Found an H3V with a 55 1.2 (Cosina) for $165, deal?

c.r.brown · 04-18-2010, 06:10 PM

I found an H3V in perfect condition with an (assumed Cosina) 55 1.2 lens for $165 at a local antiques shop.

Need to go back to check the lens again but the body looked almost NiB.

What do you think?

Blue · 04-18-2010, 06:19 PM

Originally posted by c.r.brown

I found an H3V in perfect condition with an (assumed Cosina) 55 1.2 lens for $165 at a local antiques shop.

Need to go back to check the lens again but the body looked almost NiB.

What do you think?

What you need to do is verify that the lens has 1:1.2 on it and NOT 1:2. If it is 1.2, it is worth the price regardless who made it. That is also assuming that it has no fungal problems. The H3v is equal to the SV. The SV had Pentax Asahi on it where as the H3v had Pentax Honeywell on it. The Asahi also had AOC on the prism and the H3v had the H on the prism. However, they are the same camera, except that the Honeywell was marketed in the U.S. and the other outside the U.S.

c.r.brown · 04-18-2010, 06:24 PM

Thanks for the quick reply, it definitely said Honeywell pentax, I am fairly certain it was a 1.2, I'll need to verify and look it over more throughly. Looks like a stop is in order after work tomorrow.

Tuner571 · 04-18-2010, 06:33 PM

Yea, I agree with blue on this one. Any lens that is f/1.2 is definitely worth buying in my opinion. I was lucky enough to use the SMC-A 50mm f/1.2 and it really is a great lens to use and having a lens that wide open is really fun to play with.

**rparmar** · 04-18-2010, 06:38 PM

I may be wrong here, since I am not an expert on this topic, but isn't the Pentax H3V a body with M42 mount? And if that is the case, isn't the likelihood of the lens being f/1.2 almost negligible?

I think the only such lens made for M42 was the Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f/1.2. So if the lens looks like this and is in decent shape, buy it immediately! It's worth $500 or more... who knows.

Blue · 04-18-2010, 07:08 PM

Originally posted by rparmar

I may be wrong here, since I am not an expert on this topic, but isn't the Pentax H3V a body with M42 mount? And if that is the case, isn't the likelihood of the lens being f/1.2 almost negligible?

I think the only such lens made for M42 was the Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f/1.2. So if the lens looks like this and is in decent shape, buy it immediately! It's worth $500 or more... who knows.

Yes the H3v which is just an SV variant is M42.

There was also the previous version of the Tomioka 55mm before Yashica got them. There was also the Chinon Tomioka 55mm f1.2. There may have been Porst and Revuenon versions as well.

All that said, Cosina did have some m42 bodies so its possible there may have been an f1.2. That's why I suggested he look close as to whether the lens is 1:2 or 1:1.2. The Cosina m42 55mm f1.2 was made by Tomioka!

**Just1MoreDave** · 04-18-2010, 09:23 PM

If you look at enough camera+lens photos, you'll start to notice the giant front element of a possibly interesting lens, compared to the kind of small front element of an f1.7 to f2.2 lens. It's not infallible. Sometimes a 135/2.8 can fool you, or a distorted closeup, or some crappy zoom. But you can often tell even at 100 pixels wide that it's an M50/2 on a K1000.

04-18-2010, 06:10 PM	#1
c.r.brown Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 214	Found an H3V with a 55 1.2 (Cosina) for $165, deal? I found an H3V in perfect condition with an (assumed Cosina) 55 1.2 lens for $165 at a local antiques shop. Need to go back to check the lens again but the body looked almost NiB. What do you think?

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04-18-2010, 06:19 PM	#2
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by c.r.brown I found an H3V in perfect condition with an (assumed Cosina) 55 1.2 lens for $165 at a local antiques shop. Need to go back to check the lens again but the body looked almost NiB. What do you think? What you need to do is verify that the lens has 1:1.2 on it and NOT 1:2. If it is 1.2, it is worth the price regardless who made it. That is also assuming that it has no fungal problems. The H3v is equal to the SV. The SV had Pentax Asahi on it where as the H3v had Pentax Honeywell on it. The Asahi also had AOC on the prism and the H3v had the H on the prism. However, they are the same camera, except that the Honeywell was marketed in the U.S. and the other outside the U.S.

04-18-2010, 06:24 PM	#3
c.r.brown Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 214 Original Poster	Thanks for the quick reply, it definitely said Honeywell pentax, I am fairly certain it was a 1.2, I'll need to verify and look it over more throughly. Looks like a stop is in order after work tomorrow.

04-18-2010, 06:33 PM	#4
Tuner571 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,549	Yea, I agree with blue on this one. Any lens that is f/1.2 is definitely worth buying in my opinion. I was lucky enough to use the SMC-A 50mm f/1.2 and it really is a great lens to use and having a lens that wide open is really fun to play with.

04-18-2010, 06:38 PM	#5
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	I may be wrong here, since I am not an expert on this topic, but isn't the Pentax H3V a body with M42 mount? And if that is the case, isn't the likelihood of the lens being f/1.2 almost negligible? I think the only such lens made for M42 was the Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f/1.2. So if the lens looks like this and is in decent shape, buy it immediately! It's worth $500 or more... who knows.

04-18-2010, 07:08 PM	#6
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by rparmar I may be wrong here, since I am not an expert on this topic, but isn't the Pentax H3V a body with M42 mount? And if that is the case, isn't the likelihood of the lens being f/1.2 almost negligible? I think the only such lens made for M42 was the Yashinon Tomioka 55mm f/1.2. So if the lens looks like this and is in decent shape, buy it immediately! It's worth $500 or more... who knows. Yes the H3v which is just an SV variant is M42. There was also the previous version of the Tomioka 55mm before Yashica got them. There was also the Chinon Tomioka 55mm f1.2. There may have been Porst and Revuenon versions as well. All that said, Cosina did have some m42 bodies so its possible there may have been an f1.2. That's why I suggested he look close as to whether the lens is 1:2 or 1:1.2. The Cosina m42 55mm f1.2 was made by Tomioka!

04-18-2010, 09:23 PM	#7
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	If you look at enough camera+lens photos, you'll start to notice the giant front element of a possibly interesting lens, compared to the kind of small front element of an f1.7 to f2.2 lens. It's not infallible. Sometimes a 135/2.8 can fool you, or a distorted closeup, or some crappy zoom. But you can often tell even at 100 pixels wide that it's an M50/2 on a K1000.