[Lowell Goudge]

It is not a joke and your understanding of the adapter is correct. A few of us do use screwmount lenses as our daily shooting lenses and only on very rare occasions do we remove the adapter so we can use K-mount lenses. In my case, it is only for situations where I absolutely must have zoom and/or auto-focus. Fortunately, those situations are few and far between.

Takumars really are my daily kit and I even ordered my Lens Baby 2.0 from the factory so I could get it in screwmount (so I could use it on my old screwmount film cameras and also not have to remove the adapter from my K20D to use it).

Some people use screwmounts only every once in a while and find it a pain to have to constantly install and remove the adapter to switch back and forth between screwmount and K-mount. Some of us just shake our heads and wonder why they don't leave the damned K-mounts at home on the shelf. We are the few, and we are oddballs. We recognize and embrace that.

We would be most pleased to have you visit us in The Takumar Club thread.

Mike

I thikn I am in with you and Ira.

Although I have upgraded my body (camera not me personally) several times, I have kept the old ones.

Either my *istD or K10D has the M42 adapter in it at any point in time. and since I have the whole range 24-200mm covered by 13 M42 lenses, I would be one who would seriously consider supporting a digital spotmatic if it ever came out.

[RioRico]

And here we have vastly different approaches. I cherish my M42's (that's why I have so many!) but they're just tools, like artists' brushes. I may leave one old prime on my K20D for several days -- but I wander around with a small kit in my bag, and I may need to change lenses fast for certain situations, just as other tasks may require quickly grabbing another tool. That means I don't want to spend the time (un)screwing hardware. So I do NOT leave an adapter in the camera. Maybe if I had a couple Kr's or something, it would be easy to dedicate one as the M42 cam and one for PK lenses. But as-is, I leave adapters on lenses.

[Lowell Goudge]

And here we have vastly different approaches. I cherish my M42's (that's why I have so many!) but they're just tools, like artists' brushes. I may leave one old prime on my K20D for several days -- but I wander around with a small kit in my bag, and I may need to change lenses fast for certain situations, just as other tasks may require quickly grabbing another tool. That means I don't want to spend the time (un)screwing hardware. So I do NOT leave an adapter in the camera. Maybe if I had a couple Kr's or something, it would be easy to dedicate one as the M42 cam and one for PK lenses. But as-is, I leave adapters on lenses.

My approach is a little similar with the exception that I have my old bodies still. When I am on my own schedule I will, often as not, go out with a handful of M42 lenses, but when I am fitting my photography into something else like vacations or family travel I take a couple of fast AF zooms. It is all a matter of taking what is practical for each situations

[Canada_Rockies]

My approach is a little similar with the exception that I have my old bodies still. When I am on my own schedule I will, often as not, go out with a handful of M42 lenses, but when I am fitting my photography into something else like vacations or family travel I take a couple of fast AF zooms. It is all a matter of taking what is practical for each situations

I'm with Lowell. Use what you have if it is appropriate to the occasion. My macro is an M100/4 that only goes to 1:2, but if I need more, I can add 50mm extension tube to work between 1:1 and 1:2. Both go in my bag, along with my DA 12-24, DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, M400/5.6,A 1.4X-S, AFA 1.7X AF and SMC Takumar 55/1.8 with Pentax Mount Adapter K and AF 540 FGZ flash. It makes for a heavy back pack, but is my full kit carry, along with tripod and ball head.

For other occasions, tomorrow my grandson and I will be climbing a local mountain for example, I will reduce to 12-24 and 16-50 - and might leave the 16-50 home to leave room for even more lunch and water. It's a pretty stiff climb, but the view is nothing short of spectacular.

[Spodeworld]

I picked up one of those spring loaded apaters, removed the spring (RioRico's advice) and didn't like the way it came out of the camera with the lens. Assuming it couldn't be too bad if I had the tool, I added the spring back in only to find out that it was hell to get it back out....don't think I will be doing that again too soon. However, since it comes out of the camera body with the lens so easily, I decided having 2 may make sense. When you are about to change lenses pop the free adapter on the lens (it goes onto the camera easily w/o the spring), take off the other lens w/adapter and swap. Take the adapter off the other lens and have it ready to pop it on the next one you choose to use on the camera. Not great, but I hate taking the lens off the camera with the adapter still on it, then having to remove it and placing it on the next lens all while the camera is open.

[Lowell Goudge]

I picked up one of those spring loaded apaters, removed the spring (RioRico's advice) and didn't like the way it came out of the camera with the lens. Assuming it couldn't be too bad if I had the tool, I added the spring back in only to find out that it was hell to get it back out....don't think I will be doing that again too soon. However, since it comes out of the camera body with the lens so easily, I decided having 2 may make sense. When you are about to change lenses pop the free adapter on the lens (it goes onto the camera easily w/o the spring), take off the other lens w/adapter and swap. Take the adapter off the other lens and have it ready to pop it on the next one you choose to use on the camera. Not great, but I hate taking the lens off the camera with the adapter still on it, then having to remove it and placing it on the next lens all while the camera is open.

The problem with pulling the spring, is that the adaptor does come out easily.

a while back, someone had posted that they were using an adaptor with the spring removed, and when they picked up their 500/4.5 takumar, their caamera fell off. it is a risk, and it is why there is a lens locking pin on K mounts.

[RioRico]

The problem with pulling the spring, is that the adaptor does come out easily. ... it is a risk, and it is why there is a lens locking pin on K mounts.

With lenses with wide-enough bases, it is possible to cut a slot in the lens base for the locking pin to engage. Some also have drilled a small hole in the adapter ring and used a set-screw to secure the adapter to the lens, thus leaving the adapter removable.

[Spodeworld]

Actually, the adapter coming out so easily is starting to become a pain.

I may venture into adding the spring back and giving it another try and seeing if I can find a way to make that work. I have to get my courage up first. It was a bad first experience!

The problem with pulling the spring, is that the adaptor does come out easily.

a while back, someone had posted that they were using an adaptor with the spring removed, and when they picked up their 500/4.5 takumar, their caamera fell off. it is a risk, and it is why there is a lens locking pin on K mounts.

[Lowell Goudge]

I guess it all comes down to whether you use M42 lenses casually or every day

Every day users tend to ask what spring, because we basically accept our camera is an M42 body

I know it can be a sizeable investment, but putting together an M42 kit can be a lot of fun, especially if tou take the approach of getting some unusual lenses

[Pepe Guitarra]

I have a bunch of those adapters with flange that Asian dealers sell for $8 each. Those can be installed on the lens and you can treat them as regular K mount. The only draw buck is the focus to infinite that gets compromised. If you do not mind not being able to focus to infinite, then there you go.

[RioRico]

I have a bunch of those adapters with flange that Asian dealers sell for $8 each. Those can be installed on the lens and you can treat them as regular K mount. The only draw buck is the focus to infinite that gets compromised. If you do not mind not being able to focus to infinite, then there you go.

The safe wide-flange NIF (no infinity focus) adapters have less effect on far-focus on LONG lenses, like 200mm or more. Far-focus may be somewhere around 75m, which for many tele applications is just fine. My TeleTak 200/5.6 and Argus-Chinon 300/5.6 live with NIF adapters.

My favorite 'portrait' zoom is an M42 Sears-Tokina 55-135/3.5. On an NIF adapter, far-focus at 55mm is ~3m, and at 135mm is ~20m. Near-focus drops to 0.75m at 55mm and 1m at 135mm, and DOF thins a little. Those are damn useful focus ranges, so an NIF adapter lives on that lens.

Far-focus on a 35mm lens may drop down to 2m, which is more limiting. On a 21mm lens, it gets rather absurd. And on a 12mm fisheye? HA! It's down around macro range...

I think I read that the upcoming Pentax accessories price gouge, er I mean necessary increase, will include the Official Pentax M42-PK adapter. Y'all who want to turn your PK dSLRs into M42 cams had better stock up now. The rest of us with multiple M42's that we swap regularly can keep buying cheap clones.

[Spodeworld]

I put the spring loaded one back on...struggled a bit to unlock and remove, and then did it a number of times. After a while I started to get the hang of it. It is doable. It is fiddly and not all that simple, but it does get considerably easier....not easy...just easier. Sometimes I just unlock it just to be sure I can still do it. But, at least I don't feel like the lens are coming off when I am turning focus rings, etc. We'll see......but, I feel like I have to keep practicing putting it on and taking it off so I don't lose the knack.

[excanonfd]

I was buying a preset Rikenon 300/5.5 which had a very stiff focus ring and I happen to take the genuine mount (no lock spring) with me. I mounted the lens on the camera and as I am turning the focus ring and the lens came right off - almost bought the lens without ever taking a shot from it - I was lucky to catch the lens before it hit the pavement. There have been many threads in the forum on how to prevent this from happening, one extreme method called for cutting and bending the lens mount tab next to the red dot to narrow the gap. This may have worked for the person putting forth this idea, but it seemed a bit too drastic to me.

What I have done is instead of cutting a notch on the mounting tab, I have dimpled the tab using a centre punch and a hammer. Before you start hammering at the m42 adapter, you have to make sure the gap between the flange and the mounting tab is solidly blocked up. The adapters are made of brass (soft metal) and if it's not blocked up tight, you can severely deform the mounting tab or end up tearing through it. With the space blocked up, secure the adapter by clamping it to a solid surface, place the centre punch on the mounting tab and give it a firm but gentle tap on the centre punch head. Remove the blocking, mount the adapter to the lens and try mounting the lens to the camera. If the lens is still loose and in danger of falling off, repeat the process one hammer beat at a time until there is sufficient amount of resistance in mounting and dismounting the lens to and from the camera.

If you get impatient, happen to hammer too hard or hammer too many times between fittings and you find the lens won't mount on the camera, you can still salvage the adapter by taking a needle file and gently filing the tab underneath the dimple until the lens will mount the camera once again. The real danger of hammering too hard is that the tab could tear off, if this happens you are sol - time to try again.

Hope this helps,