The Yashinon 2/50 and Mamiya 2/50 are both really great lenses. People usually overlook them for the faster lenses, so they sell for under $20 all the time. The Meyer Orseston/Pentacon 1.8/50 is also a good performer and usually cheap.
I frankly would steer clear of west German lenses, their prices have sky-rocketed as many under-informed buyers assume that all German lenses are wonderful. Some of the worst lenses I've owned have been German, and come from reputable companies like Steinheil et al. The problem is the bad ones sell for prices approaching those of the best. The few m42 lenses made in west Germany that may be worth their prices are the Xenon 1.9/50 and the Icarex Ultron 1.8/50 - both of which are expensive these days, but also among the best normals ever offered in M42.
Mamiya's 28mm lens is excellent, and the CZJ Flektogon 4/20 is also excellent.
Surely you mean East German/DDR lenses? I'm seeing frenzied bidding on anything with "Zeiss" on, even the generic '80s lenses that a UK importer slapped the brand name on (they owned the rights to it in the UK, and applied it to some mediocre lenses which people now seem convinced to be genuine Zeiss).
As the last post states, you can get a good or bad copy of any lens, especially now when you've no idea how they were treated by previous owners. I have the K series (essentially SMC Takumars with a K mount) versions of that 28mm f3.5 and 200mm f4, I rate the 200mm higher than the later M or A series versions. It produced a moon shot a couple of weeks ago which showed plenty of detail after considerable enlarging.
The 28mm in my experience is just a brilliant wide angle lens, very little distortion and not horribly soft wide open. Shoot it around f8 and it's pretty much focus free. My 200mm is minty while the 28mm has a fair bit of paint wear but perfect optics.
Surely you mean East German/DDR lenses? I'm seeing frenzied bidding on anything with "Zeiss" on, even the generic '80s lenses that a UK importer slapped the brand name on (they owned the rights to it in the UK, and applied it to some mediocre lenses which people now seem convinced to be genuine Zeiss).
As the last post states, you can get a good or bad copy of any lens, especially now when you've no idea how they were treated by previous owners. I have the K series (essentially SMC Takumars with a K mount) versions of that 28mm f3.5 and 200mm f4, I rate the 200mm higher than the later M or A series versions. It produced a moon shot a couple of weeks ago which showed plenty of detail after considerable enlarging.
The 28mm in my experience is just a brilliant wide angle lens, very little distortion and not horribly soft wide open. Shoot it around f8 and it's pretty much focus free. My 200mm is minty while the 28mm has a fair bit of paint wear but perfect optics.
No, I mean West German manufacturers like Steinheil, Schact, Enna, Schnieder, ISCO et al. Many of their lenses are not particularly good (if not plainly awful), certainly no better than the best from Japan anyway - and yet the prices are ludicrous these days. By contrast, the East German products are mostly still easy to find at reasonable prices, excepting a few lenses that have become way over-hyped online lately like the Primoplan and Trioplan lenses, which weren't even particularly good in their own era.
A lot of people forget that the German manufacturers made lenses for all price brackets, and that just because it has grand old name printed on it, doesn't mean it isn't complete crap.
Last edited by Yashinoff; 11-20-2012 at 09:30 PM. Click to view previous post history.
Thanks. I was wondering what those would be like for M-42 lenses. Saw several going for cheap but I was always watching posts here for anyone who had one. Will be searching again for one. Use the M-42 on all of my cameras. I like the solid build of this glass.
My search for the M-42 135mm Mamiya-Sekor is over. I found one on Craigslist for a very reasonable price. It looks good in the photos. Will post some pics when I am score & shoot a roll or 2. Now I will have 4X 135mm lenses
Agfa MCC 111 FB glossy print of the previous neg scan. I am impressed with the clear detail of this M-42 lens. Had my work cut out for me with dodging burning on the print but only a small bit of cropping after scanning the print.
Last edited by dances_w_clouds; 12-09-2012 at 01:12 AM. Click to view previous post history.
Fuji 55/1.8 is great IQ but funky colors in skin tones
Original or EBC? The EBC Fujinon 55/1.8 was my first SLR lens ever, and I always liked what I got from it. I don't remember funky colors (Kodachrome was the film), but I'd have to go back and look.
tldr: Experiment, copy variation is prevalent, and trying new stuff is half the fun of the old glass.
Yep, yep, and yep.
I do use a digital device in my photographic pursuits when necessary.
When someone rags on me for using film, I use a middle digit, upraised.
Apparently any m42 glass I get has to be preset aperture and not auto like later m42, unless there is a way around this?
All screw thread Takumars will work, as the auto lenses have an A/M switch. Lenses can be set to any f/stop, and moving the switch from A to M will close that stop, the same way a preset lens works. But they are auto diaphragm on A.
Auto M42 lenses without an A/M switch will have to be used fully open, or hold in or jam the pin somehow, making it a manual lens.
I do use a digital device in my photographic pursuits when necessary.
When someone rags on me for using film, I use a middle digit, upraised.
Originally Posted by Yashinoff
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