D700 + old M42 lens

rareshb · Dec 5, 2011

Hello everybody,

I recently bought out of curiosity a Pentacon Auto 135mm f/2.8 MC lens for about 75$, built around 1987 and an M42-Nikon F adapter. The lens won't focus at infinity, but since I'll be using it for portraits, it's not that much of an issue. I took it apart, removed the old grease and put it some new, so it moves smoothly and easily. There is some dust inside the lens, but that is to be expected. Overall, it looks pretty good. I got to test it, as usual, on my wife. Here are some results.

commiebiker · Dec 5, 2011

looks like you got a heck of a deal!

rhlpetrus · Dec 5, 2011

I have a Summicron 35mm, should get an adapter. Which one do you have?
--
Renato.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhlpedrosa/
OnExposure member
http://www.onexposure.net/

Good shooting and good luck
(after Ed Murrow)

Andrew Ellis · Dec 5, 2011

That's one heck of a lovely lens and wife you have there

--
Lets make pictures, not war........

rareshb · Dec 5, 2011

i have a simple mechanical only m42 - nikon adapter. for Leica, you might try http://www.leitax.com/leica-lens-for-nikon-cameras.html

rhlpetrus said:
I have a Summicron 35mm, should get an adapter. Which one do you have?
--
Renato.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhlpedrosa/
OnExposure member
http://www.onexposure.net/

Good shooting and good luck
(after Ed Murrow)

Moving Comfort · Dec 5, 2011

Looks fantastic,especially that first image.

Which brand of m42-F adapter do you have, and can I ask how much it cost you? I have a bunch of old-but-great Takumars I'd like to try out on the D700. Thanks!

.
--
Here are a few of my favorite things...
---> http://www.flickr.com/photos/95095968@N00/sets/72157626171532197/

jeff cann · Dec 5, 2011

Looks like a very good lens but the good tool in right hands produces beatifull shots like these.

PixelMover · Dec 5, 2011

First of all, complliments on the gorgeous pictures and the gorgeous wife

After reading your post I feel like slapping myself on the forehead...

I have a drawer full of weird/odd/wonderful M42 lenses from way back in my Pentax days. And a box full of random ones I got at a car boot sale

But I never mounted them on my Nikons because I ASSUMED (yes, that's a stupid thing to do..) that the adapter would work as a 'macro ring' and only give me close-up focus range.

For some reason "no infinity focus" got mis-translated in my brain as "only close up/macro focus"
Judging by your pictures, I've been wrong all along...

What is the working focus range on your setup?

Got some lovely 85/105/135's I'd love to try as they all 'draw' very different from modern lenses

I've just ordered a 'dumb' M42> Nikon F adapter on eBay and I'll be playing with all those lenses this weekend.

rizakayan · Dec 6, 2011

i have m42 too. i have some zenit lenses. infinity focus doesnt work, but lenses are good.

rareshb · Dec 6, 2011

I have an adapter made by JYC Technology (HK) Co. Ltd. (www.jyc-hk.com), but I bought it locally (Romania). It is a machined piece of aluminum, made in China. No glass, no infinity focus. That is unfortunate, for I was intending to buy a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm 2.4 Flektogon for a very decent price, but for wides you really need infinity. On the other hand, adapters with glass that focus at infinity degrade image quality.. So, no Flektogon for me

Moving Comfort said:
Looks fantastic,especially that first image.

Which brand of m42-F adapter do you have, and can I ask how much it cost you? I have a bunch of old-but-great Takumars I'd like to try out on the D700. Thanks!

.
--
Here are a few of my favorite things...
---> http://www.flickr.com/photos/95095968@N00/sets/72157626171532197/

rareshb · Dec 6, 2011

Thank you.

My adapter is very thin so the range goes far beyond macro. Setting this 135mm lens at infinity gives me about 10m (30 feet) of focus distance, perhaps a little more. That is enough for a lot of subjects, especially portraits. I don't know who does portraits with the subject set at infinity

. One advantage is that actually you get more precision while focusing manually. This lens has a 340 degree turn for 1m to inf that is now ~~0.8m to~~ 10m.

PixelMover said:
First of all, complliments on the gorgeous pictures and the gorgeous wife

After reading your post I feel like slapping myself on the forehead...

I have a drawer full of weird/odd/wonderful M42 lenses from way back in my Pentax days. And a box full of random ones I got at a car boot sale

But I never mounted them on my Nikons because I ASSUMED (yes, that's a stupid thing to do..) that the adapter would work as a 'macro ring' and only give me close-up focus range.

For some reason "no infinity focus" got mis-translated in my brain as "only close up/macro focus"
Judging by your pictures, I've been wrong all along...

What is the working focus range on your setup?

Got some lovely 85/105/135's I'd love to try as they all 'draw' very different from modern lenses

I've just ordered a 'dumb' M42> Nikon F adapter on eBay and I'll be playing with all those lenses this weekend.

jabakus · Dec 6, 2011

Beautiful shots, with very attractive lights and color tones....
....beautiful wife and....

compliments and wishes to you both for the sweet pregnancy !!

coudet · Dec 6, 2011

rareshb said:
I recently bought out of curiosity a Pentacon Auto 135mm f/2.8 MC lens for about 75$

That's a bit too much for a Pentacon, friend of mine got his for $10-15. That's the beauty of M42 lenses, they're all very cheap.

I like the shots, #7 is the best for me. Stunningly beautiful woman!

Andre De Angelis · Dec 6, 2011

Gorgeous images of a gorgeous woman.

The lens rendition looks a lot like the 135 f2DC

exifnotfound · Dec 6, 2011

Gorgeous portraits, well done!!
--
http://stevejwphotography.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevejwphoto/

rareshb · Dec 6, 2011

Thank you. I think you are right about the price, in general, but where I am, the availability is not that high. Ordering on e-bay would imply some significant delivery costs. On the other hand the lens is in very good condition, came with original box and warranty, from April 1988

coudet said:
rareshb said:

I recently bought out of curiosity a Pentacon Auto 135mm f/2.8 MC lens for about 75$

Click to expand...

That's a bit too much for a Pentacon, friend of mine got his for $10-15. That's the beauty of M42 lenses, they're all very cheap.

I like the shots, #7 is the best for me. Stunningly beautiful woman!

SoltKemecsei · Dec 6, 2011

When readng the subject of the thread I was pretty sure, that it is going to be the Pentacon 135/2.8, which is also known as "the bokeh monster".

However I am truly amazed by the portraits. Excellent pictures of a beautiful woman. Thanks for posting.

SiPat · Dec 6, 2011

It is possible to get infinity focus with an old M42 lens mounted on the camera.

The easiest was to locate one is to do a search on eBay -- just enter the following:

nikon m42 infinity

Kood International UK do one, but it is about ten times more costly than the cheap Chinese ones.

rareshb · Dec 6, 2011

Unfortunately, this is not "the bokeh monster". That would be the Pentacon 135mm 2.8 Preset, with 15 diaphragm blades. Mine has just 6...
I was pondering whether to buy a Tair 11 which has 20 ?!? aperture blades...

SoltKemecsei said:
When readng the subject of the thread I was pretty sure, that it is going to be the Pentacon 135/2.8, which is also known as "the bokeh monster".

However I am truly amazed by the portraits. Excellent pictures of a beautiful woman. Thanks for posting.

rareshb · Dec 6, 2011

From what I've read, it is physically impossible to have infinity focus using an adapter without glass. That is because the register distance (sensor plane to lens mount) for Nikon F is 46.5mm and for M42 is 45mm. There are no adapters with -1.5mm thickness. Yes, there are adapters with glass that allow for infinity focus, but those usually deteriorate image quality.

SiPat said:
It is possible to get infinity focus with an old M42 lens mounted on the camera.

The easiest was to locate one is to do a search on eBay -- just enter the following:

nikon m42 infinity

Kood International UK do one, but it is about ten times more costly than the cheap Chinese ones.

D700 + old M42 lens

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