[jcrutchley]

Having a hard time deciding between the Takumar M42 mount 85mm 1.8 and the K mount version. There seems to be many more Takumars available, but I don't have an M42 body, and I don't like the idea of fiddling with m42 -K mount adapters. Is it worth buying a "newer" Spotmatic F or the like, or should I just go with the more rare K mount 85mm f1.8?

Both lenses seem to have about the same ratings on the forums, but exhibit somewhat different color rendering. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help!

[pres589]

You put the adapter on the lens and leave it on and it's basically a non-communicating k-mount lens at that point. All you need to do then is stop the lens down manually with your thumb between composing/focusing and taking the shot.

I got an m42 camera handed to me and I collected a little glass for it and I kind of wish I hadn't as I really just like living with k-mount glass instead of basically two different systems only tangentially related to each other. The camera was a gift and I've spent money refurbishing it to a useable degree. Based on my own experience I would suggest getting the K version and keeping your camera collection more streamlined.

LATE ADDITION: When I wanted an 85mm portrait lens for my m42 kit I ended up purchasing a 90mm f2.5 Adaptall Macro prime from Tamron. I like the lens so much that I leave a k mount on it instead and the m42 kit doesn't get to see the nice 90 anymore. It's wonderful wide open and f2.5 max aperture is fine with me.

[nickthetasmaniac]

Personally I’ve always found it a bit clunky using my Takumars on my K mount bodies. Yes, it can be done, but the lenses do not function as designed.

I’d just go the SMC-K version. The prices are similar anyway...

[Eyewanders]

Having a hard time deciding between the Takumar M42 mount 85mm 1.8 and the K mount version. There seems to be many more Takumars available, but I don't have an M42 body, and I don't like the idea of fiddling with m42 -K mount adapters. Is it worth buying a "newer" Spotmatic F or the like, or should I just go with the more rare K mount 85mm f1.8?

Both lenses seem to have about the same ratings on the forums, but exhibit somewhat different color rendering. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help!

Depends on which bodies you're using. If you rely on in-camera metering a lot the K is obviously an easier choice. But then again, if you don't have and don't want a Spottie or S series camera, you can still use the Taks manually and just leave the adapter on it like was mentioned. I've never found stop-down metering much of a hassle at all, and if you're metering off-camera then it doesn't matter a bit. The Takumars are lovely, and in my opinion their focusing and aperture control are like sweet buttery goodness when compared to the later lens varieties (K, M, A). If you've never used one you'd have to feel it to know what I mean... and I'd recommend (if you don't have a Tak of any variety in your glass selection) the M42 version based on that alone.

[stevebrot]

Both lenses seem to have about the same ratings on the forums, but exhibit somewhat different color rendering. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help!

What you are giving up with adapted M42 lenses is automatic aperture actuation (the ability to focus and compose wide open and shoot at will) and (on most K-mount film cameras) open aperture metering. One is wedded to either a lot of A/M switch work or staying with a fully manual aperture or a combination of the two.

Shooting M42 on a native M42 body provides automatic aperture actuation and highly intuitive stop-down metering. At least it is intuitive enough for me. I shot that way for about 12 years. In regards to choice of body, unless one is willing to invest heavily in SMC/S-M-C Takumars, there is little or no advantage to getting a Spotmatic F.* A Spotmatic II is less money and a little lighter, still works nicely, and has the hot shoe earlier Spotties lack. It also has a meter that is off unless it has been turned on. The key to stop-down metering is remembering that there is usually little need to meter for each shot. Meter once, and shoot freely until either the subject or the light changes.


Steve

* The Spotmatic F only supports open-aperture metering with SMC/S-M-C Takumars. Other M42 lenses require stop-down metering. There is also another penalty of sorts in that compatibility of with non-Takumar lenses in general is fairly poor due to physical interference with the SMC coupling mechanism. Very few of my non-Asahi M42 lenses will cleanly mount and are usable on my Spotmatic F.

[reh321]

Having a hard time deciding between the Takumar M42 mount 85mm 1.8 and the K mount version. There seems to be many more Takumars available, but I don't have an M42 body, and I don't like the idea of fiddling with m42 -K mount adapters. Is it worth buying a "newer" Spotmatic F or the like, or should I just go with the more rare K mount 85mm f1.8?

Both lenses seem to have about the same ratings on the forums, but exhibit somewhat different color rendering. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help!

Could you speak a little more about the environment that you would using this lens in? By now, it should be evident that the more variation in the environment - the more variation in light, the more variation in focus - the stronger is the case for getting a K-mount lens.

[pentaxus]

If you want to use older/non-Takumar lenses, Spotmatic cameras are best because 387s watch batteries work well with them and you don't use accuracy. The Spotmatic F light meter is designed differently and isn't as accurate with currently available batteries. Another lens to try for portraits is the 105 mm lens. The old 105mm 2.8 pre-set lens has a nice round diaphragm.

[jcrutchley]

After much debate, I've settled on the K version. Average price on Ebay is about the same as the Takumars ($500 as of today). I've heard nothing but good things about each of these lenses, so I'll side step the M42 mount for now. Still would like to get my hands on a minty Spotmatic at some point. Hoping to mount this on an LX which I've had my eye on for some time, but may settle on an MX. I appreciate eveyone's comments. Great suggestions and insight!