Pentacon Review 3.5/30

For the opportunity Pentacon 3.5 / 30 review Many thanks to Alexander from the manual optics section.

Pentacon Review 3.5/30

The Pentacon 3.5 / 30 is a small, well-assembled wide-angle. The lens has an M42 mounting thread, I used it on the camera without any problems Canon 350D, on cropped Canon APS-C cameras EGF lens will be 48mm. They say that earlier Pentacon 3.5 / 30 was a good reporter because of a decent depth of field.

Pentacon 3.5 / 30 side view, aperture blades view

Focusing is smooth, the focus ring rotates 180 degrees. Focusing ring metal. MDF is only 30cm. When focusing, the front lens does not rotate, the trunk is extended by half a centimeter. I liked the aperture control ring, which also has a preset function. For preset you need pull the aperture ring towards you and set the desired value. The aperture has no fixed values ​​and can take any values ​​from F / 3.5-F / 22, and the number of aperture blades is as much 10 pieces.

Front and rear lens enlightenment

The lens has a focus distance scale and DOF. The diameter of the front filter is 49mm, and the lens weighs a little less than 200g.

It looks like Pentacon 3.5 30 on a modern camera

Sample photos on Pentacon 3.5 / 30

Pentacon 3.5 / 30 cannot boast of something exceptional; for good sharpness, you should cover the diaphragm.

How to use with modern cameras?

Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.

The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.

For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.

For SLR cameras

1. Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
2. NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
3. PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
4. SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
5. OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.

For mirrorless cameras

1. SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
2. OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
3. CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
4. CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
5. Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
6. Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
7. FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
8. FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
9. SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
10. PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
11. SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
12. LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.

If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).

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Conclusions:

The Pentacon 3.5 / 30 is a small wide angle, the lens doesn't have a lot of aperture, but the Pentacon 3.5 / 30 is small and very well made.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram