Looking For a SLR For My M42 Helios Lens

[Steve M.]

I have this Helios lens that came off a Zenit 11 SLR. Really, really like it, but no love for the Zenit. I tried to go w/ a Pentax adapter on a Sears K mount camera, but the cheap M42 to K adapters proved problematic, and the cheap photographer is too cheap to spring for a Pentax adapter. I put the lens on my Canon T90 and it works perfectly (w/ an adapter) in stop down AE mode, but I don't like carrying such a small 50mm lens on a huge camera. Are there any options for me that would give me an electronic shutter in a somewhat new camera? At a reasonable price, of course. I am open to any make as long as it is smallish and does not require a glass element in the adapter.

Here's some shots from it. One of the better 50's I've used, and like my Nikkor H 50, quite economical. It isn't super sharp like the Nikkor, doesn't have the contrast or 3-D thing of a Summicron, but it has something I can't describe (along w/ sometimes odd bokeh). It's soft at f2, so good for portraits.

http://s1241.photobucket.com/user/stevemareno/slideshow/Helios?sort=3

 

[Peter_wrote:]

the fujica az-1 is quite modern and not expensive.

 

[tunalegs]

Is there a problem with using a real camera with gears and stuff in it? Because there are a variety of solid, reliable, well made M42 cameras out there - in fact even most of the junk from the M42 era is better made than most of the later electronics laden cameras.

 

[f16sunshine]

I like a Contax Aria or RTSii when adapting M42 lenses.
Having AE is very useful for lenses that lack auto aperture function.
The ability to focus and set an exsposure value wide open and then, Quickly stop down for capture is ideal.
A Yashica FR1 would also do for a more budget model.
Cheers!

 

[zuiko85]

I had the same problem. Had picked up a couple of nice Super Takumars cheap but had no body to use them on. Finally found a Fujica ST 605n at a photo show, real clean and working for $20. It has a good bright focusing screen, uses modern silver oxide button cells for the meter, and seems sturdy enough. I don't care for the shutter sound, too loud, but you can't have everything.

 

[Steve M.]

Oh, I have no problem w/ fully mechanical cameras. Right now the Helios is mounted on a Canon FT QL w/ an adapter, and other than having to work in stop down mode it looks and works as if it were made for it. However, my now departed Canon T-90 (just too blamed big) taught me that an electronic shutter gives you correct exposures every time w/ none of that nasty shutter capping business (which invariably happens on the best shot on the roll), quite a good thing on old cameras.

I'm leaning toward a Yashica TL Electro X at this point, but Andy's recommendations sound good, as does the Fujica AZ-1. I use a Leica R lens on my Nikons and very much agree, AE and stop down metering are perfect together. Nice to hear that there are some options out there on such a long gone lens mount.

 

[Ranchu]

I have a contax 137 MA I tried to sell in the classifieds a while back. It worked well for M42 because the register is the same, so the lenses seat on the same surface as the contax lenses. There are smaller electronic yashicas too with the same mount. Eventually I decided to use the 50's on on a spotmatic 1000, the stopping down was bothering me.

 

[johannielscom]

My M42 body of choice is a Chinon Memotron CE-II.

Electronic shutter, fully manual and metered too, it's accurate enough to shoot slide film with in Auto mode. Top speed 1/2000th. Also, it can stop down all M42 lenses that aren't pre-set, even the EBC Fujinon 1.8/55mm that I also own for it.

Plus, it's the only SLR that has a brass body and black lacquer paint which really look like black paint on a Leica M camera, if you're into such a thing...😎😀

The Chinon CM-3 (iirc) is still an M42 camera and it has no manual settings, aperture priority is standard though. And, it takes a power winder and is a great photojournalist rig.

 

[Scrambler]

Nice to hear that there are some options out there on such a long gone lens mount.

Not that long "dead" - the last camera manufactured in that mount (as opposed to a compatible mount) - was the Cosina Voigtlaender Bessaflex TM in 2007.

http://petapixel.com/2013/04/03/review-the-bessaflex-tm-is-a-beautiful-and-refined-m42-camera/

 

[Fixcinater]

Spotmatics seem to be the cockroaches of photo gear in my house...I sell them, I give them away to friends to get them started, and I always have more Spotmatics in the gear bins than what I think I do and they nearly never die. I've not had any trouble with shutter capping or other oddities. Just more film and time shooting.

I'd say I'm just lucky but I've seriously had 25+ and only one came to me locked up...the rest worked perfectly, and the one that came locked up was fixed by taking off the base plate and fooling around a bit.

 

[MrFujicaman]

My M42 body of choice is a Chinon Memotron CE-II.

Electronic shutter, fully manual and metered too, it's accurate enough to shoot slide film with in Auto mode. Top speed 1/2000th. Also, it can stop down all M42 lenses that aren't pre-set, even the EBC Fujinon 1.8/55mm that I also own for it.

Plus, it's the only SLR that has a brass body and black lacquer paint which really look like black paint on a Leica M camera, if you're into such a thing...😎😀

The Chinon CM-3 (iirc) is still an M42 camera and it has no manual settings, aperture priority is standard though. And, it takes a power winder and is a great photojournalist rig.

I have both a Chinon CM-3 and a CE-3..the CM-3 is a manual exposure camera with a rather nice winder (they both use the PW-510 winder)....the CE-3 is the compact version of the Memotron CE & CE-II (AKA GAF L-ES & L-ES II) The CE & CE-II have a top shutter speed of 1/2000th, which the CE-3 doesn't. The problem is that the metering system is generally out of whack on most of them and I have no idea where you'd get one fixed with Essex Camera Repair out of business.

 

[Swift1]

It's kinda Hard to beat a Spotmatic (SP, SPII, SP-F etc) for M42 IMHO, if you need a meter.
The older Pentax SV is a superb camera and would be my first choice for an M42 camera.
If you don't want a cloth shutter, a good and cheap alternative is the Vivitar 220/250/400 cameras. They have the Copal metal bladed shutter.

 

[Ranchu]

I would vote against the vivitars, the shutter button release is pretty rough, imo.

 

[nikon_sam]

The Bessaflex is a beautiful M42 body but it's limited run makes it pretty pricey...
The Vivitar 400SL was my first real camera (still have it) and it too was made by Cosina...
The viewfinder is much brighter than the Spotmatic, uses a more readily available battery and the price is right...I bought another one recently to use with my slower Takumar lenses...and I like the feel of it's shutter button...

 

[Sid836]

The nice thing with the M42s is that they can fit almost on any SLR with an adapter. Sometimes I use my M42 lenses on my Canon F-1 with an FD to M42 adapter. I wish I could do that with my Nikons too. Actually you can do this with them, but the adapter needs a correction glass to have focus at infinity.

 

[Ranchu]

I had 2 220s, 400's must be different.

 

[nikon_sam]

The 220 and 400 look almost identical...the difference between them is the switch for their meters...on the 220 you have a switch like the Spotmatic but on the 400 the meter gets turned on by the shutter button...press it down half way and the aperture closes down, keep it pressed down for the meter to stay on...push it down the rest of the way to fire...there is a little button below the lens to reset this...
The shutter button might require a little more pressure than other bodies but I wouldn't call it rough...
I have an Auto Rikenon 50mm 1.7 lens mounted on my 400SL...I found the lens at a thrift store for about $5...

 

[_lou_]

For me the spotmatic is de rigueur unless you really insist on the electronic shutter, in which case a Pentax ME would fit the bill, IIRC. I prefer the MX and use original adapter with good success. But like others said, m42 fits pretty much any system, that's the beauty of it.

 

[in2focus]

At the price of M42 bodies these days, who says you need just one? 🙂 The Fujica ST701 is probably my favorite, followed by the ever present Spotmatic and H3a. A Yashica TL Super isn't as refined as their later C/Y SLRs but a nice camera as well. The Chinon CEII is also pretty nice but probably not as heavily built as some of the others listed above, but all of these are so inexpensive if something happens down the road you can always find another.

 

[Jani_from_Finland]

Spotmatic F !!