Takumar club

[IS050]

I am considering getting a Katz Eye to help with manual focus, I have read all the positive review when using on K and M lenses with max aperture. My question is; how about using it with Takumar lenses when stopping down to f8, fll or f16? Would the Katz Eye still be effective when it is dark look through the viewfinder? I have experiments with my ME Super with M42 adapter and Takumar 55mm, when I stop down to f8, the top part of the split ring would black out. And the viewfinder gets really dark that it was impossible to see. I am not sure if this would be the same with Katz Eye install on K10D. I would appreciate if anyone has installed the Katz Eye and using with Takumar lenses to share your experience.
Many thanks.
David

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Super Takumar 28 f3.5

[Mike Cash]

Pentax K20D
SMC Takumar 55/1.8

[Mechan1k]

Looks like a bodykit maker in the bottom shot

[Mike Cash]

He was out on the sidewalk in front of the body shop sanding down a pair of bumpers, and I was stuck at a red light.

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Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by IS050

I am considering getting a Katz Eye to help with manual focus, I have read all the positive review when using on K and M lenses with max aperture. My question is; how about using it with Takumar lenses when stopping down to f8, fll or f16?

It will black out, sure, but with the Auto/Manual switch on the Super/SMC Takumars it's pretty easy to:

• Flick the switch to "Auto," which opens the diaphragm up all the way;
• Compose and focus at max aperture (no blackout); and
• Flick the switch back to "Manual" and take the shot at the f-setting you have dialed in.

It will become second-nature. If you do this in Av mode, metering is automatic and doesn't require an extra step. If in M, you need to remember to meter when stopped down, of course.

[Steinback]

Mike, I've replaced the original with a cropped version (which apparently changes the name of the photo being replaced, breaking all links and defeating the purpose of doing a replacement). I'm afraid the link in your quote is now broken even though the original post has had the link corrected.

Here's another attempt at cropping, the fact that the telephone poles on the right side are not actually straight isn't helping.

[Mike Cash]

That is much better. And that the wire now squarely hits the upper right corner is a real added bonus as well.

[heliphoto]

Here's a shot from last summer with the S-M-C Tak 28/3.5. My father in law with his '55 Cessna 180 and '55 Chevy Sedan Delivery...

f/8 I think...

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

[Quicksand]

I just picked up an SMC 28/3.5 this past weekend at a local camera show -- my first short Tak. (I already have 200/3.5 and 400/5.6, and I recently sold a 135/2.5 original-version I wasn't especially pleased with).

In short -- awesome lens. The photos really "pop." I'll post some soon.

(There was also an SMC 35/2.0 there at the show -- second version, 49mm thread -- slightly outside my budget for the day at $110. Nice condition. I was tempted to get it anyway. But instead I just got the 28/3.5 and a $5 off-brand wonder, an Accura Diamatic 135/2.8.)

[Mike Cash]

Click on the image to view it in a larger size

Pentax K20D
S-M-C Takumar 105/2.8

Welders have sparkling personalities.

[southy]

Originally Posted by Quicksand

I just picked up an SMC 28/3.5 this past weekend at a local camera show -- my first short Tak. (I already have 200/3.5 and 400/5.6, and I recently sold a 135/2.5 original-version I wasn't especially pleased with).

In short -- awesome lens. The photos really "pop." I'll post some soon.

(There was also an SMC 35/2.0 there at the show -- second version, 49mm thread -- slightly outside my budget for the day at $110. Nice condition. I was tempted to get it anyway. But instead I just got the 28/3.5 and a $5 off-brand wonder, an Accura Diamatic 135/2.8.)

How was that show? I was wondering if anyone from here was going to that. I keep an eye on craigslist back and saw some ads for it.

Any good deals?

My girlfriend is at home playing with my 50mm/4 s-m-c macro tak and 35mm/3.5. I want to take a late lunch and stay home for the rest of the day
-southy

[roy]

hey,
i've got a near new super takumar 135/3.5 with case, ET rings, and a set of diopters 1,2,4...
i really hate to break up the set. interested?
drop me a line..

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by southy

How was that show? I was wondering if anyone from here was going to that. I keep an eye on craigslist back and saw some ads for it.

Any good deals?

Not bad -- I'm talking about the San Jose Photo Fair (Photo Fair). There are a few regular shows in the Bay Area. I haven't been to the ones in San Francisco (yet), the ones in Hayward are pretty lame, and the San Jose shows are pretty good.

Staying on topic here, I thought the SMC Tak 35/2.0 I didn't buy was a pretty good deal at $110 (and I probably would have tried to talk the vendor down a bit more). My SMC Tak 28/3.5 was $40, which I think was a solid but unexceptional deal -- optically it's pristine. At a previous show last year, I picked up a Super Tak 135/2.5 for $80, which I didn't end up liking and resold on eBay for about the same amount, which suggests the price was about right to start with.

If you're patient (which is difficult in the pushy crowd), you can find some decent stuff. But it's kind of a pain in the neck, because most of the vendors just have bunches of unlabeled lenses out on a table, frequently with generic or mismatched lens caps, and to find out what you're looking at you often need to pick up each one and look at the mount end or take off the cap and read the markings, or both. (I'm getting good at spotting PK and M42 at a distance, I have to tell you). And of course, 90% of what's there is Canon/Nikon, so it's tedious.

If you're looking for 50mm kit lenses, off-brand lenses (like that Accura Diamatic I got for cheap, which is actually pretty nice now that I have adjusted infinity focus properly -- it was badly off), and more than anything else undistinguished old zoom lenses, there's plenty of stuff there to choose from.

If you're looking for primes, and Taks specifically, you really need to comb through the stuff carefully. But there are treasures to be had.

Next time I need to go with a bigger budget (easier said than done, I'm afraid).

[jthommo]

smc takumar 300/4

[Rense]

Never realized the moon is upside down down-under.....

Originally Posted by jthommo

smc takumar 300/4