Tamron makes adaptall-2 manual focus lens. The SP lens suppose to be very good. But some non SP, for example 28-70/3.5-4.5 macro zoom, is a very good buy for the money in my opinion.
In the December issue of the Popular Photography there was an advert that the
Kinoptik lens (French made) are now available in T-mounts. To quote from the
magazine: "Half of the Kinoptik lenses, which range from a 50mm f/2 to a 1000
f/8 are apochromats; four are true macros focusing to 1:1; and all are covered
by lifetime warranties. (Heitz Service, 34-11 62nd St., Woodside, NY 11377)."
I never saw one of these lenses and have no idea how good are they.
The SMC Takumar and Super Takumar lenses by Asahi Pentax considered to be the
best lens available. As the result they are relatively expensive.
I did not used any lens made by Sigma or Vivitar but heard that some of them
are better than average quality.
As far as zoom lens are concerned, I would recommend not to buy the old heavy zooms of 70th (Soligor, Sigma, and others) but to look at the Tamron Adaptall-2 zooms which are readily available second hand. I used two their SP series zooms: 28-80/3.5-4.2 CF Macro, which I like and my favourite one-touch 70-210/3.5 SP. Also, some time ago (November 1996) the Photo Answers magazine rated 70-210/3.8-4 Tamron zoom as the best compare to with others non expensive 70-210 variable aperture zooms. I heard good comments on the 28-70/3.5-4.5 (I used it and agree with that), 28-135/4-4.5 and on 60-300/3.8-5.4 SP lens.
Some words about teleconverters.Don't buy ordinary 4 element thread mount teleconverters which are so many around. The quality will be very average at the best. Look for the 7 element teleconverters instead. They looks only slightly fattier that their 4 elements cousins, but deliver much better results. I saw two so far: Promura MC Auto tele converter 2x 7E for Pentax-S and Tamron tele-converter 2x Bbar MC for Pentax-P F system. Coupled with my 300/4 SMC Takumar stopped down to f8 both deliver acceptable to me results.
From Ivan Singer: I would like to add my two cents about the four M42
wide angle (2-28's and 2- 24's) lenses that I now own. Here are my subjective,
unscientfic reviews:
Pentax SMC 28/3.5- A true, rectilinear lens. Sharp, in focus, corner to corner,
wide open. Not retrofocus design, yet a reasonable size to hold. On Spotmatics
though, viewing through this lens is somewhat dark. For outdoors scenics and big
architecture, but not a low-light lens. Worth keeping aro und for the
rectilinear feature and sharpness.
Vivitar 28/2.5- A strangely compelling sleeper lens. This lens is rectilinear at the far edges and pleasingly bright. However, as you sweep the image area with a strong vertical like the edge of a wall, you see some deviation in the form of slight barrel distortion at the 1/3 and 2/3 points in the image area. This lens is probably only single coated, but is excellent in lowlight and for people shots. I have used it outdoors and have very sharp, contrasty images from it. I cannot judge how it handles flare though. Larger than above Pentax 28, but still pleasing to hold. Best thing about t his lens: Price. No one will ever know how little you paid for it, when they see your pictures. Probably a steal at $10.
Sigma 24/2.8 Filtermatic- This is a strange, wondrous lens. Rectlinear and sharp all the way across but where is the plane of focus? At f2.8 under 4 feet, it is narrow and not well defined. For indoor and group people shots, probably great but DOF seems to defy the common laws of optics. I would not trust the markings, but worth looking at for sure. I found this one on Ebay for $35 and I was unopposed by any other bidders. Here is why: This lens is short and fat, like my Nikkor 20/2.8 AF and about as solid (which is my way of saying). The finish is not as nice as the Super-Taks and has a rubberized focussing ring, instead of the more confident metal knurled M42's. But wait, there's more. You get four filters built right into the cam: Blue (LB- 180), violet (V-48), Orange (O-56), and Skylight-1A.
Fujinon EBC 24/2.8- This tiny metal barelled lens (49mm and even shorter than most 50/1.8) is not rectilinear at the edges, with some noticeable barrel distortion. This distortion is surprising given that the reputation of Fujinon lenses is only equalled by the Super-Taks. It is still snappy to f ocus and sharp in the plane. I cannot vouch for its usefullness as a architectural replacement for the SMC 28/3.5 above, but will definitely suit the indoor/people shot category.
From : I am a happy user of a Chinon CS screwmount camera and I thougt I would give you my opinion on the lenses I use.
1. Chinon 55/1.7 original lens. This is a great lens, very good quality and is nice to use.
2. Asahi Pentax 50/4. "Super-macro-takumar". Though it's a little dark this is my favourite lens since I can go as close as 0.234 m (0.77 feet) And i realy like close ups.
3. Accura 28/2.8. I have never used this lens (bought it today), It does however seem like a nice lens, good to handle.
4. Tokina 135/2.8. A nice tele lens, only taken one picture but it is very nice to handle. It is though bigger then m42, but I use an adapter and it works very well.
5. Tokina 400/6.3 This is a HUGE lens, it doesn't use mirrors so therefore it is dark and loooong (actually 40 cm). Though a cool thing to own, since it is so dark and big (pretty heavy) i haven't used it much.
From :
2,8/28 Unitax --> bad, distortion, sticky diaph.
3,4/35 Zeiss Skoparex (for Icarex 35 TM)
Good mechanics, good definition in every situation but not outstanding, no
distortion prone to flare; bayonet filter mount (a problem for B&W photography)
(I'm looking for an Icarex TM owner interested in a 35mm - I want to replace
it).
1,8/50 soligor
Became sticky but was worth cleaning pretty soft wide open, but extremely SHARP
at medium apertures, could compare with a summicron.
The preset diaphragm is quite hard, no fun on bodies where the release button
itself closes the diaphragm.
2/85 jupiter 9 (Russian)
Inconvenient (manual preselection) but really good. Unfortunately, it is
fragile, I broke it.
The late 70's version I had was sensitive to flare. I own an old version (58')
in 39mm mount for Leica: much better than the 42mm for contrast and flare (very
good inner black paint) but gives yellowish colors (lenses look really blue).
Don't know about the late MC version, nor if the older ons was made for reflex.
(From aab - there is a new MC version and is current. Seems to be good)
When found at low price, it is a good deal
(I'm looking forward to get me another one)
1,5/85 mm Helios 40-2
Comes with 3 filters (Yellow 1,4x, Yellow 2x, Orange 2x) but none for portraits!
Needs a lens shade (like other russian ones), unconvenient (manual
preselection), weight 1.1 kg - really heavy, really soft wide open, really sharp
at medium apertures, but contrast a little weak. (very good b&w prints); Warm
colors (OK for portrait)
Be careful: at f/1,5, the depth of field is so short that if you focus on the
eyes, both the nose and the ears are blurred.
Tamron Zoom 3.8/4 80-210 mm
Good contrast, not so good definition wide open; convenient, reliable. I don't
like the single zoom/focusing ring but that's personnal; f/32 minimal aperture
(can be useful), colors are quite cold
Revue Revuenon 3.5/200mm
good mechanics good definition, but low contrast (not so bad for b&w but slides
are too soft)
Enna Munchen Tele-Ennalyt 4,5/240mm
Was a cheap lens. Got it this year in a fair for about 30 US$. Mine is a manual
diaphragm version. Very small and light for the focal length (but may be
fragile). The telephoto lens you can take everywhere - looks like a 90 or 135mm!
Good contrast and colors - good slides nice rendition of blurred background (due
to manual diaph ?) Not very sharp but enough. I really like it.
Schneider Tele Xenar 5,5/360mm
Heavy and long. Good mechanics - two ring manual preset diaphragm. Good
definition and colors. Mine has a flare problem, maybe due to the fact it has
been cleaned after a fungus, would have need to be re-treated but it is too
expensive.
From :
One angle that no-one seems to have mentioned is low-cost macro-photography. I
picked up a manual Yashica thread mount bellows the other day for AU$20. This
allows me to use my enlarger lenses - a Leitz Focotar 50mm and a Rodenstock
Rodagon 105mm, both very high quality lenses indeed. I use a 42-39mm screw
adaptor on the bellows. I love the Rodenstock because I bought it in a Cash
Converters for only $35 (about a tenth of its true value) and it takes 49mm
filters! Enlarger lenses are actually better for this work, I believe, although
I'm still a novice. Any way you do it, it's a cheap introduction to serious
close-up work!
From :
Rubinar 10/1000. I had to partially dismount and reassemble it - when I bought
it it only focused at about 4 meters! Now it's OK, it's sharp enough, very good
contrast and color rendition for such a long lens. I used it with the Revue 5005
and Fuji high speed film. (The flamingos (flamants) pics
here
were taken with this lens and the revue 5005)
Mir 3,5/20. Doesn't like the sun or any strong backlighting. Not bad for colors and contrast in other conditions. Mine has a centering problem, the left part of the image is never really sharp. Also sensible to the little differences between lens mounts on different bodies: if it screws a little more or a little less than the correct position, focusing is disturbed and the integrated shade induces vignetting. Otherwise distortion and vignetting are very low - wich is good for a 20mm. Not a very good buy.
Jupiter 37AM 3,5/135. a '92 russian model, bought it for a very low price. Good multicoated lens, not too heavy, but very unconvenient due tu it's fully manual diah (not even a two-ring preselection system). Still this diaphragm has many, many blades, wich gives a perfectly round aperture, and so a very smooth leica-like background rendition. Worth it's price.
Mamya 2,8/35 mm. Much better than the Zeiss Ikon Skoparex 3,4/35mm. Low distortion, less flare, sharp pics. Not really compact for a 2,8/35. Light but good mechanics.Maybe a little colder colors than the Zeiss..
Yashica 1,7/50mm Sharp, better than the Soligor when wide open, mecanically very good, smooth focusing, perfect diaph operation, but colors are really cold.
From :
I would also like to mention three lens I have used recently:
Helios 44-2 58mm - a great single coated lens - a biotar copy that yields basically the same results as the original. These often are found for less than $10 (US). Yield an almost pastel like photo using Kodak Gold 200 or similar. Good for portraits, too. Little lens distortion.
Industar 50-2 - this lens was standard on the older Zenit cameras. A small, simple lens that is described often on eBay as an enlarging lens, it is much maligned. I must have gotten a good one, because my experience with the lens has been that it is a good performer (especially since I got it for free on a broken Zenit).
Volna 9 - this is a Russian macro lens that is a real bargain for cost conscious thread mount camera users. I have been impressed with the detail and it costs a lot less than any OEM macro. If you can find one, buy it - you will be pleasantly surprised
Mine is the 55/1.8 SMC Takumar. Outstanding lens! Even 4x6 photographs clearly stands out.
From :
My favorite M42 lens (at least one that I own) is the 50/1.4 SMC Takumar.
Unbelievable image quality as well as superb craftsmanship.
From :
I have a whole slew of screw-mount lenses ... but I think my favourite has got
to be , interestingly, the SMC Takumar 55/1.8. Contrasty, yet neutral colours.
Sharp. Better than the Super-Tak 50/1.4 I also have, though I don't have the SMC
50/1.4