[GoremanX]

I was walking through a woods trail last week when an older gentleman walking the other way noticed the K-7 hanging around my neck. "A Pentax!", he exclaimed, "I have one of those!"

Turns out he bought a brand new Spotmatic in Hong Kong back in 1969 (so it doesn't say Honeywell on it). He stopped using it 2 decades ago because the meter stopped functioning and he couldn't afford to get it fixed.

Of course, I asked what lenses he had. He wasn't sure, mentioned he had "some 50mm and some 135mm", but couldn't be sure exactly which ones. I expressed interest in having a look at them and maybe purchasing them, so he offered to bring me the whole kit next week.

Fast forward to today, and the gentleman was at the same place with his whole kit. Turns out his 50mm is a Super-Takumar 50mm F1.4. It's in MINT condition, not a speck of dust anywhere. Aside from the yellowed glass, it looks like it just came out of the original packaging. The 135mm is a less interesting Soligor F2.8, but it's also mint. Build quality is outstanding, a true relic from the past. He also brought a Soligor 3x teleconverter, close-up and skylight filters for the 50mm lens, an ancient Vivitar electronic flash (with crazy side-mount bracket), and ALL the original documentation for ALL of these products, perfectly preserved in a plastic sleeve. Oh, and the Spotmatic camera of course, with a half-used roll of film in it.

I was mostly interested in the Super-Takumar 50mm, but it seemed silly to take that away from him and leave him with the rest. I ended up walking away with the whole kit (minus his bag) for $60.

I'd planned for this possible purchase, so I had already acquired the proper M42 adapter for my K-7 and was able to try out the 50mm lens right away. In a word; wow! I can't believe how much light this thing captures! It's really impressive, I feel like I don't need a flash anymore. After taking a couple of shots, I put the lens under a black light for a few hours and it seemed to get rid of most of the yellowing. It's not a UV light though, so I'll have to put it in direct sunlight whenever it deigns to show itself again... it's been a few days since I've seen the sun.

The 135mm did not yellow noticeably. The glass is still crystal-clear. It also doesn't have a speck of dust on it. The pictures with it are a lot better than I expected. Even though it's the same aperture as my DA* 50-135mm, I find that the Soligor 135mm is faster. Maybe it's the lack of lens coating, thereby allowing more light through. I'd say the Soligor lets in almost a full stop more light (maybe 2/3 of a stop?)

The 3x teleconverter is everything I thought it would be... it kills about 3-4 stops of light, makes the picture quality drop like a rock, and makes for a MASSIVE magnification when combined with a 135mm lens and an APS-C sensor (equivalent to 608mm on 35mm camera). I'm still not sure if I wouldn't get a better picture by cropping out a 135mm shot, I'll have to do some tests. In any case, it's really hard to get a sharp shot at that focal length. Even sitting on a tripod, the picture in Live View was bouncing around all over the place. The 3-4 stops of lost light don't help. And focusing manually at that focal length is a nightmare because I can't keep the camera steady enough.

I had to take a peek through the viewfinder of the Spotmatic... what an AWESOME view!!! It's huge and bright and the micro-prism focusing circle is brilliant! I wish I had one of those on my K-7...

All in all, I think this was a very worthwhile purchase for $60. I've been wanting a fast 50mm since I bought the camera, and I feel like I lucked out with this particular example of a fine lens. The rest of the stuff is jut icing on the cake. Oh, and the film camera might be fun to play with too It doesn't have a working meter, but everything else works flawlessly.

(there's dust on the surface of the lens in this picture because of the damn dogs in the house)

[Peter Zack]

Sweet deal and nice start on the M42 LBA I'd take the glass out of the TC and use it as a macro tube. Otherwise the rest should serve you well.

[indytax]

That's a great find. By the way, the Soligor might be one of those with a mild cult following, you should research it and test it out more. I think it's the ones marked "C/D" that many people are particularly fond of.

[Ash]

Great scoop.
Well done.
Both the fast fifty and 135 are both decent sets of glassware.
Enjoy.

[GoremanX]

Sweet deal and nice start on the M42 LBA I'd take the glass out of the TC and use it as a macro tube. Otherwise the rest should serve you well.

Hey I never thought of that! Although I plan to test it more thoroughly before coming to a decision. Turns out my image quality problems are mostly because my Soligor lens is wide open due to its always-on "Auto" mode. I bet the quality would ramp right up if I could keep the aperture closed without shaking the camera. Right now I'm confused by the presence of an aperture ring on the teleconverter. It doesn't have any stops, it just glides through its range with almost no resistance and appears to do absolutely nothing. I can't see any mechanism anywhere that this ring uses. It's completely pointless as far as I can tell.

That's a great find. By the way, the Soligor might be one of those with a mild cult following, you should research it and test it out more. I think it's the ones marked "C/D" that many people are particularly fond of.

It seems like it has a lot of potential, but the problem (as mentioned above) is that it's always in "Auto" mode. There's a spring-mounted button on the side of the lens that closes the aperture to the selected setting, but unless I'm holding that button down, the lens is always wide open. The button doesn't just stay down by itself. And holding it is kinda awkward, it introduces all kinds of camera shake. I wish it had an "Auto/Manual" switch like the Super Takumar 50mm does. At F2.8 it's extremely fast, but it puts on an amazing blue and purple neon light show around any high contrast edges. Pictures of bare-branched trees on a snowy background were hilarious to look upon. I have a feeling these would be diminished greatly at F4 or so.

I've tried to find information regarding this lens, but it's very scarce. Lots of people seem to have one, and I've seen some awesome pictures taken with it, but I can't find any information regarding its history, different builds, etc. So far it's a mystery. I can't even guess where "C/D" should be visible. The lens mount (it has a T4 interchangeable mount) says "CS" on it, but that appears to have nothing to do with the lens. The mount was provided separately from the lens to match whatever camera you wanted to mount it to. It's all very mysterious...

Took a bunch of pictures with the Super Takumar 50mm today at the Montreal Auto Show. This thing totally blows my mind... I wasn't even trying for these shots, I was just experimenting. JPG from the camera (not RAW), no post-processing, no cropping, just a quick resize, re-save the JPG and upload to Picasa:





I forget what aperture this was at... I think it was F4 to get the Ferrari mostly in focus across the picture, although it still got a bit soft near the rear of the car.

[ramseybuckeye]

It seems like it has a lot of potential, but the problem (as mentioned above) is that it's always in "Auto" mode. There's a spring-mounted button on the side of the lens that closes the aperture to the selected setting, but unless I'm holding that button down, the lens is always wide open. The button doesn't just stay down by itself. And holding it is kinda awkward, it introduces all kinds of camera shake. I wish it had an "Auto/Manual" switch like the Super Takumar 50mm does.

Congratulations on the find! I recently had a similar find on Craigs List, that included an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, 5 M42 lens and a gigantic Soligar 250mm with probably an M44 mount. I got 2x and 3x teleconverters with it, one of those also has a sliding aperture ring, when you twist it around it shows a half size f stop in a little window. So if you slide it to 2.8, it shows 5.6 in the window, I guess it's a reminder. One of the lenses that I am intrigued with is an Auto Mamiya-Sekor SX 21mm f4. This lens has beautiful glass. I have not put it on my K20D because of the mount. There is a aperture pin located outside the threads for the Mamiya auto SX system. That pin would most likely stick the lens to the K20D mount if not removed. The other problem is that the aperture ring would probably fit snug against the body. I'm not ready to mutilate this lens yet, first of all, it may be valuable, probably not, but I would still want to adapt it right. It fits and works correctly on a Spotmatic. I'm running a roll of film through the Spotmatic now with just this lens.

Would a stiff rubber band hold your Soligar button on? You might also try a wide plastic wire tie around the barrel to hold the button down. Good luck with it.


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[Ratmagiclady]

That's a great find. By the way, the Soligor might be one of those with a mild cult following, you should research it and test it out more. I think it's the ones marked "C/D" that many people are particularly fond of.

I'm not sure which version that is, but as a kid I had a Soligor 135 2.8 in Miranda mount, (which kit was a gift from an uncle with good taste in stuff) I really liked that one. Good for people-shots in black and white, anyway. Kind of a distant fond memory at this point, but when people mention these I generally say 'Try em.'

Also, RamseyBuckeye may be right: you could possibly use a section of bicycle-innertube to hold that button down for you. This is one thing my Miranda-mount one either didn't have or I just don't remember.

[hanamai]

Awesome chance meeting and what a great acquisition for sure! The photos are pristine!

[sterretje]

Lucky bastard. Love the photos

[GoremanX]

Would a stiff rubber band hold your Soligar button on? You might also try a wide plastic wire tie around the barrel to hold the button down. Good luck with it.

I tried a plastic zip-tie, but the big knob of plastic on one end prevents the lens from screwing onto the camera properly, it hits the bridge of plastic that says "PENTAX" on it. I also tried an elastic, but it either wasn't stiff enough or it would slide off the button.

you could possibly use a section of bicycle-innertube to hold that button down for you.

ooh, that's a good idea. I have plenty of old inner tubes around.

[Ratmagiclady]

I tried a plastic zip-tie, but the big knob of plastic on one end prevents the lens from screwing onto the camera properly, it hits the bridge of plastic that says "PENTAX" on it. I also tried an elastic, but it either wasn't stiff enough or it would slide off the button.



ooh, that's a good idea. I have plenty of old inner tubes around.

One of RML's favorite materials. You can put a grip or a holder on just about anything if you have a couple of sizes of old innertube. Just don't forget about the powder inside: that can be irritating. Best to make the first cut under running water and then rinse the resulting tube out before making your bands.

[GoremanX]

Just don't forget about the powder inside: that can be irritating.

Yeah I hate that white crap... it's messy. I had a hard time finding a tube I hadn't already slit length-wise. I use them as sealing strips for converting my mountain bike to tubeless tires.

Works like a charm! Not exactly pretty, but I can always pretend it's "weather-sealing" You can kinda make out where the Preview button is being pressed in at the top.

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Now I need another K-mount adapter to put on it, I already thread-locked my other adapter to the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4.

[Ratmagiclady]

Yay! Next time one of these wicked-skinny road bike tubes go, I'l trade you for some fat ones? (It does seem my entire supply got pitched in the last move. )

Probably *is* weather-sealing, though, is the beauty of it. Also, those faddish rubber bracelets just happen to be the right size for most lenses and flash heads. (Ebay sent me one for being nice to people, once, it says: "People Are Good." I immediately put it on my old 285 in case I'm ever tempted to shoot another wedding.

[jonhock]

Hey Frank, did you ever try a new battery for the light meter? It may sound foolish of me to ask, but ya never know! I use a PX625A (can't remember the brand, but I just got it a couple months ago) in mine. Just a thought

[JACOBY]

Thats a good find lucky you