Pentax-m smc 50mm 1.4f
 

Im about to order these lens today. SMC PENTAX-M 50mm 1.4 on eBay (end time 01-Sep-10 20:35:19 BST)


Would you recomend them ? I will use them mainly for Video .


I hear good reviews about them, some of the reviewers speak more highly of them than the Canon 50mm 1.4 . Would you agree?


Also, share some info about what mount would be best for my 550d.

Thank you .

This is one that i found- m42 to EOS EF adapter

But i see people talking that there are other choices.

I have around 8 hoers to make up my mind so i'd rly appreciate some advice on this matter.

I found these 3 that seams suitable.

AF CONFIRM M42 SCREW LENS TO CANON EOS EF ADAPTER + Cap on eBay (end time 21-Sep-10 15:38:07 BST)


AF Confirm M42 Lens to Canon EOS EF 50D 40D 30D Adapter on eBay (end time 23-Sep-10 07:27:50 BST)


AF Confirm M42 Lens to Canon EOS EF Adapter 550D 50D 7D on eBay (end time 06-Sep-10 04:00:39 BST)

I will take one of these i think.

I think that could probably be a Pentax K mount version in which case you would need a K-Mount to EOS adapter. It's pretty easy to tell the difference in mounts. One has threads in the back that you screw on (M42) and the other is a bayonet type mount with a protruding prong on the back.

I know someone who has that lens and it's pretty sweet and surprsingly compact. Have fun with your new lens!

Chris W

Thank you for response. :)

How ever this doesn't solve my problem. You sad probably, that wont do my friend. :(

Ust ordered the Lens, but the mount is still an issue .

Some people were discussing the "m42 to eos" adapters to work with 550d and these lens. But then again i found people who contradicted that.

Gustavs on the bottom of ebay listing there is Q&A.


Questions and answers about this item
Q: Hi, what type of mount does this lens have? Thanks and regards,
A: This is a Pentax K bayonet mount


What you need is K-Mount to EOS adapter as Chris W. already suggested.
Good luck with the lens.

I feel like your annoyed by my question .

Understand me, this will be my first mounted Lens. And internet is full of people who post their succes stories about how they managed to mount their lenses with this and that mount, wile disabling this and cutting of that part of the mount or lens etc. It gets me wherry confused. I am not willing to risk with my investment now , so i am trying to find the best Stan-dart adapter which is some what universal .



Thought i might ask a concrete answer from some1 who had experience with this type of lens on 550d .



And ye,il look into the Q option in ebay and alredy asked few of the sellers about the best pick.


Thx :)

Gustavs,

This is my experience. If you can afford it, get the Canon f/1.4.

If you can't afford it, get a Pentax, but not the bayonet mounted variety. There are 3 m42 varieties to choose from: Super Takumar, Super-Multi-Coated Takumar and SMC Takumar. The last two are the best by far, and differ a lot from the first.

However, there are issues.

You need to clear the yellowing, if it is not done already. Some people think it adds character, but if you want a yellow cast, you can always add a filter. Not only that, the yellowing loses you around one stop of light. To remove it, get a 15w compact fluorescent UV party light on ebay and shine it through the lens for 3 days straight. Works best if you point it through the front with foil covering the back.

The adapter issue is not clear cut with these lenses. All adapters I have ever seen have been the same shape. The only difference between them being some have a focus confirm chip. They all work, but I have always had to file a section of the adapter away to accomodate the stop-down pin on the back of the lens in the case of these lenses. Otherwise, the focus wheel will be constricted, and you will strain the lens and introduce play in the focus action.

If you are prepared to jump through these hoops, you will be rewarded with a lens that gives the Canon a good run for its money.

Hey James.

Well i had to make up my mind quite fast since i made the Thread, so with the knowledge i had at that time i ordered the Pentax-m smc 50mm 1.4 .


Tbh i have heard only the best reviews about it, seen a good full scale production made on it on these forums as well, on 550d. I asked the guy who made it weather or not he had any problems regarding this lens, and he told me that there were no cutting involved when attaching it to the 550d. Saying that that problem is for 5d2.

I ordered PK to eos mount for it on ebay.



Wherry interesting way to remove the Yellowing . :) I believe the one i ordered doesn't have it.

Il have to try the m42 lens as a zoom or wide angle ones. Didn't have them in consideration till your post.
And Canon 50mm 1.4 is to expensive for me. So i am ready to jump trough hoops for a good cheep lens.

Thank you wherry much .

You have a great lens. The difference between yours and the m42 SMC is that yours will have a slightly better coating, but a worse build quality. Optically, they share the same design, so results will be very similar.

I think he's referring to a different problem. The problem I mentioned only affects the m42 lenses, but is present on all EF adapters.



Correct, no yellowing on the bayonet version.


In terms of wide lenses, there are some great 28mm m42 lenses about, but not many that are wider, so you are limited there on a 550d. I would avoid the m42 zooms. Zooms have got a whole lot better since those days, while primes haven't changed that much.

I've got one of those..
 

I've got the Pentax-M 50mm. I got it off eBay and it's really nice. It's a little bit loose, but the images are fantastic. Mine was a Pentax K-Mount, but i just removed the bits i didn't want.

I did a blog on converting lenses for the 550D /T2i here: Sean J Vincent Blog: Canon 550D (T2i)- converting old camera lenses...

I managed to find a Pentacon 50mm F1.2, and this is better...but i still use the Pentax-M sometimes as it's such a nice 'look'. It's very slightly soft and this seems to mask the dreaded moire. Great for video.

S

Ohoo. Even a Guide, Exelent. Ty Sean and James. :)



Tell me please, does the 1.2 in comparison to 1.4 changes a lot in low light . Seams like a minor change. Cause i see pentax-m smc 50mm 1.2 costs almost half the 1.4 one. People speak less good about it .

Edit: Ohh sorry, its 1:2 not 1.2 . The 1.2f model costs araund 400 $ +

I've got the same lens, it's actually my favorite video lens - I did have to cut a tab off, but I'm using it on 5D. I have the focus-confirm adapter and it works but I don't find it very useful (doesn't work in video mode anyway) so you any regular adapter should work fine.

A nice thing about this lens is it's very easy to 'de-click' the aperture ring. Take out the five screws on the back and lift the mount and the aperture ring slides right off. There's a small bearing that will fall out which makes it click into place. I added a small piece of foil tape to the inside of the aperture ring before putting it back on so that it has a decent amount of drag when turning it, but now I have much more precise adjustment for exposure.

Its hard to visualize something you have not done. :)


Thx for the tip there, il check it out in practice once it arrives.

Folks, you don't need to hack the aperture pin on your Pentax M or A lenses if you're using them on an APS-C camera like the 550D and 7D because the mirror box is so much smaller than a FF camera like the 5D2.

Got the lens and the Adapter.


The low light capabilities are amazing and the buttery smooth focus wheel is ust a joy.

All i need now is zoom H4N :)

:)

Thank you Folks.

great lens eh? skip the zoom and pick up a Tascam DR-680 instead (unless you need the onboard mics)

Well this is my second lens, so for me there is no comparison jet. (Except kit lens.)

But yes, they are great. And the build is solid :)


About Zoom h4n. I do need it because of the on board mic. Seen some examples on YouTube and the quality seems fine. And the product you offer is 700 $ + . That's beyond my limits of spending.

For the videos that i will be making Zoom should do fine.

Actually, consider the Tascam DR-100 instead of the Zoom. Similar price range & features to the H4n, but has a couple things that make the workflow much nicer.

Hi Evan.

Thank you for the tip, but regardless of the Easy'er work flow i rather stick with the H4n, since it is approved by many as a "Cant go wrong for the price" product.

Don't want to second guess my purchase latter on.

Good night sleep > few more mins at pc to get the job done.

When I say workflow, I don't mean back at the PC, I mean in the field. If a good night's sleep is what you want, get the DR-100 instead of the H4n. Trust me.

The single biggest flaw of the H4n is that when the battery dies you lose whatever was recording at the time - not just the end, but the entire recording. I lost the audio for a 30 minute interview because of this. The DR-100 has a built-in backup battery so this won't happen.

The H4n also only has a single level control for the two XLR inputs - so you can't set the two channels independently. This is a real problem if you want to use two different mics, or if you just want to split a single mic to two channels and set the level on one lower than the other for a safety track. The DR-100 also has two dials for the level settings which are much nicer than the single up-down button on the H4n.

I have the H4n, I've shot a lot of hours with it, the quality is great and I still use it all the time - it's a great deal for the price and used to be significantly cheaper than the DR-100. But now that the price difference is gone there's no way I'd buy it over the Tascam. We've used both on my last few projects and the Tascam is equally good in terms of quality but better in terms of peace of mind and usability in the field.