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Kind of what it says on the tin. I got this lens, sans caps, as a gift from a friend (who doesn't really know photography). It's dusty but otherwise seems to be in decent condition, but I can't seem to find any information about it on the Interwebz.

It's got a "clicky" (non-continuous) aperture adjustment, and an auto/manual aperture switch located at the base. Minimum focus is 1.5m.

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Sorry about the awful quality — these were taken with my phone (I know, I know).

EDIT: I've found a description for a lens that's an exact match for this one, but with Prinzflex branding. I wonder what company did the original design work?

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This looks to be a M42 mount lens. The "Dimension" brand was probably a store-label brand made by Sun, Cosina, Chinon, or some such other lensmaker. ("Dimension" is unfortunately a horrible name to Google for...)

This thread at MFLenses Forums apparently covers the exact same lens model (it's old enough that a lot of the image links are broken). Apparently it's a very decent lens.

Note: Michael Clark helpfully suggested to mention the similarity between the M42 mount and the T-mount. Both mounts are 42mm threads.

  • The M42 mount has a 1mm thread pitch; thus, it's more fully specified as M42×1.
  • The T-mount has a 0.75mm thread pitch; thus, it's more fully specified as M42×0.75.

If the thread pitch doesn't stand out as an obvious distinction (it can be hard to tell the difference), another possible giveaway is the aperture pin: although Sigma's YS mount (which was based on the T-mount) had an aperture pin, many more M42-mount lenses had aperture pins than YS-mount lenses did. Of course, not all M42-mount lenses had aperture pins, so you're back to measuring thread pitch.

Takeaway: make sure to measure the thread pitch before assuming M42.

See also: the accepted answer to How do I identify unknown thread mounts?

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    \$\begingroup\$ It might also be a T-mount lens, which has a 42mm x 0.75mm thread pitch rather than the M42 42mm x 1.0mm thread pitch. Although fewer T-mount lenses had aperture pins, Sigma's YS mount based on the T-mount did. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jan 18, 2017 at 23:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ @MichaelClark indeed, I didn't consider T-mount. To my eye, the thread pitch appears fairly wide, and from a numbers standpoint, there were probably far more M42 lenses made. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Jan 18, 2017 at 23:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ I agree the lens pictured is almost certainly an M42 mount. But someone else with a T-mount lens who finds this question might not notice the difference. That could lead to buying the wrong adapter for use with a modern camera. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jan 18, 2017 at 23:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ It is, in fact, an M42 mount - I tested it with an old Praktica my dad had lying around. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sebastian Lenartowicz
    Jan 21, 2017 at 20:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ Could be Chinon from the looks of it.. \$\endgroup\$
    – rackandboneman
    Mar 6, 2019 at 10:09

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