Mirrorless camera body for old 35mm Pentacon and Pentax lenses

[vett93]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses? I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

 

[Glen Barrington]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses? I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

I'm not sure buying a body just to specifically use with old lenses makes a lot of economic sense, but as an 'extra' thing, the old lenses can be a lot of fun.

I'm using some old Canon FL and FD lenses on my Olympus OMD E-M10. They're kind of fun to use (in a tortured, do it the hard way sense!) and the image quality is pretty good. I bought a Fotasy manual adapter over the internet for around $12 US. The quality of the adapter seems rather high.

I would say, if you like Sonys, then look at some of their mirrorless offerings and select a candidate camera and look to see if there are Pentax adapters for them, I'm pretty sure there are some available. (If I recall, I believe that is called an M42 lens mount - sometimes referred to as the "screw mount"). Pentax was the most successful manufacturer using that mount.

I do believe the m43s cameras have a Pentax mount available for them, maybe a cheap used m43s camera might do the trick for you. They've been around long enough that you might find a good deal there just to experiment with.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the Fuji X series cameras also had Pentax adapters. That M42 lens mount was incredibly popular at one time, many manufacturers looking to get into the SLR business in the 1960s often used that mount as an inexpensive way to get into the 35 mm SLR business. Ricoh, Petri, Pentax, Mamiya, Yashica, and the East German camera manufacturers all produced cameras with that mount. It really only fell out of favor after auto exposure and auto-focus started to dominate consumer cameras.

--
I look good fat, I'm gonna look good old. . .
http://glenbarrington.blogspot.com/

 

[vett93]

...

I would say, if you like Sonys, then look at some of their mirrorless offerings and select a candidate camera and look to see if there are Pentax adapters for them, I'm pretty sure there are some available. (If I recall, I believe that is called an M42 lens mount - sometimes referred to as the "screw mount"). Pentax was the most successful manufacturer using that mount.

....

Thanks, Glen. I am thinking to get a Sony A6000. Two questions are as follows:

1. It does not have a focus ring like the old Pentax 35mm camera. Should that be a concern?

2. My Pentacon lenses are F2.8. What would it be like with a APS-C sensor?

I appreciate your help!

 

[AlbertTheLazy]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses?

Don't the lenses have their own aperture rings?

I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

I'm not sure buying a body just to specifically use with old lenses makes a lot of economic sense, but as an 'extra' thing, the old lenses can be a lot of fun.

...

And I wouldn't be surprised if the Fuji X series cameras also had Pentax adapters. That M42 lens mount was incredibly popular at one time, many manufacturers looking to get into the SLR business in the 1960s often used that mount as an inexpensive way to get into the 35 mm SLR business. ...

You can get adapters for almost anything to go on a Fuji X-cam. Certainly there are M42 adapters.

The Fuji X-E1 is available really cheaply nowadays and I've used that with lenses up to 300mm.

I mostly use Nikon mount lenses, but have one Pentax K (bayonet) lens. I shot this with it.




Somewhat cropped.



--
Albert
Every photograph is an abstraction from reality.
Most people are more interested in the picture than the image.

 

[D Cox]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

They will work with almost any mirrorless camera. The size of the sensor determines how much of the image you get -- a Full Frame sensor gives you the same angle of view as on a 35mm film camera, while the APS-C and M4/3 cameras give you a central section. Full frame mirrorless cameras are more expensive than APS-C, however.

It sounds as though your lenses have M42 screw mounts. It is easy to find adapters from this mount to any mirrorless camera.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses? I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

Your lenses have their own focus and aperture rings. You set the camera to A or S mode. Focus peaking makes focussing easy.

The T thread is the same width as the M42 lens mount but a different pitch. Trying to screw one into the other risks damaging the thread. You do not want a T mount adapter, but an M42 adapter.

You can get an M42 adapter for, for example, a Sony APS-C mirrorless camera for about $15.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

Older lenses can work extremely well on modern cameras.

 

[Glen Barrington]

...

I would say, if you like Sonys, then look at some of their mirrorless offerings and select a candidate camera and look to see if there are Pentax adapters for them, I'm pretty sure there are some available. (If I recall, I believe that is called an M42 lens mount - sometimes referred to as the "screw mount"). Pentax was the most successful manufacturer using that mount.

....

Thanks, Glen. I am thinking to get a Sony A6000. Two questions are as follows:

1. It does not have a focus ring like the old Pentax 35mm camera. Should that be a concern?

I find this question baffling. Don't the lenses have a focusing ring? All the adapters I've ever seen, do is adapt the mount from one camera mount to another, AND space the back of the lens the same distance from the film plane as the lens was designed to accommodate. No adapters I've ever seen have ever had a focus ring. Focusing is done via the built in lens focusing ring. I wouldn't use any lenses that I can't focus via the focusing collar on the lens.

2. My Pentacon lenses are F2.8. What would it be like with a APS-C sensor?

Technically, it is still an f/2.8. However the effective aperture will appear to collect less light because the cropped sensor is smaller than the 35 mm film format. I don't use APS-C, I'm an m43s user, so I'm not the one to calculate this for you. Frankly, I've never worried about the equivalent aperture, the modern digital camera is so much more sensitive to light, that I haven't found the equivalence arguments relevant to my photographic life. I just take very satisfying photos.

This equivalence issue does seem to start a lot of useless arguments that change no one's mind though. Just mentioning the word can set off a flame war. I hope this instance doesn't do that.

I appreciate your help!

--
I look good fat, I'm gonna look good old. . .
http://glenbarrington.blogspot.com/

 

[AlbertTheLazy]

...

I would say, if you like Sonys, then look at some of their mirrorless offerings and select a candidate camera and look to see if there are Pentax adapters for them, I'm pretty sure there are some available. (If I recall, I believe that is called an M42 lens mount - sometimes referred to as the "screw mount"). Pentax was the most successful manufacturer using that mount.

....

Thanks, Glen. I am thinking to get a Sony A6000. Two questions are as follows:

1. It does not have a focus ring like the old Pentax 35mm camera. Should that be a concern?

On those cameras the focus and aperture rings are on the lens.

I find this question baffling. Don't the lenses have a focusing ring? All the adapters I've ever seen, do is adapt the mount from one camera mount to another, AND space the back of the lens the same distance from the film plane as the lens was designed to accommodate. No adapters I've ever seen have ever had a focus ring. Focusing is done via the built in lens focusing ring. I wouldn't use any lenses that I can't focus via the focusing collar on the lens.

2. My Pentacon lenses are F2.8. What would it be like with a APS-C sensor?

Technically, it is still an f/2.8. However the effective aperture will appear to collect less light because the cropped sensor is smaller than the 35 mm film format. I don't use APS-C, I'm an m43s user, so I'm not the one to calculate this for you. Frankly, I've never worried about the equivalent aperture, the modern digital camera is so much more sensitive to light, that I haven't found the equivalence arguments relevant to my photographic life. I just take very satisfying photos.

This equivalence issue does seem to start a lot of useless arguments that change no one's mind though. Just mentioning the word can set off a flame war. I hope this instance doesn't do that.

He didn't say that! Honest!

As far as aperture is concerned, all you need to know here is that f:2.8 on your Pentacon attached to any crop camera will require exactly the same ISO and shutter speed as f:2.8 on a native lens for that camera to get correct exposure.

--
Albert
Every photograph is an abstraction from reality.
Most people are more interested in the picture than the image.

 

[Pontoneer]

What mount are the Pentacon lenses ?

If M42 screw mount many bodies will accept them , ditto the Pentax lenses if screw mount .

If K mount , the Pentax K-01 will accept them natively , and you can buy an adaptor for M42 screw mount to fit them onto the K mount body .

The K-01 has focus peaking which works very well with old manual glass .

 

[vett93]

I think I have wrongly used the term "focus ring". I am referring to the ring in the view finder of a 35mm camera that helps adjusting the focus. What is the correct term for that?

I don't see such ring in my Song RX10's view finder when I set it to manual focus mode.

Regarding the F2.8 aperture size, I am more interested in knowing the depth of field with a digital camera. Will it be deeper or narrower?

Thanks.

 

[rurikw]

Well, if you shoot only digital and want to give your old glass new life, I guess you don't have an alternative. Anyway that's what I want to do. M42 can be adapted to any mirrorless camera as far as I know. No, film camera bodies don't have focus rings so adapters don't need them either, they sit on the lens. Only if you want to use enlarger lenses (not a bad idea, I have been told) on your camera do you need an adapter with a focusing helicoid. I recently tried my Takumar and Flektogon lenses on a Panasonic GM1. I bought two Chinese adapters for 10-20€ on eBay. They seem very well made and fit perfectly. I only did a quick and dirty newspaper test with a Flektogon 20/4, SMC Takumar 28/3.5, 55/1.8, Macro-Takumar 50/4 and SMC Takumar 135/2.5. The 50-135mm lenses looked decent though the 135 had rather heavy CA which I could not correct in PS. The short ones looked distinctly worse than the kit zoom in terms of definition. Of course they wouldn't make much sense on m43 anyway. I imagine they would look even worse on a possible future Sony A7. But I still have to try some real photography with them, maybe I will discover some hidden charms anyway I think your old glass deserves a chance and would very much like to know about your experiences.

 

[joejack951]

...

I would say, if you like Sonys, then look at some of their mirrorless offerings and select a candidate camera and look to see if there are Pentax adapters for them, I'm pretty sure there are some available. (If I recall, I believe that is called an M42 lens mount - sometimes referred to as the "screw mount"). Pentax was the most successful manufacturer using that mount.

....

Thanks, Glen. I am thinking to get a Sony A6000. Two questions are as follows:

1. It does not have a focus ring like the old Pentax 35mm camera. Should that be a concern?

2. My Pentacon lenses are F2.8. What would it be like with a APS-C sensor?

I appreciate your help!

2. On a cropped sensor (APS-C or m4/3) the most noticeable 'change' to your lenses will be the angle of view. For example, if you recall the angle of view for a 50mm lens on your film camera, on APS-c that same lens will look like a 75mm lens and on m4/3 it will look like a 100mm lens. While your 50mm lens now offers a 75 or 100mm angle of view, the aperture of the lens remains the same size. So as far as depth of field is concerned, at the new 75mm field of view you will have the equivalent depth of field of f/4.2 (2.8 x 1.5) or at the 100mm field of view you will have the equivalent depth of field of f/5.6 (2.8 x 2).

 

[vett93]

I got one of these Fotodiox M42 adapter from Amazon. I found it blocks the aperture pin on the lens. Consequently, the aperture does not stay open until the shutter is pressed.

Is there an adapter that allows the automatic shutter control?

 

[ecm]

I think I have wrongly used the term "focus ring". I am referring to the ring in the view finder of a 35mm camera that helps adjusting the focus. What is the correct term for that?

Do you mean the split focus ring on the focus screen? I'm not sure I've seen a digital dSLR camera with one; since autofocus has taken over I guess we aren't supposed to need one. With my Panasonic G5 I magnify the center bit of the scene in the EVF or on the back screen and fine tune focus that way; it's a bit clunky but it's adequate for the task, and a LOT better than attempting to "guestimate" focus given the tiny viewfinders these days. It's not near as fast (or accurate) as the old SLR split-circle viewfinders were.

I got one of these Fotodiox M42 adapter from Amazon. I found it blocks the aperture pin on the lens. Consequently, the aperture does not stay open until the shutter is pressed.

Is there an adapter that allows the automatic shutter control?

Hm. Do you mean you can't adjust the aperture manually? All the adapters I've used have basically set the lens up as though the depth of field preview button was permenently pushed; ie. with the aperture actually at whatever the aperture ring is set to. There is no focussing with the lens wide open and then automatically stopping down to your desired aperture just when the shutter trigger is pushed like on old SLR bodies. To use an old lens on my G5, I open the lens up wide manually while I'm focussing (for shallower DOF to help get pin-sharp focus, and also for a brighter viewfinder), then stop down to whatever aperture I want, again manually, before taking my shot.

Hope this helps!

Colin.

 

[D Cox]

I got one of these Fotodiox M42 adapter from Amazon. I found it blocks the aperture pin on the lens. Consequently, the aperture does not stay open until the shutter is pressed.

Is there an adapter that allows the automatic shutter control?

No, you do have to operate the diaphragm manually.

But it is quite easy, especially with peaking. Just open up a couple of stops, focus on the electronic viewfinder or rear screen using peaking to show what is in focus, close down a couple of stops and shoot. Often you can focus OK at the shooting aperture.

Peaking works better than any of the focussing aids on the screens of SLRs.

 

[miles green]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses? I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

Why not use a Pentax K-mout dslr? Any one will do. Or even the K-01 if you don;t want a pentaprism but still want to keep aperture automation:

The aperture automation will be retained on all your Pentax lens. You will be able to look through the lens wide open and meter correctly without needing to stop down the lens. This will allow you to compose and focus correctly.

With an "smc-a" lens lens, yo can put the lens in "a" mode and select the aperture from the camera. So you will be able to use all the camera modes: Av, Tv, TAv, P, etc.

The Pentacon lenses will fit with a 5$ adaptor, but will be completely manual, as on any mirrorless camera

I use several of these lenses on my K5 limited, as well as a bunch of modern premium glass.

These are the manual lens I use:

Pentacon 135mm f/2.8 "bokeh monster"

Pentax smc-m 50mm f/2

Pentax smc-a 5mm0 f/1.2

Pentax smc-a* 200mm f/4 macro (an amazing lens but very, very expensive used)

Sigma apo 400mm f/5.6

Samyang 8mm fish-eye

Regarding autofocus, Pentax supports catch-in-focus natively (no "chipping" involved) so you can set the camera to take the picture when focus is achieved. It's precise and fast enough for some BIFs, and for 1:1 macro with the 200mm.

With a K5 and K3 series bodies, you can change to focusing screen to have a better manual focus.

The only reason not to pick a Pentax dslr is if you want a full-frame sensor or if you're shooting video and need some features that beyond what the Pentax bodies will give you.

 

[miles green]

I got one of these Fotodiox M42 adapter from Amazon. I found it blocks the aperture pin on the lens. Consequently, the aperture does not stay open until the shutter is pressed.

Is there an adapter that allows the automatic shutter control?

any Pentax dslr will allow you to do that. See my post below...

but it sounds like i'm too late: you already got a mirrorless camera?

 

[miles green]

the 500mm you see in the exif data is an apochromatic telescope (fluorite triplet).



--
-----------------------------------------------
Miles Green
Pentaxian with chronic LBA
Corfu, Greece
N.B. All my images are protected by Copyright

 

[22codfish]

[No message]

 

[vett93]

I have not bought the camera yet. I was thinking between a Sony A6000 and a Sony A7. A FF sensor looks more and more interesting to me as I research more.

Pentax looks good too. Do they offer any FF body?

 

[vett93]

I have a few old Pentacon and Pentax lenses for a 35mm camera. I particularly like the Pentacon lenses. Would it be a good idea to get a digital camera body for these lenses? I want to use these lenses for digital photography.

Does any digital camera with interchangeable lenses have a focus ring that can work with these lenses? I think I can get a T-adapter for the digital camera body as these lenses have threads that screw into the camera body.

I have a Sony RX10 as my main camera already. This would be a fun project to play with.

Why not use a Pentax K-mout dslr? Any one will do. Or even the K-01 if you don;t want a pentaprism but still want to keep aperture automation:

The aperture automation will be retained on all your Pentax lens. You will be able to look through the lens wide open and meter correctly without needing to stop down the lens. This will allow you to compose and focus correctly.

The Pentacon lenses will fit with a 5$ adaptor, but will be completely manual, as on any mirrorless camera

...

These are the manual lens I use:

Pentacon 135mm f/2.8 "bokeh monster"

I have this bokeh monster lens as well. I really like it for 35mm photo. I like it more than other Pentax lenses. If I get a Pentax K-mount DSL, my Pentacon lenses will be all manual anyway as you stated. So does a Pentax k-mount body still offer any advantage in my situation?