M39 lenses -> M42 and Canon EOS bodies?

[Shion]

Hi all,

I know this isn't rangefinder-specific, but this place seems to be a wealth of knowledge on Voigtlander lenses (and photography in general), so hopefully you won't mind these questions being asked here.

Firstly, is it possible (via adapters) to use M39 lenses on M42 bodies (e.g, Pentax SLR), as well as Canon EOS bodies?

If so, are all M39 lenses equally suitable for this? Or are there differences (e.g. lens-film distance variations) that make certain lenses unsuitable? I am primarily interested in the Voigtlander wide-angle lenses.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

-Bon

P.S. I assume that M39 and "Leica Thread/Screw Mount" are the same thing... please let me know if I'm wrong about that!

 

[Roman]

Nope, does not work - the lens-mount-to-film distance on all SLRs is much larger (because of the mirror-box) than on rangefinders, there is no way you could reach infinity with an M39 lens; they are only useable for macro applications (esp. with a bellows).
Also, many wideangle RF lenses have lens elemnts that protrude into the camera, and would block the mirror of an SLR from going up.

Roman

 

[Shion]

Thanks for the info!

That's unfortunate, but it makes sense. I was interested in the Voigtlander lenses for my Krasnogorsk-3 16mm movie camera, which has an M42 mount... and good M42 lenses, particularly in the short focal lengths required for 16mm film, seem hard to come by.

What other kinds of lenses, if any, can be mounted to M42 via adapters? (It seems you can get adapters for putting M42 lenses into just about any type of body, but not much choice for the reverse scenario!)

-Bon

 

[jamiewakeham]

M42 - EOS works wonderfully. I now have more M42 lenses than EF for my Canon!

How short a focal length do you need? The Zeiss 35/2.4 is a quite wonderful piece of glass.

Jamie

 

[Roman]

Also, there is the 20mm CZJ Flektogon, which is said to be quite good (though it tends to go for higher prices on Ebay); then there are a few Russian 20mm M42 lenses, as well as the 16mm Zenitar fisheye; there are also a few Japanese M42 wide-angles, in 19mm (Vivitar, Mamiya, IIRC), though they are not that common to find. And you should have no problems at all to find 24 or 28mm lenses in M42, if that is wide enough for you.

Roman

 

[Shion]

Thanks for the suggestions! I won't give up on M42 lenses just yet. In fairness, I've only been looking seriously for a couple of days, so plenty more will probably pop up if I give it some more time.

The frame size of the 16mm movie format is about 10x7.5mm... so lenses that are "wide" in 35mm stills photography become "normal" or even a bit telephoto in this format. (Making the M42 a pretty silly choice of lens mount for this camera, in my opinion...)

To start with, I'm mainly looking for a couple of lenses in the 15mm-25mm range, but longer ones could also be quite useful. A 24 or 28 would be very close to the 25mm length commonly used by pros. A 35mm would probably make a nice telephoto. I almost bought a mint 35mm/3.5 SMC Takumar, but procrastinated and missed out... I'll keep an eye out for the Zeiss suggested by Jamie.

How is the optical quality of the Zenitar 16mm fisheye? It seems quite easy to obtain, but I'm not too familiar with fisheyes... is there much distortion in the centre of the frame?

Thanks,

Bon

 

[bmattock]

P.S. I assume that M39 and "Leica Thread/Screw Mount" are the same thing... please let me know if I'm wrong about that!

Actually, they are not the same, but it won't make any difference in your case (seeking wide-angle lenses).

http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mounts.htm

M42 screw M42x1 thread 45.46
Zenith 3M M39x1 thread 45.46
Leica screw M39x26tpi 28.80

The Leica lenses are commonly referred to as 'LTM' and the Zenith lenses are commonly referred to as 'M39'. As you can see, the distance from the back of the lens flange to the film plane is VERY different. With an M39 to M42 adapter, you can mount any M39 lens on an M42 body and expect to get infinity focus. As others here have said - that won't work for a Leica lens.

The reason this is probably not helpful to you is that there were precious few Zenit (M39) lenses made - most likely none were extreme wide angle that you require for your application. But to be complete - yes, there is a difference between M39 and LTM lenses - and you CAN physically use M39 lenses on an M42 camera with an adapter and still get infinity focus.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Shion]

Bill,

Thanks for the clarification, and for the handy link... the number of lens mounts out there is really quite incredible!

Roman's mention of Russian M42 lenses has opened my eyes to many more options... anyone here familiar with them? Quite a few available here:
http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/lenses.htm

-Bon

 

[ray_g]

Bon,

As has been mentioned, the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses are great, as are most Japanese m42 lenses, especially the pentaxes and EBC-Fujinons.

Tamron SP lenses can be used with an M42 adaptall mount. The most notable of these, IMHO, are: 17/3.5, 90/2.5 Macro, 80-200/2.8. Haven't had need for the 300/2.8, but it is good (as well as heavy and expensive).

I have the 16/2.8 you mentioned, and have been pleased with it. I have only had the occasion to try it a few times, though. Among those in your link, the J8 is very nice, as it is in the LTM and Contax mounts, but without the focusing problems of the LTM versions. The faster 85/1.5 is heavy (thankfully it has a tripod mount), but gives you a different effect with shallow depth of field.

There used to be a great website on third party lenses by Robert Monaghan, but it no longer seems to be active.

 

[bmattock]

Bon,

As has been mentioned, the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses are great, as are most Japanese m42 lenses, especially the pentaxes and EBC-Fujinons.

Tamron SP lenses can be used with an M42 adaptall mount. The most notable of these, IMHO, are: 17/3.5, 90/2.5 Macro, 80-200/2.8. Haven't had need for the 300/2.8, but it is good (as well as heavy and expensive).

I have the 16/2.8 you mentioned, and have been pleased with it. I have only had the occasion to try it a few times, though. Among those in your link, the J8 is very nice, as it is in the LTM and Contax mounts, but without the focusing problems of the LTM versions. The faster 85/1.5 is heavy (thankfully it has a tripod mount), but gives you a different effect with shallow depth of field.

There used to be a great website on third party lenses by Robert Monaghan, but it no longer seems to be active.

It is still there:

http://medfmt.8k.com

http://medfmt.8k.com/third/index.html

It is just not on SMU's website anymore. Robert moved it years ago.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Roman]

Bill,

commonly, the 'M39' designation is not used for the Zenit-M39-lenses, but interchangeably with LTM (though it may not be 100% correct, since DIN-M39 has a different thread pitch than LTM, IIRC), sometimes there is the differentiation between M39 for enlarger lenses and LTM for RF lenses. The Zenit-SLR-mount is simply to rare to have its own designation, in Russian camera user circles it is commonly referred to as ZM39 (Zenit M39); you are right, though, that the flange-to-to-film distance is the same as with M42. OTOH, this won't help Bon - the selection of lenses in ZM39 is very limited, especially in the wide-range - I don't think there is anything wider than 35mm (would have to look that up).

Roman