Suggest me a M42 SLR camera!

[Graham Line]

Pentax Spotmatic F, without a second thought, and you won't need to half the amount you quoted. Or an ESII if you find one that functions well.

Using the RF lenses I'm less sure about it; I'm not great on mixing lens families/body types. Bodies are too cheap now to bother.

Hello,

even though I am a RF guy, in some cases a SLR would come in handy, e.g. working with telephoto lenses or close distance.

It has to have:
- using 35 mm film
- lever wind
- M42 flange, focusing at open aperture
- pentaprism
- good build quality
- (obvious) focal plane shutter, 1 - 1/1000 s, min sync speed 1/50 s
- (working) TTL metering would be nice, but is optional
- I would like to pay up to 200 - 300 €


Best Regards,
Thomas

Am I right that I can get non retrofucus normal lenses with 58 mm (or even 55 mm) and that I can use M39 RF lenses with an adaptor

 

[Roger Hicks]

As the old ads said, "Just hold a Pentax". Ideally, an early SV: the last great pro-level SLR from the old factory, the nearest SLR I know to a screw-mount Leica in feel. And I've had several of both... Shutters get sluggish, but who cares? Or have the camera cleaned.

I have two. One cost me under $50. The other, I was given. That leaves plenty in your budget for a meter. Will you be at photokina? I may even have a spare lens or two lying around...

EDIT: In my experience, the 50/1.4 is a better lens than the 50/1.8. But that may just be sample variation. And as others have said, no infinity focus with Leica thread.

Cheers,

R.

 

[oftheherd]

Mr. Hicks is correct about the Pentax SV. I have one and have used it, but not for quite a while. I still have my first SLR, the Yashica TL Super. I would suspect most of them would need a CLA now, probably the Pentax SV as well.

I have more than a couple of Fujica cameras. I really like them. The ST 901 has a very good meter for automatic exposure, having a silicon blue cell. If you are stuck on no automation, then you would like the ST 801. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the lenses tend to be expensive, although excellent performers.

 

[tunalegs]

If you look you'll find a lot of tests and comparisons for lenses. Normal lenses are so cheap you can afford to buy several at a time and just keep whichever suits your fancy.

From what I've seen the 1.4 and 1.8 Takumars performance is near identical. There might be a bit of difference in the corners, but I doubt most people would notice.

The Meyer Oreston is another good one, one of my faves for slides because it imparts a warm color bias. It is soft in the corners wide open, but by f4 is basically on par with the Takumars.

The Yashinon 2/50 is pretty good, it is an ultron type lens and give a bit softer OOF effect than most of the double gauss types. The Mamiya 2/50 is one of the sharpest M42 50s out there, common and cheap. I guess since most people don't associate Mamiya with 35mm cameras their lenses slip under the radar for most people. The only thing about the Mamiya 2/50 that is potentially annoying is that it gives a distinct "swirly bokeh" wide open.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123187

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123187

The lens on the Fujica SLR "ST601" is extremely sharp and way more contrasty than a Takumar. The body I have is not fussy about voltage. It needs 2 batteries. Very inconvenient to meter..need extra hand!
Screen is nice! It was a gift..Takumars with Multi coating have almost no flare.🙂
The Chinons are great.I have a K-mount model. It is a joy to use.
The original Spotmatic is a superb machine! Stylish and very reliable..yet now at 50 yrs old, the meter might be an iffy.Again i differ from RH. The S1a and Sv(Hia and H3v North America) were very inferior to the Spotty. 🙁Continuous mirror lock up. One fault of Pentax is slow moving mirror in EXTREME cold. That is on and around zero. Had the problem in South Africa(Yes Charlie Brown, it can freeze there) and now in Canada. Adjusted shutter to stop that..:angel:

 

[Thomas78]

Thank you all for your support!


I bought a Spotmatic SP with its Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 and a Spotmatic F and a matching Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f/1.4.

I will post some pictures soon!

 

[kmallick]

congrats! those are fantastic choices. The SMC Tak 50 is a gem of a lens. Can't go wrong.

 

[Thomas78]

Here my two new SLRs:

Pentax Spotmatic F with Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50 mm f/1.4.
The lens is noticably yellowed and the TTL meter indicates about 1,5 spots to low - probably becaue of the yellowed lens.

(I already bought a IKEA LED light to cure it.)


DSCF0644 von thomas.78 auf Flickr


Pentax Spotmatic SP with Super Takumar 55 mm f/1.8.
The battery compartment is blocked by corrosion. - I will write in the DIY section about this.
(The body is otherwise nearly mint and cost me 16 € at the bay.)


DSCF0643 von thomas.78 auf Flickr

 

[Thomas78]

...

Pentax Spotmatic SP with Super Takumar 55 mm f/1.8.
The battery compartment is blocked by corrosion. - I will write in the DIY section about this.
...

This problem is (dis)solved now.

 

[Thomas78]

...

Will you be at photokina? I may even have a spare lens or two lying around...
...

Hello Roger,

I plan to be at the photokina on saturday.
Do you have a booth there?

A spare lens sound excellent for my new M42 lens collection!


Best Regards,
Thomas

 

[Roger Hicks]

Hello Roger,

I plan to be at the photokina on saturday.
Do you have a booth there?

A spare lens sound excellent for my new M42 lens collection!


Best Regards,
Thomas

Dear Thomas,

No, I'm covering it for Shutterbug. How about... 11.00 at the Leica stand, next to the press area entrance. To see what I look like, go to my site (see signature). Remember that NOBODY is EVER on time at photokina -- give up after 11:15.

Wat lenses have you already?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Thomas78]

Dear Roger,

11:00 at the Leica stand sounds good.

I already have a S-M-C Takumar 50 mm 1.4, a Super Takumar 55 mm 1.8, and a S-M-C Takumar 28 mm 3.5 which is on its way to me.


Regards,
Thomas

 

[Thomas78]

I run my first roll of film with both cameras.
They are already developed but I have to wait until tomorrow to scan and post them.

While the negatives from the Spotmatic F look good, the Spotmatic SP seems to have some issue with the shutter (or film transport).
From the 40 images I got on the film, 5 were totally blank and 2 show massive underexposure. 2 - 4 of the look as if they had some underexposure, while the rest looks to be OK.

I testfired all speeds three times with open back and lens dismounted and the shutter opend all times.

Should I run a (secound) test film through it to check it again or send it directly to a repair person?


P.S.: Thank you again Roger for the Takumar lens!

 

[Thomas78]

Here some sample images from the first rolls:

Pentax Spotmatic F with S-M-C Takumar 50 mm f/1.4:


Pentax Spotmatic F_S-M-C Takumar 50 1,4_01_Delta 100_002 von thomas.78 auf Flickr

and with S-M-C Takumar 28 mm f/3.5:


Pentax Spotmatic F_S-M-C Takumar 28 3,5_01_Delta 100_031b von thomas.78 auf Flickr
(cropped)

 

[Thomas78]

And one with the Spotmatic SP and the Takumar 135 mm f/3.5 (which I got from Roger Hicks):


Pentax Spotmatic SP_Takumar 135 3,5_01_Fomapan 200_038 von thomas.78 auf Flickr

And cropped:


Pentax Spotmatic SP_Takumar 135 3,5_01_Fomapan 200_038b von thomas.78 auf Flickr

 

[hipsterdufus]

Looking really good. M42 is a great system. Looks like you've got the ideal setup.

 

[Jerevan]

Is the 135 lens a preset lens, or is it a later varsion? Pictures look good! 🙂

 

[unixrevolution]

I love my M42 glass...Takumar or S-M-C Takumar is what I have. I would reccomend:

1. Spotmatic or Spotmatic F if you need a basic mechanical SLR. The F can do open-aperture metering on properly equipped M42 lenses, such as the S-M-C Takumars.

2. Pentax Electro-Spomtatic II: Only Sync to 1/1000 manual speeds, but a great stepless automatic mode with open aperture metering on equipped lenses, and a built-in viewfinder blind. I love my ESII.

If you wanna go really crazy, get a Pentax K-M42 adapter and a Pentax LX 😀

 

[Thomas78]

Is the 135 lens a preset lens, or is it a later varsion? Pictures look good! 🙂

Thank you!

Yes it is the early M42 preset version:

picture taken from Sonnar2s page

http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Pentax_Takumar_e.html

 

[CameraQuest]

Hello,

even though I am a RF guy, in some cases a SLR would come in handy, e.g. working with telephoto lenses or close distance.

It has to have:
- using 35 mm film
- lever wind
- M42 flange, focusing at open aperture
- pentaprism
- good build quality
- (obvious) focal plane shutter, 1 - 1/1000 s, min sync speed 1/50 s
- (working) TTL metering would be nice, but is optional
- I would like to pay up to 200 - 300 €


Best Regards,
Thomas

Am I right that I can get non retrofucus normal lenses with 58 mm (or even 55 mm) and that I can use M39 RF lenses with an adaptor

Buy a Canon T90
add the Canon M42 to FD adapter
all manual control of aperture
but the T90's capabilities blow away any M42 mount camera ever made.
its astoundingly capable and reliable
see http://cameraquest.com/t90.htm

the only really bad thing about it
is the top plate saying CANON instead of NIKON

Stephen