u/Decent_Exam_9914

Hello, all...

I am genuinely flummoxed by this and I'm hoping this post connects with some who are familiar with this lens. Mine is silver, very clean, with sublime tactile feel in focusing. It has the KMZ logo and S/N is 0225908.

I purchased it from a European Ebay seller, seemingly well experienced with the various permutations of these lenses, with a Canon EF adapter, but my intention was also to use it on my M42 film SLRs.

The first thing I noticed (odd - but it gets MUCH 'odder!') was that the focusing scale sits at the 3 o'clock position, when mounted on a Canon DSLR. Not a huge issue, of course, if I'm doing a vertical composition...but it got stranger and stranger - to wit, if I unscrew the lens from the EF adapter and try to mount it to a native M42 mount film SLR, it turns a couple of revolutions but jams. Conversely, if I try to mount another M42 lens into THIS EF adapter, I get about the same issue. I took it up with the seller and was told this version of the lens was designed with a 39mm thread for whatever Soviet-era camera it was sold with. After that, the language barrier got in the way and I ran out of time for dealing with it.

My GUESS is that there must be some other screw mount that is "almost" the same as M42 and that he installed such a piece at the back of lens and provided a "non-standard M42-to-EF adapter. So, initially, all seems "about right" - it mounts to my Canon DSLRs, but then the issues described above make the lens, for all its lovely appearance and tactile refinement, less than fully useful. Oh, yes, the other part of the issue is that it won't focus at infinity unless stopped way down. I SHOULD have noticed that on first use and returned it, but I was more interested in experiencing the Helios' storied characteristics in doing some (close-in) nature shooting...

Thus, my desire to (1) sort through just what is going on vis-a-vis compatibility with genuine M42 mounts, whether camera or M42-EF (as the lens will not fully screw into any of my other M42-EF adapters!), and (2) figure out how to modify it into a true-fit M42 lens for use in M42 film SLRs or adapter to Canon DSLRs.

It's said if one owns enough cameras and lenses over enough years, some craziness like this is bound to rear its ugly puzzling head, but geez this one has me complettely bamboozled.

Any help from a more experienced hand will be most appreciated!!!

Thanks!

Hello all,

I own one of these and really appreciate its solid build and feel as well as the ability to do open aperture metering with all makes of M42 lenses.

My otherwise lovely CE-3 has an intermittent issue where, after the shot is taken, the mirror stays in the up position, blacking out the viewfinder. Sometimes it will click back into place on its own, but usually it requires pushing the wind lever all the way counterclockwise to restore viewfinder to normal.

Its other issue is that, compared to my other known-accurate cameras or separate meters, its metering is calling for overexposure of about 1.5 stops. I can of course compensate for this by setting an underexposure correction on the Exposure Compensation dial, but I'd rather have it read correctly to begin with. Thus, I need to know where the meter adjustments pots are and how to set them

So, my questions are:

1. Has anyone here encountered these issues and if so, can you give me some guidance; or

2. Anyone know a repair tech with skills going back to less frequently seen cameras of this vintage who might successfully repair mine?

Many thanks!