BUSHNELL 21mm F3.8(M42)
Review and photo examples using Bushnell 21mm M42 screw mount
Table of contents
Gallery
SONY A900
SONY A7S-II
Impression
This M42 screw mount lens was acquired in 2009.
The origin of the lens is described below, but the one I have has a solid aperture click and smooth focusing ring, and the feel is so good that it is hard to believe it is an old lens.
However, the lens appears to be single coated, which causes flashy flare and loss of contrast when backlit. When taken in forward light, it produces photos with solid contrast and good color balance.
Distortion is hardly noticeable at near infinite distance, but barrel distortion is noticeable from a shooting distance of about 3 m.
BUSHNELL, whose name is engraved on the lens nameplate, is an American manufacturer of binoculars and laser rangefinders.
In the past, they also sold lenses for cameras, a brand sometimes seen in the second-hand market.
I remember that I got this 21mm lens for about 10,000 yen when I was playing with M42 mounts. It is well made for the price, and since the brand is not well-known, I still have it on hand because it is a good deal on the second-hand market.
Now I sometimes see them for sale on eBay and other places.
The lens is stamped “Made in Japan” and manufactured by a Japanese lens maker. However, according to the reference link, the RIKENON 21mm F3.8 is the same as this lens. However, according to the reference link, the RIKENON-branded RIKENON is not actually manufactured by Ricoh either, but by Tomioka Kogaku.
Other focal lengths of lenses with the BUSHNELL name can be found, such as 28mm and 35mm.
Specification
It is a manual lens with an M42 mount and has two modes, M/A, for the operation of the aperture pin on the M42 mount. M mode is the actual aperture, and A mode is when the aperture pin is pushed in to stop down the aperture when shooting.
It has 6 aperture blades and the minimum focusing distance is 0.3m.
| Items | BUSHNELL | |
| Focal length(mm) | 21 | |
| Max aperture | 3.8 | |
| Min aperture | 22 | |
| Leaf blade | 6 | |
| Lens Construction | 9elements in 8groups | |
| Min distance(m) | 0.3 | |
| Lens length(mm) | 53.5 | Distance from M42 mount surface |
| Max diameter(mm) | 74 | |
| Filter Size(mm) | 72 | |
| Weight(g) | 292 | Measured value of owned units |
| Release date | ? | |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ? |
Reference links
