Welta Penti II Adapted Lens on MFT

This review has not been influenced or sponsored in any way. These are my personal observations, reservations and opinions about a lens that I purchased with my own money.

A Special Project :

This type of lens is in a category of its own, not to be assessed like other “normal” vintage manual lenses; these are genuine fun and art lenses with their own quirks. However, in this case, you’re photographing through the lens of a camera that existed almost 60 years ago, and that’s what you should keep in mind. This isn’t an old interchangeable lens that you mount on your camera via an adapter but a lens that was fixed and, therefore, was part of a vintage camera. It was almost surgically removed and mounted on a 3D-printed plastic thread, and now it can be mounted on your camera. How special is that !

I purchased the lens adapted to a 3D-printed M39 from Vintageglas in Aachen, Germany, via eBay. By chance, I came across some of his creations on the internet, and I thought it was a nice and fun idea to use lenses on a modern camera that were originally from old cameras. In the end, I bought four lenses, two on LTM M39 mount, and two on M42 mount. The LTM M39 versions can be used on almost any camera with an adapter. LTM originates from Leica rangefinder and, therefore, has a small “flange to film” distance. This means that when used on APS-C or MFT cameras, the adapter is very short, and the lens does not protrude much. Since I work on MFT and focal length is doubled, I chose focal lengths preferebly shorter than 50mm, hence this Meyer Optik Domiplan 30mm f3.5.

Are you also interested in shooting with these types of lenses ? You can find links to the Vintageglas’s shop at the bottom of the article.

The Original Camera :

In 1958 the first Penti was made under the name Welta Orix from the VEB Welta Kamera Werke factory, later rebranded as Penti after just a year. The Penti II, an upgraded version produced from 1961 to 1977, was manufactured by the Object 10 factory in Helfenberg. Later, in 1964, the factory was taken over by VEB Pentacon, the camera continued under the name Pentacon Penti II. The camera was mainly aimed at female consumers as an essential lifestyle accessory. With front and rear gold plating, a gold-trimmed Meyer-Optik Domiplan lens, and a cast aluminum body in various colors, the camera used ‘Rapid’ film cartridges for 12 half-frame exposures, totaling 24 photographs. The camera, when held normally, captured portrait-oriented images half the size of standard 35mm frames. Approximately 800,000 cameras were produced from 1958 to 1977. You can read more about this camera via the links at the bottom of this page.

The Lens Technicaly :

This lens is absolutely tiny, and when mounted on a LTM adapter, and fitted to my Olympus E-PM1, the whole setup remains pocketable. It’s a charming little lens, but it’s so small that it can be challenging to adjust. Keep in mind that this lens has been transferred from an existing camera, so it probably won’t feel exactly as it originally did. In this creation, the aperture ring is quite loose and shifts with the slightest touch. Adjusting the focus is done through the 20mm in diameter and barely 3mm long lens, which is no easy task. I mean, if you don’t enjoy intricate work, I suggest steering clear of lenses like these. If you don’t mind this aspect, you’ll, like me, have a delightful time using this quirky little lens.

I specifically opted for a vintage striped LTM M39 adapter because it, along with this type of lens, imparts a typical vintage look to your camera. The adapter used is the one mentioned in the previous article about cheap adapters. It is the Leica M39 to M4/3, type: LC8272. In contrast to the Leica M adapter of the same brand, these M39 adapters fit perfectly. I paid about €5.50 each including shipping costs.

The Welta Penti II shooting experience :

The Camera: Well, using lenses like these becomes truly enjoyable when you try to imagine how photographing with this camera was, and it starts with the choice of the “adapted camera.” For the tests, I used my small black E-PM1, but to stay closer to the original concept of the camera, I believe an E-PL1 or 2 would be a better fit, but another model works to. So, do you happen to have an old digital camera lying around? It’s even more fun getting closer to it’s original design when you have a silver or white camera model. If you don’t have an old or colorful camera, then your existing one will have to suffice.

Half-frame : Another aspect is that the camera captured images in half-frame, providing a completely different experience than you might be accustomed to. You capture everything in portrait orientation, although, of course, you can hold your camera differently for a landscape, but the intention is to take portrait-style photos. Depending on your camera, you can simulate this by shooting in 4/3 aspect ratio and turn the camera to portrait mode – or, if provided in the aspect ratio options, by setting your camera to a 3/4 aspect ratio – alternatively, you can crop 4/3 photos on your computer to a 3/4 ratio, allowing you to adjust your composition as well.

Diptych: With a half-frame camera, you capture two exposures on a 24×36 film frame, each frame measuring 18x24mm. A diptych then combines these two shots into a single printed photo, telling a story or highlighting oppositions and contrasts. You can also achieve this digitally by merging two or more photos (triptych for three) in your image editing software into one image. In some Olympus cameras, you can do this in-camera through the “template” setting on your PASM dial. It involves a bit of experimentation, for instance: go to Template setting -> template “speed” -> select two frames -> take the shots and delete the second one -> then capture the second shot -> done.

Film Simulation: The Welta Penti II used real 35mm film, so using a film simulation that accurately mimics real film is a way to achieve the “true analog feel.” If you use RawTherapee, take a look at “The Largest Collection of HaldClut/Luts brought together” for potentially suitable options. Simulations are also available for other software like Darktable, among others. Explore the “Film Sim” menu above for more information, or visit FreshLuts and search for PictureFX

Conclusion :

The lens has proven to be reasonably sharp, although it is not that easy to adjust, but you can hardly complain about that with this lens, it is simply part of the concept of this camera at the time. Each one has its own peculiarities, but that’s precisely the essence. That’s why I don’t give any other rating than to say that it gives good results. With some imagination and a bit of image editing, a lot of enjoyment can be derived from these lenses. However, it’s not suited for everyone; personally, I find it incredibly relaxing, it stimulates creativity and it’s a lot of Fun !

Sample Images (click picture to go to gallery):

Clicking on the collage photo below will take you to my website “La Gallerie” where you can find these sample images. 

Links :

More about Welta Penti’s : http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Penti

The camera – Welta Penti II : https://www.kameramuseum.net/0-fotokameras/ddr/welta/penti-2-sw.html – http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/welta/pentiii/

Samples on Lomography : https://www.lomography.com/search?query=pentacon+penti+ii

Shop :

https://www.etsy.com/shop/vintageglas and on eBay : search for vintageglas and use a lens brand like Meyer Optik, this should give what you are searching for, or try : https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/vintageglas and https://www.ebay.de/usr/vintageglas

La Gallerie

The photo gallery of Open Source Photography, Olympus micro 4/3 system, Vintage Lens Photograpy, Film Simulation, PictureFX, HDR – Photographer : Marc R.