bideford Posted October 16, 2014 Share #1 Posted October 16, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ok - so succumbed to a late night purchase of an M42 mount Vivitar 400mm 5.6 telephoto lens on fleabay for next to nothing...... In my defence I do actually have an M42 to M adapter (used previously it to play with my father's old Super-Takumar lenses) so what the hell... Only managed to take a couple of images (tripod mounted, of course) this evening as the light dimmed but with the Oly EVF the focus peaking lines do not appear - anyone else tried using such a long lens with the M? btw - I use the term nasty in jest of course! James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 16, 2014 Posted October 16, 2014 Hi bideford, Take a look here Using nasty cheap M42 telephoto lenses on the M(240). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
paulsydaus Posted October 17, 2014 Share #2 Posted October 17, 2014 I guess the lens is too soft to trigger the high contrast edges the focus peaking algorithm is looking for... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted October 17, 2014 Share #3 Posted October 17, 2014 Except for novelty value, I question whether it is worth wasting time with an ill-fitting non-Leica lens of some antiquity when far superior options are likely to be available for you. If tempted by much older lenses, have you tried the 1960s 135mm Elmar? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted October 17, 2014 Share #4 Posted October 17, 2014 I have played with a M42 Meyer Optik Goerlitz Domiplan 50mm f2.8, just 3 elements which cost me the princely sum of about £3 on eBay, IIRC. It's interesting to compare it with the APO 50mm Summicron ASPH costing nearly 2000 times as much. They are chalk and cheese at f2.8, of course, but at f8 or f11. the Domiplan isn't THAT bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted October 17, 2014 Share #5 Posted October 17, 2014 at f8 or f11. the Domiplan isn't THAT bad. Couldn't you improve the Domiplan at this aperture by removing the glass bits? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravastar Posted October 17, 2014 Share #6 Posted October 17, 2014 Try gradually stopping the lens down. Also use a high contrast black and white target such as newspaper headlines to find the optimum focus peaking and lens aperture settings. Many older lenses will not show peaking unless stopped down one or more stops from full aperture. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bideford Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted November 3, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Apologies for not following up this thread recently but I have been short of time recently. Anyway - the Vivitar 400mm is somewhat soft with lots of CA - hence the reason why focus peaking not kicking in. Still used carefully (f/8 being the optimum stop) some keepers will be possible. I suspected that (along with others) a better 300mm lens would provide better resolution so (temptation being the devil here) grabbed a bargain Super Takumar 300mm f/4 (I have used wider Super Takumar's before on the M with reasonable results). Only had time for a quick tryout on a very grey day (with a bit of wind) but I do not think the results are that bad: 1st image M and Super Takumar 300mm f/4 (at f/8): 2nd image M and Summicron 35mm (again at f/8 or there abouts) simply to give a feel of the reach of the 300mm: You can have a lot of fun with adapters and the Oly EVF! James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bideford Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted November 3, 2014 Except for novelty value, I question whether it is worth wasting time with an ill-fitting non-Leica lens of some antiquity when far superior options are likely to be available for you. If tempted by much older lenses, have you tried the 1960s 135mm Elmar? Hi wda, I do agree with you somewhat but one of the "advantages" of the M is the ability to use older non M/ LTM mount, uncoupled lenses with both an adapter and the EVF. This you can do for very little cash. I bought the M42 adapter simply for curiosity - to see how my fathers old lenses fared on a digital mount. I still have my old Elmar 135 - and an excellent lens it is. Not sure you would be able to count the feet on the sheep if used in place of the 300mm lens though! (Cannot help thinking to my self why anyone would count the number of feet on sheep - never seen one with less or more than 4....). James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted November 3, 2014 Share #9 Posted November 3, 2014 Couldn't you improve the Domiplan at this aperture by removing the glass bits? Yes, a piece of cardboard with the pin hole would probably work as well.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.