Prinzflex — 70-162mm f/3.5 constant-aperture manual zoom lens, M42 and SLR mount fits
The Prinzflex 70-162mm f/3.5 is a constant-aperture telephoto zoom sold under Dixons' Prinzflex house brand for SLR photographers in the 1970s and 1980s. Its unusual 70-162mm range sat between short-tele zooms and longer 80-200mm designs, marketed above variable-aperture budget zooms of the period.
As with other Prinzflex optics, weight, filter thread and minimum focus figures were not consistently published across the mount fits Dixons offered, so they are omitted here rather than guessed. The lens holds f/3.5 through its zoom range, with a manual focus collar, click-stop aperture ring, and an all-metal barrel typical of the era.
Holding f/3.5 throughout, rather than dimming toward the long end, made it a more usable low-light option than the variable-aperture zooms Dixons also sold. Coatings and contrast suit mid-tier Japanese zoom designs of the period rather than premium first-party glass.
Examples surface occasionally in secondhand camera shops and online listings, sometimes labelled by mount rather than the Prinzflex name. Check zoom and focus rings for smoothness, aperture blades for oil, and glass for haze given the lens's age.