NEX-7 and Pentax M42 lenses

[durrIII]

Has anyone used any M42 lens on a NEX-7 yet? I have 5 M42 lenses and was wondering if they will work on the NEX-7 when mine arrives. Or should I start looking elsewhere? And which adapter should I get? Thanks

[Vivek]

Unless your 5 include some of the rare Pentax lenses like the UA Takumars (made for certain special purpose shooting), there is very little they have to offer for a NEX-7. They will all project an image and that can be captured using the NEX-7.

With a tilt adapter, you could get movements in a tiny package.

For street shooting, I think the best option would be the Zeiss E-Sonnar 24/1.8.
This is one of the lenses on my list.

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by durrIII

Has anyone used any M42 lens on a NEX-7 yet? I have 5 M42 lenses and was wondering if they will work on the NEX-7 when mine arrives. Or should I start looking elsewhere? And which adapter should I get? Thanks

They should all work fine, the only issue will be whether they are equipped with the A-M switch enabling the aperture to stop down. (All the Pentax M42 lenses do, not all the other brands.) How well they perform depends on the lens, of course. Some M42 lenses are terrific, others mediocre.

I like Rayqual and Kipon adapters most of the ones I've used for FourThirds, Micro-FourThirds and M-bayonet adaptation. I'm sure they make comparable quality ones for Sony E.

[durrIII]

Thanks guys....I'll give them a try. Merry Christmas....Ho Ho Ho

[etrigan63]

I have to say that I am a fan of Fotodiox adapters and they have a M42 adapter.

[durrIII]

Hey Carlos. How's the NEX-7 working out? Mine is not here yet.

[etrigan63]

It's very nice. Being able to preview the effects of the camera settings in the viewfinder is a real treat. Make exposure compensation a dream to use. The Rainbow adapter I got for M-lenses was not focusing to infinity correctly, so i ordered the Fotodiox one. I have a Fotodiox OM-to-NEX adapter and it works a treat. Fast glass can be a bit challenging in low-light even with focus peaking.

[Peterm1_Leica]

I am fortunate enough to have perhaps 20 Pentax Takumar M42 lenses that I have collected over the years, all of which have a well deserved reputation for excellence in build and optical quality.

The first NEX adapter I bought was one for a Leica M lenses - fortunately I already owned an adapter allowing M42 lenses to be mounted on Leicas. So by combining them I was able to mount my Takumars. This combination works perfectly although if I did not already have the M42-Leica adapter I would have bought an M42 - NEX adapter. For the moment I do not need to bother.

Some observations..... The inexpensive but high quality 55mm f2 (or f1.8) produces superb images and has some of the best bokeh I have seen anywhere. It is perhaps my favourite Takumar on the NEX. Ditto the 50mm f1.4. The 85mm f1.8 auto Takumar is also superb in both departments- image sharpness and bokeh. Pretty well all of the Takumar lens range work well but other ones that I have particularly enjoyed mounting on the NEX and using are the 24mm f3.5, 28mm f3.5, the 35mm f3.5, the 35mm f2 and the 105mm f2.8. All very good lenses. Some very early auto Takumar 55mm f2.2 lenses and the like are interesting too - a bit lower contrast and softer but with very nice bokeh - excellent portrait lenses.

There are few real negatives I have found with this set up. I am a fan of the Takumars (which accounts for the number I still own -even after having sold some of the more valuable ones) and find they hold their won well with modern lenses.

[emr]

Peterm1_Leica, does any of the Takumars you have used show any color casting or smearing? Or is it mainly a problem with lenses with shorter than K registration distance?