Dan Lau wrote:
>On Fri, 18 Dec 1998 13:39, Gary Schloss <schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>pls beware that "Super-Multi-Coated (SMC) Takumars" will not
>>mount on the FTL body: the lens lock mechanism gets in the way.
>>Other M42 lenses should be ok, [if] they have a Manual/Auto switch
>
>OK, now I am confused. I have a Pentax Spotmatic, and all my
>Pentax screw-mount lenses are "SMC-Takumar". They also have the
>little "auto/manual" switch on the side of the lens (the Pentax
>Spotmatic focuses with the lens wide open, but must close down
>to meter). Are you saying these will not work on the FTL?
Yup, that's exactly what I said.
>I also have Tokina and other lenses for the Spotmatic.
These should work ok.
>So if the SMC-Takumar lenses would not work, then why would "other
>screw mount lenses" work? I am curious what is different between
>the Pentax lenses and "other screw mount" lenses, since they
>both work just fine on my Spotmatic; and they also look the same
>to my untrained eyes.
Compared to regular M42 lenses, SMC Takumars have three extra
actuators: one lever allows the camera to read the actual
aperture ring position at open aperture; another conveys the
lens max. aperture info.; and the third actuator locks up the
lens Manual/Auto switch when the lens is off the camera.
The first lever is the one that collides with the FTL lens lock
mechanism, which is located precisely where the open aperture
metering Spotmatics (F, ES, and ES-II) have their lens-to-meter
coupling mechanism. This is not really Olympus's fault, as the
FTL came out almost 18 months before the first open aperture
Spotmatic (the ES) was unveiled.
>Maybe Pentax made some changes to their screw-mount lenses later
>on, but when I bought my camera/lenses (in the mid '60s), they
>all had that little "auto/manual" switch. I haven't looked at
>any Pentax lenses since then. There is no "lens lock" mechanism
>on the lenses of course (both Pentax and non-Pentax), and the
>alignment is purely based on the threading, when the lens is
>mounted until it is snug, then everything is properly aligned.
My comment about the absence of the A/M switch pertains to two
other major lens brands in M42 mount arena: Fujinon EBC and
Mamiya/Sekor SX. Both are exceptionally fine optics, made for
their respective open aperture metering camera bodies, which all
included body-mounted DOF preview buttons, hence this feature was
eliminated from the lenses themselves.
>So why did Olympus thought it necessary to add a lock?
A lens lock allows to mount any lens in a fixed angular position,
thus eliminating the need for both maximum aperture and actual
aperture -- just the difference between the two is sufficient.
Oly FTL, Fujica STxxx, and Mamiya/Sekor DSX/MSX cameras use such
a system, as well as most of the bayonet mount cameras, but not
the Spotmatics.
Keith (R.K.) Berry wrote:
>The half frame range made me an Olympus camera fan years before the
>appearance of the OMs, which, incidentally was a disappointment
>to me because it signified the end of this superb little Pen F s.l.r.
>and its replacement by these conventional looking monsters.
IMHO, to call the compact OM-1 a monster is, uhm... a monstrosity!
And doing so on the OLY list surely must be considered an impeachable
offense. :-)
P.S. I also love the various Pen's, XA's, and Oly 35mm R/F's.
Cheers,
/Gary Schloss.
Studio City, CA
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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