you have done?

 

[taffer]

Doug,

as you said, $550 is a lot of money. I don't know, but almost each time I've taken an impulsive decision about buying something I've done wrong.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, don't blame yourself for not bidding. Think instead about the gear you already have and how much you enjoy using it 🙂

And finally, eBay always offer something interesting, so maybe in a near future, you'll find a better target for this $550 you've saved today 😉

Cheers!

 

[oftheherd]

I think if I have learned one thing from ebay, it is that as much as I may wish I had bid on something, and didn't, I shouldn't kick myself. Either I really didn't need it and that was the reason I was hesitant, or if I just wait long enough, a like item will show up, often at a better price.

Sometimes you don't even have to wait that long. I am convinced that people often have items they really don't want, but don't think they will sell on ebay. Suddenly they see one sell, and put theirs up also.

Patience, Grasshopper.😀

 

[rover]

Isn't that a current production lens available only in Japan? I know that it was a special offering, but I think I have seen these Pentax lenses available on Ebay before.

 

[Doug]

I think you're right, rover, that it's not widely available, and only 2000 were made according to the eBay seller. I assume it's the same optics as in the 43 f/1.9 Pentax KA-mount lens. One of those was withdrawn from auction just a couple weeks ago... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2956333084&category=48558&rd=1

 

[Ross Macdonald]

I have that lens, in black, that I bought off eBay a while ago, after reading about it on Stephen Gandy's site, and looking at them in Japan (the 'list' prices were very high there). Aside from a couple of test shots, comparing it to my summicron in particular, I have never used it, so I would like to sell it. It is in LNIB condition, and includes the matching viewfinder which has 43mm and 50mm lines. I would be happy to get US$500 for it, and would include shipping up to about $25. Cheers.

 

[back alley]

ross,

welcome to the forum. nice to see another canadian here.

you might want to put your add in the classified (35mm) section so more people might notice it.

joe

 

[Doug]

Hi, Ross; welcome! And putting me to the test, eh? 🙂 Attractive idea. While I rethink the notion, please share your impressions of this lens, in comparison to your Summicron (which one?). I gather you prefer the 'cron?

 

[Ross Macdonald]

I only did a very few comparison shots, and fairly casual, hand-held shots, although I did try to match the image, using the viewfinder and moving forward or backwards, when possible. Aside from the obvious difference in angle-of-view, I couldn't see any significant difference between it and my current version 50mm Summicron. I had heard that the Pentax was particularly flare-resistant, so I tried some shots with bright reflections of the sun on water, and the Pentax did seem to manage them a bit better than the Summicron, but given the difficulty of matching the shots exactly, the hot spots were in different areas of the image, and probably at slightly different angles, so I couldn't say that it was really conclusive. The 'idea' of the lens appealed, but in reality I haven't used it. But then I don't use the 50mm Summicron much either - it is also for sale. I just have some equipment that I rarely use, and I am tempted to try medium format, so I am trying to lighten my bag, and raise some cash. By the way, the lens would come with an LTM-to-M adaptor (50mm).

 

[Doug]

Thanks for the info, Ross. Did you get any sense of how the two lenses handled out of focus areas, particularly with bright specular highlights in the background?

Out of curiosity, since you don't use the 43 & 50mm much, what 35-format lenses do you find most useful?

And will you favor a medium format RF?

 

[Ross Macdonald]

Sorry, not much out-of-focus in my test shots - the reflections on water were very close to the camera. I looked at all the test slides that I could find this afternoon, but they were mostly taken in bright sun, so almost everything is in focus. The one test were I shot the lenses wide open was of a brick wall, so again, no bokeh.

I shoot the vast majority of my pictures with a 35mm lens - this predates my Leica years (8 or 9 now) - with my previous (35mm) SLR systems, Contax RTS II, and before that Nikon, I used 35mm PC lenses for most of my shots, so I think that it has become 'normal' for me, when I am visualizing a picture.

Probably - the quietness and smoothness of a rangefinder shutter really appeals to me, and I think that being able to see outside the framelines helps with composition. At the moment I have a Fuji GA645, and it seems to be capable of wonderful images, but the autofocus, and general control interface, are a bit of a challenge for me (I think it was Dante Stella who referred to it as the Texas Hexar (AF), which is probably quite appropriate). I am thinking of a Mamiya 6, for travelling compactness, manual focus, and the square format intrigues me a bit, although I suspect there may be a bit of a learning curve to 'see' square images. I like projecting slides, so I don't see going to anything over 6x6.