Mamiya Sekor 21mm F4 M42 mount

[RemcoR]

I have a couple of questions regarding the Mamiya Sekor 21mm F4 in M42 mount. I am a Pentax (K-5) user.

There is some info on the net, but not conclusive, regarding the M42 mount. I read some problems with a pin in the Mamiya mount, that should (not) be removed. Anyone experience with it?

Also, and this is the main thing, how soft/sharp is it, esp. the corners? I would like to use it mainly for landscapes, now limited to the current APS-C but hopefully soon with a FF Pentax.

Thanks for your reply.

RemcoR

 

[PSCL1]

I have no experience with this lens. However, it is about 40 years old. Mamiya, of course, was/is mostly known for medium format gear and they made some models for 35mm in the '70s. My recollection is that none of their lenses were very good and very few bought into this system. I think this lens is old enough NOT to have been designed with computers but by drones drawing hundreds of lens ray diagrams for months under the direction of optical engineers whose technical knowledge was rapidly becoming obsolete. I wouldn't fool with this item unless you bought it for maybe $25. The imaging results are bound to be disappointing.

 

[NancyP]

The 35mm format Mamiya Sekor was a good basic camera for its time, I had the all manual MS DTL 1000. The MS 60mm f/2.8 1:1 macro is probably the best of the 35mm lenses of 40 years ago. I never had the 21mm. Most of the old lenses are going to have more aberrations than current lenses because there were no affordable aspherical elements or low-density/ fluorite-like elements in those days. The rendition may be quite appealing, however. The manual focus lenses have had a new life, due to video-on-the-cheap users who don't need record-breaking sharpness and do need manual focus and manual aperture.

www.mflenses.com has a manual lenses forum

There is also a German Mamiya 35mm website, can't recall it off hand.

 

[RemcoR]

Thanks for your replies. The Mamiya was made under different names and is the same lens as the Rollei Rolleinar MC 21mm f4. There are a few comparisons with very highly regarded lenses like the almighty Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f2.8, as can be seen here. The Mamiya/Rollei comes out very good in this test.

RemcoR

 

[esasjl]

I've used the Mamiya Sekor 4/21 M42 and the 2.8/21 CS (

https://flic.kr/p/eSwo33

) as well as the OM Zuiko 3.5/21. Both Mamiyas perform very well, at least as will as the respected OMZ, if not better at wider apertures. They are also mechanically sound.

To use on a Contax M42 mount (I think Pentax used the same) the pin for the Mamiya M42 will need to be removed. If the mount diameter on your camera is larger than the lens aperture ring (e.g., M42 adapters for EF) then the aperture ring will contact the camera mount and not turn. Remove the aperture ring and grind away the rear protrusion (this is cosmetic rather than functional?) using wet abrasive paper on a glass plate to keep flat.

Other interesting Mamiya 35 mm lenses are the 2.8/60 Macro (as mentioned) and the 2.8/135.