• Wood anemones and sun with Yashica ML 35mm/2.8
• Spring with Pentacon
• Preset Asahi-lens and flowers
• Hepatica nobilis with Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5 and macroring
• Even closer with the Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5

• Anemone nemorosa with the solid Pentacon 50/1.8
• Early spring flower with preset Takumar lens
• Hepatica nobilis with Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5 and macroring
• Even closer with the Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5
• Review of Pentacon Auto 29mm / 2.8 m42

The dented filter threads I solved by smashing an old filter and putting in place (some violence included) and then attaching the generic lens hood on. The close focus limit of this lens is quite amazing, you can get very close without any extra tools. The lubrication in mine doesn’t seem to agree with swedish cold weather, it gets stiff. Optical geeks: the composition is 6 elements in 4 groups

If you want to read up on VEB Pentacon, there is an article on Camerapedia.

My thoughts

I should perhaps not like this lens, it’s not concidered as one of the desirables amongst the collectors, but I love it. I think it is fantastic for close-ups. The soft bokeh is great, the swirly feeling when you shoot landscapes with the lens wide open, the sharpness is enough for me.

I have made some of my favorite images with this lens, a lens for $3 (if you count it half of the price, and the camera half of the price). The low value and dented parts also makes it a good lens to have on the camera when I move around.

Pros

• Amazing bokeh
• Good close focus (0,33 m)
• Swirly effect when wideopen and using some range
• Can be sharp enough

Cons

• My copy has some mechanical problems
• Stopping down button could be a problem for some
• Smallest aperture only f16

Images

More reading

• http://www.praktica-users.com/lens/mlenses/morp1.8_50.html
• http://m42.artlimited.net/lens_detail.php?lid=66

• Review of Yashica MC Zoom 35-70mm/3.5-4.5
• Review of Pentacon Auto 29mm / 2.8 m42
• Review of Pentacon Electric 135mm f2.8 M42
• Checklist before you buy used cameras and lenses on ebay
• Review of Asahi Auto Takumar 85mm/1.8

• Tha random post box plugin
• Autumn bokeh again
• Some summer closeups from a field
• Spring with Pentacon
• I discovered a new world 2008

Bug eating plant

• What makes a good picture?
• Whooper swans with Super-Takumar 135mm
• Review of Pentacon Auto 29mm / 2.8 m42
• Another Aquilegia vulgaris
• Good read about M42-lenses

Pentacon tulip

• Fixing a Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 from wobbling hood
• Newcomer – Praktica LTL with Pentacon 50mm/1.8
• The mysterious dive
• Review of Pentacon Electric 135mm f2.8 M42
• Exhibit “Chiaroscuro” in Örebro, Sweden

Soft thorns

Fungus wideopen

• Digital to Analog, and Back
• What makes a good lens?
• Review of Yashica ML 50mm/2
• Review of Pentacon Electric 135mm f2.8 M42
• Cold bokeh with Yashica ML 50mm/1.4

Praktica LTL with Pentacon 50mm/1.8

Unfortunately the filtererings on the lens was bad, dented. I fixed it by smashing a greenfilter and attached to the lens. Not great for collectors probably, but I like to use this m42 lens… with filters and hood :)

• Review of Pentacon Auto 50mm/1.8
• Miracles from the fleemarket – Pentacon tulip
• Review of Pentacon Auto 29mm / 2.8 m42
• Review of Pentacon Electric 135mm f2.8 M42
• Funny retro commercials for Praktica

Cold water

Maybe this is what’s seperates the professional from the amateur – the pro realizes there will come more opportunites and makes the safe choice, the amateur thought is “what the hell, let’s do it“. Or is it a distinction between techphotograper (expensive camera) or retrophotographer (with manual cheap lenses, like myself) – I can risk the gear without financial ruin in sight. Whatever the reasons, I decided to take the chance when I stood there besides the creek. Mantra: “The snow and ice will hold my weight. The snow and ice will hold my weight [...]”

Icefester

As you might have guessed by now the snow and ice did NOT hold my weight. The flowing, icecold water was filling my pants up to the waist. Panic. “Quick, get up, take another step!“. The snow and ice dont hold the weight of the next step either. Eventually I ofcourse get up on the side. Just to realize I’m on the wrong side of the creek and there’s no way out (impossible cliffs and forest). WTF. Nothing else to do, I need to get in the water again and wade over to the right side.

Time to wade

Just a note: It is still wintertime where I live in Sweden. The ground is covered in snow. Paths and roads is covered with ice. I don’t have a drivers license. I have a bicycle. Which is ok in the wilderness, unless you are wet and it’s below freezing temperature. The road is downhill and covered with ice… where cars have made tracks. Bicyclewheels get stuck in tracks and throw you out in the ditch sometimes. Oh, and it’s getting dark. No battery in the headlight.

Well, I’m going to stop there. Lets just say my saturday was eventfull, haha! ;)

Learning from the trip:

• Not to step on snow if your’e not sure whats beneath (on the other hand I already knew this ;) ).
• Bring dry pants… and underwear… maybe even shoes.
• Bring a polarizer when shooting a creek sourrounded by snow.
• The Pentacon 50mm/1.8 is underestimated.
• Spring will be nice… come dear spring, come.

• With a manual lens on the hill
• Morningsun on forest
• Spring setback
• Sometimes we are just stuck on repeat (Anemone hepatica)
• Water avens in may (digging through the archive)

Pentacon Electric 135mm/2.8

My purchase
I bought the lens on Tradera (swedish ebay) for SEK 57 (about £5) + shipping, without seeing much of it in the images of the ad. I was lucky, it is in good optical condition and only fault is that it is sometimes a little stuck at the aperture. Good ones is seen on ebay almost every day, so it’s a quite common lens.

The lens
Pentacon Electric 135mm/2.8 manufactured in a factory in Dresden, which was the former Carl Zeiss. A slim lens that are well built. It has a M42 screwmount that makes it easy to fit the EOS with an adapter. I guess you could find these on a Praktica-camera. The Electric version has zebra-type finish (like some Meyer and Zeiss also have). Early versions have close relation the Meyer equilant and more aperture-blades.

Pentacon Electric 135mm/f2.8 from the side

The resistance in the rings is ok in spite of a certain age. Sometimes apertureblades get stuck, but it is easily fixed through a little twist. The focus is very long to turn – this lens is not for fast focusing ;)

Thanks to the aperture ring sits closest to the camera, it is a bit difficult to see the scale because of the Canon EOS built-in flash, which shoots out over the aperture ring. There are of course only a compatibility problem, the lens and the camera was not made to fit together.

Testing
I’ve used this a lot from march to beginning of June 2008. It is supposed to be a great lens for portraits, but I’ve also used with success on landscapes. The best landscapes I’ve taken with this lens was in gray/blue days.

Pentacon 135-lens with case

It is a sharp lens with good colour reproduction. According to information on the Internet, it has very good bokeh, I even saw the words “monster of bokeh” being used. It does have really good bokeh, but earlier versions of this lens is supposed to be even better.

135mm on my digital EOS-sensor with crop the focal length is 216mm, that is closer to tele (but not enough for tele, closeup birdphoto and the like, in my humble opinion… on the other hand I shot swallows with 50mm lens the other day).

I like this lens, but I like the Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm better, with it’s fast focus and clear image. The Pentacons built in hood seems a bit fragile.

Images

Lake with fog

Swan

Sculpture of boy

Clouds over Garphyttan

Pros and cons
+ Sharp
+ Good colors
+ Good bokeh
+ Built-in lens hood (good against backlight of course)

- Long focus
- Sticky aperture on my copy (though I can live with that)
- As in many lenses EOS-flash sticks out over the aperture ring scale, making it difficult to adjust.
- Built-in lens hood (fragile feeling and awkward with filters)

Further reading

• Discussion at manualfocus.org
• Review at mflenses.com
• 135mm lens war
• Review at Fotosidan.se (swedish)
  
• Digital World Review
• A flickr-set

• Review of Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 M42-lens
• Review of MC Helios 44-3 58mm/f2
• Review of Yashica MC Zoom 35-70mm/3.5-4.5
• Review of Asahi S-M-C Takumar 55mm/1.8
• Review of Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135mm/3.5 Zebra