M42 Lenses

An old tin doing duty as a spare button store. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Fabric photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens on a short extension tube.

Things you can do indoors with a Chinon lens and a shaft of sunlight. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Breakfast, Leap Day, 2016. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens + short extension tube.

I don't know if time has colour but if it does, I feel there is a very good chance that it is brown. Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Orestegor 200mm f/4 Zebra lens on a Canon EOS 40D.

For Steve Bucknell. Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

This sturdy East German pre set lens was in production from 1963 until 1990. However, it was redesignated as a Pentacon following the merger of Meyer-Optik with Pentacon in 1971, when it was given auto diaphragm capability. At some point in the production run the number of iris blades was reduced from 15 to six, presumably as an economy measure. This occurred during the 'Pentacon' years. The original Orestegor with its 15 blades is known as the 'bokeh monster' because the blades form an almost perfect circle. Obviously that sort of geometry is impossible with only six blades in the diaphragm. Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

The Meyer version is the classic "zebra".

Not by a long chalk is this the first time I have photographed my birdbath. But I don't recall shooting it with a Helios-44 58mm f/2 lens before. It's not a result which showcases the unusual and distinctive bokeh of that lens, yet I nevertheless like the way it turned out. I put large stones and pieces of brick in my birdbath chiefly to deter wood pigeons from taking a full bath and generally being disgusting. A side benefit is that it anchors the contraption to the ground more securely. And it provides a subject to point my camera at from time to time.

Many Zenit cameras were supplied with a Helios-44 lens of 58mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/2. This lens was a Soviet copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar lens and had distinctive bokeh characteristics. So Helios = Zeiss. Possibly. This photograph was made with one of the original Helios-44 lenses from the KMZ factory - not one with -2, -3, -4 or M after the "Helios-44". It has a preset diaphragm where aperture adjustments are made at the front. The handling is dreadful. But the results are rewarding, save for the high rate of attrition through bad focusing and wrong exposure (both being my fault, not the fault of the lens).

I walk around the house. Things have changed slightly in this room. Some clothing is airing on clothes hangers suspended from a bookshelf. There is not much light but it is enough if a fast lens is used in combination with an elevated ISO. The colours are nice. The close-up effect of a standard lens on a cropped sensor is slightly enigmatic. The folds create shadows; the buttons reflect activity. This is a little slice of domesticity. Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens via an M42 adapter.

A rainy day. My coat is wet from a walk to the shops. I put it over the back of a chair in a corner of a room to air off. This is a memory of that event. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens via an M42 adapter.

Photographed using a Helios-44 58mm f/2 lens fitted via an adapter to a Canon EOS 30D camera. The Helios-44 is a Soviet copy of the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2. And a lot cheaper.

Photographed using a Helios-44 58mm f/2 lens fitted via an adapter to a Canon EOS 30D camera. The Helios-44 is a Soviet copy of the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2. And a lot cheaper.

Photographed using a Helios-44 58mm f/2 lens fitted via an adapter to a Canon EOS 30D camera.