Spiratone 105mm f2.5

it;s possible the spiratone DIAMATIC lens is a YS lens, an automatic version of the T /T@ mount. if the lens has YS on it you can buy a minolta por nikon mount version and later get a pentax M42 or pentax es mount to use it. I think many were made by sigma. interesting lenses in this lone were the 18mm f/3.5; 85mm f/1.7; 135mm f/1.8 I wiskh i had a time machine.

Presumably you are aware of the one on eBay (no, it's not mine, and no, I'm not interested)? Although there's no info there, and the pictures are crap. Doesn't even say what mount it is.

Considering how many good 105 or 100 2.8s there are out there, I'm not sure why the third of a stop would matter, but good luck.

This one dates back to 1965 +/-. It was offered in a T-mount, so buy any you can find in that mount and buy a T-mount adapter for M42, or simply get a K-mount T-adapter if that's what you are using.

I presume the aperture was selected to suggest the Nikkor-P 105mm f/2.5 that is widely regarded as one of Nikon's best-ever lenses.

Just in case, for those who are not into the fine points of the T-mount, it is a 42mm mount like the M42x1 or "Pentax" mount, but it has a different pitch (M42x0.75) so DO NOT try to mount it directly on an M42 mount without the adapter! To do so will strip the threads on one or both of the body and the lens.

Yeah, I was aware it was a response to the nikon lens and I know someone who owns one and is VERY pleased. I have seen some beautiful shots from that lens.

Oh and it's not the 3rd of a stop it's the aperture blades.

Both Vivitar and Spiratone made 105mm F2.5's. The 1960's Spiratone is apreset lens; the 1970's Vivitar an autodiaphrame lens. Both are decent lenses. Ths focal length of 90mm to 105mm has many decent lenses; an fe dudsat all. The focal length is long enough that the the corners are well corrected for 35mm usage; and short enough that there are little chromatic abberation issues like longer none ED glass lenses; like 200, 300 and 400mm.

I had a Spiratone 105 f2.5 in August 1964, bought in breech-lock bayonet mount for Petriflex, and by December I'd changed the mount to Pentax M42. Must have been a T-mount lens, and it had a preset diaphragm. While the preset was a step forward from plain manual, it was still an annoyance compared to even the semi-auto diaphragm on that Pentax H3! Build quality was a bit rough but it performed well. I had it only a year, total, before swapping it in for a nicer Steinheil 135 with full-auto diaphragm.

It is not a great lens. If it is a 1965 lens and preset it will NOT be a YS lens, just a T-mount one. All YS lenses have the aperture assembly in the rear so that those YS mounts with aperture control can function properly. The Vivitar series 1 105/2.5 Macro on the other hand is one of the finest lenses ever made. As a macro it will hold it's own against the best OEM lenses from any maker. And unlike some older lenses with inferior coatings it works superbly with DSLRs also. No noticable CA and sharp edge to edge with either FF or APS-C. For cameras with mounts compatible with older lenses, meaning Pentax and Nikon, I would choose it first over any other. This lens was built to Vivitar's design specs by Kiron who later sold it under their own brand as a 105/2.8 macro lens. It might have a pinch less resolution than the even more famous Vivitar series 1 90mm F2.5 Macro (Tokina built)(Photodo 4.0 vs. 4.1) but unlike the 90mm it goes to 1:1 without an adapter or the 2x macro-focusing teleconverter.

As for the Spiratone lens the one bright feature is the preset diaphagm. These have superior bokeh to rear diaphragm lenses of similar quality. As a collector of older M42 and YS mount lenses (also the guru of the YS mount according to the official 3rd party lens site) I have a really old Pentax Takumar preset of 200/3.5 that has stunning bokeh in out of focus objects due to the front mounted 18 blade aperture. If you are interested I have a Spiratone 135/1.8 in YS mount with either a regular YS M42 or a Pentax ES version (open aperture meteing with a Spotmatic F, ES or ES II). This lens was made by Sun Optical for various marketing brands like Spiratone, Polaris, Acura, and others, with a YS mount. I have a Polaris one also. They are a little soft wide open so they make a decent portait lens. Has a huge 82mm filter size. Also have a 135/1.8 in Sigma XQ series which is also a YS but it is in Pentax K-mount. This lens is sharper with a 77mm filter. This lens was also available in a Spiratone model and one sold recently in M42 on Astromart. Kent Gittings

Quote: I have a Spiratone 135/1.8 in YS mount. This lens was made by Sun Optical for various marketing brands like Spiratone, Polaris, Acura, and others, with a YS mount."

Actually I think you will find that it was made by Sigma and Sun was just one of the brand names it was marketed under. I have a Sigmatel scalematic version with a rear aperture dial and a 77mm filter thread...Not a bad lens really: f5.6 http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/4160/sdim3164cst5.jpg f4 http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/654/sdim3215cic9.jpg f4 http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2496/sdim3340cwx6.jpg