M42

Using the Zenit TTL

Zenit TTL, Helios 44M 58mm f/2, Kodak Portra 160

So far I am greatly enjoying using the Zenit TTL. I love it’s design which I find to be rugged and simple.

The Zenit TTL is a 35mm SLR from the early 1980’s with a M42 (aka Pentax aka Praktica) lens screw mount. As it’s name would imply it features through-the-lens metering including automatic aperture stop down with newer M42 lenses.

It’s metering is built into the shutter release. Partially pressing it down engaged the meter as well as stops down the lens aperture, and then pressing futher releases the shutter.

This is different than say the Pentax Spotmatic SP which has a separate lever to engage the aperture and metering. Either method works fine, though in practice I don’t check or change exposure every shot and therefore find the Pentax a bit less disruptive.

The metering itself is a bit suspect. I believe it averages light across the whole frame and seems to key off of any bright spots. It also engages at a slightly different point than the aperture stop-down.

I haven’t had any problems getting good exposures from it, but I have had to double- or triple-check many shots just to be sure I knew what it was thinking.

Olympics Past and Present

2014-02-01 09.47.10

The camera I hinted at last time is the Zenit TTL, specifically the edition commemorating the Games of the XXII Olympiad.  The 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow and Zenit sold a souvenir flavor of their top film SLR for several years later.

So far this camera is a blast to shoot with.  It is a bit on the large and heavy side, although not nearly as much as I feared.  It does feel solid in a good way with its film advance and other functions having no slack or shifting at all.

The camera I found is in great shape and even the original leather case is perfectly usable.  It came with another Helios 44M lens, a 58MM f/2 standard lens with swirly out-of-focus elements when opened wide up.

With the Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony just around the corner I feel this is as appropriate a time as any to be shooting with this camera!

Welcome 2014

2014-01-18 23.18.22
Guess who?  (And from what camera?)

It was a busy holiday season for us as always, though this year was particularly packed for some reason.  I am just coming out of the trailing edge of seasonal activity and thinking once again about photography.

So Happy New Year to everyone!  Better late than never…

We are big olympaholics in this house and will watch summer or winter Olympics for hours on end.  Truth be told we slightly favor the winter Olympics, perhaps due to the higher speeds and greater likelihood of folks wiping out.

Given my recent penchant for M42 mount cameras I couldn't resist trying another model out.  I found one that will be very appropriate given that the Sochi XXII Olympic Winter Games are coming up soon.

See if you can figure out who the above figure is (not too hard…) as well as what was in the box he is printed on (perhaps a bit harder!).

Rejuvenating Yellowed Lens Glass Via UV Light

2013-09-28 21.09.31
UV rejuvination in progress

There is a curious phenomenon which affects some older lenses as
they age: the cement used to bond glass elements together can turn yellow.

While comparing two of my recently acquired M42 lenses with each other,
a 50/1.4 Super-Takumar to a 58/2 Helios-44-2, I was puzzled when meter
readings from the Super-Tak called for a slower shutter speed on the same
subject with both lenses wide open.

I also noticed the view through my Spotmatic's finder was yellow-ish
with the Super-Tak.  Some research on this topic turned up that this is a
common issue afflicting these lenses.

Others report success bleaching the lens back to clarity using ultraviolet
light, either from direct daylight (window glass blocks UV) or via a strong UV light
bulb.  I decided to try a CFL party black
light and heat lamp fixture from home depot.

After merely 24 hours of exposure to UV there was a noticeable
difference, and by 4 days later it appeared cleared up to the naked eye.

My meter readings now called for a one-stop
faster shutter on the Super-Tak so I figure I am done with the UV light treatment.

Before and After: Helios 44-2 on the left and Super-Takumar 50/1.4 on the right

DSC_9255

DSC_9601

As an added bonus I now have a black light at my disposal just in time for Halloween trick-or-treaters!

Happy 10th Anniversary

2013-09-26 14.44.41
Pentax Spotmatic, Asahi Super-Takumar 50/1.4, Kodak BW400CN

Today my Dear Sweet Wife and I celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary.

I took the above photo of my DSW using my first M42 lens, an
Asahi (Pentax) Super-Takumar 50/1.4 shot wide open.

It was just one of two shots taken for fun while at lunch the
other day, but I think it captures her beauty and charm quite nicely if I do
say so myself.

Happy anniversary my love!

Thanks for all the good times: the family, home, travel, and
all sorts of fun and adventure.  But
mostly thanks for doing it together with me.

Here is to the next ten years and beyond!

Jamie

Spotmatic Overview

2013-09-30 14.00.34
The majority of Spotmatic controls are right here

After a few weeks
playing with my Pentax Spotmatic camera I find shooting it a blast.

It is a fully manual SLR
with typical layout of the controls.  You won't find much more on this
camera than shutter speed dial & release, film advance level and a
self-timer.  Aperture and focus is of course controlled via the lens.

The Spotmatic has
through the lens (TTL) metering, but unlike newer cameras there is a switch
near the lens mount to enable the meter.  This engages an automatic
diaphragm release on newer M42 lenses to stop the aperture down for metering.

The documented usage
model is to first compose and focus with the aperture wide open and then engage
the meter and adjust exposure as needed.  The image through the viewfinder
darkens during metering as the lens stops down to the chosen aperture.

Personally I found
myself metering first and then disengaging the switch to perform final
focusing; either method works fine.

The only quirks I have
encountered are

  • It required an PX-400 mercury battery, but I used the
    replacement WeinCell instead
  • The battery chamber prong had to be pried up a bit to
    get the meter working
  • The fresnel focusing screen in the viewfinder requires your eye to be dead center to work

Taking a Spin with a Spotmatic

2013-09-21 11.15.36

While I use a variety of film cameras, my SLRs and interchangeable
lenses so far have been mostly Nikon.

I wanted to branch out and try an older interchangeable lens
system and decided on the M42 mount.  There
is some pretty nice M42 glass with unique aesthetics, often available at affordable
prices.

M42 is a thread mount where you literally screw the threaded rear
end of the lens into the camera body.  M42
is sometimes known as the Praktica or Pentax thread mounts as those were two of
the most prolific camera makes to use it.

After some research it seemed that the original Pentax Spotmatic was
one of the best camera bodies made to use M42 lenses.  It has TTL metering, a reputation for quality,
and a pleasing design.

It has a few quirks for those used to more modern SLRs; primarily
that you often have to focus and meter as separate steps. But now that I have put a few rolls through one it has a certain
charm to it that I find hard to resist.