The Japanese lenses probably offer the best price/performance ratio of the bunch. As far as the M42 mount is concerned, they can be divided intro entry level third party lenses, made by Soligor, Revuenon, Vivitar, Coslinar and others, mid range lenses made by smaller manufacturers, such as Makinon and Chinon and premium lenses, such as those made by Asahi Pentax and Fujifilm.
Other premium manufacturers that produced lenses in their own native mounts are Olympus, Minolta and Mamiya. Japanese lenses are also the most reliable of these vintage lenses, with Asahi Pentax Takumar series coming on top of them all.
In our lens database, you'll find the Takumar line up, including more rare lenses, such as the 20mm f4.5, the 24mm f3.5, the 35mm f2 or the Auto-Takumar 85mm f1.8. We also provide info on Fujinon EBC and Zuiko lenses, as well as Chinon and Minolta.