[hinman]

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I will post on my blog with the story about Takumar 28-80 what I learn in playing with it

Hin's Tech Corner: Takumar Asahi 28-80mm Macro Pentax A mount

My $37 Takumar 28-80 arrived on Tuesday and my FA 50 f/1.4 arrived yesterday. And I find myself more excited with the Takumar. I am an odd guy. The old lens is quite beautiful and well built. And so far I find the manual focus to be difficult but not as bad as I thought it would be on my K100D. Well, of course, I only try it on static objects and the lens, though cheap, looks very clean and seems well built. I will try to convince my wonderful ebay vendor to stock up on Pentax gears -- he is all in Minolta. And his is top notch in the packaging and his photos on ebay is wonderful and he allows me to share it in the blog page.

And I want to look for a 58mm lens hood for the Takuma with screw mount to work with lens to avoid flare. I will update what I can learn from the $37 lens LBA crush. So far so good, the price is justified just for the M (anual) focus training that I can get, the focusing ring is way wider and seems much finer than the DA 18-55. I am very pleased with the manual focusing part from this lens so far.

And one more question since this takumar 28-80 macro does not have same quality SMC coating, besides the lens hood, should I invest in a reasonable optical filter on 58mm? So far, I don't use any optical filters on my DA 18-55, DA 50-200 and the newly arrived FA 50 f/1.4. Suggestion and comments are very welcome.

Thanks,
Hin

[hinman]

I don't have a good picture from the Takumar, but here is my 1st shot last night trying out the manual focus in low light on the vinegar bottle on my kitchen countertop from about 8 feet distance, the wb is weird in my K100D and not even tunsgten wb can help in this hand held shot at low light on iso 800, it has an unpleasant yellow cast on it. I will try shooting more soon to report about the $37 lens. To be fair, I should try it out in daylight outdoor.

1/8 sec, f/4.0, 35 mm, iso 800, 0ev


So far, I get distracted in the arrival of Takumar and FA 50 f/1.4 together. One lesson learned is not to buy two lens at the same time -- lots of distraction in choosing which one to try first.

And here are two lens hood that I am looking in ebay,

#1
DSLRa 58 mm 58mm Flower Lens Hood for Canon Pentax Sony - (item 250153041210 end time Aug-14-07 08:14:08 PDT)

#2
DSLRa 58 mm 58mm 3-Stage Lens Hood for Canon Pentax - (item 250153039283 end time Aug-14-07 08:08:36 PDT)

#1 seems not to be more normal flower lens hood while the 2nd one is made of rubber and become collapsible shapes for three types of lens uses.

Both are inexpensive around $7 + for shipping. Please comment if you have a strong feeling in choosing one over the other

Hin

[FotoPete]

hey Hin,

Yup see? Not so bad. Looks faily sharp edge to edge. I find that the Pentax WB is just whack half the time and not having fine tuning like the K10D just hurts more.

I'd try custom white balance on a close up on the electricity socket and see if you get a better white balance adjustment.

Good luck!

[FotoPete]

And one more question since this takumar 28-80 macro does not have same quality SMC coating, besides the lens hood, should I invest in a reasonable optical filter on 58mm? So far, I don't use any optical filters on my DA 18-55, DA 50-200 and the newly arrived FA 50 f/1.4. Suggestion and comments are very welcome.

Thanks,
Hin

NO filters haha. Maybe a polarizer at the most. But you already don't have the SMC coat. Adding more glass is only bound to create more surfaces for the light to flare on. Save your $$ :P

[hinman]

I have put my thoughts in this blog post with links for lens hood which I will purchase soon for this Takumar lens

Hin's Tech Corner: Takumar Asahi 28-80 Macro Test Shots

Thank you all, especially Pete, for the inputs and help all along.

Hin

[FotoPete]

Haha LBA can't be stopped. The moment you think its gone...it strikes unexpectedly leaving your wallet to be worth more in and of itself than the contents it carries.

the other day, I bought an SMC A 70-210/4 just because it was in nice condition on the shelf. (I have already have a CPC Phase II 70-200/4...basically a rebranded SMCA70-210...so I bought the same lens twice haha.)

[hinman]

Pete, LBA runs in my mind all day seeing your picture. I finally find some time for the $37 Takumar Asahie 28-80 Macro. It is my first time trying out M focusing on my K100D. I am more than surprised to see the results. I don't expect a $37 lens seems outdoing the performance of my kit's len. Some pp in Picasa to adjust the color and straighten the tilted pictures that I always get in my K100D. Many shots are done in Macro mode at 80mm and it seems harder to macro than other focal length such as 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. The zoom is excellent in takumar.

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


Some of the pictures may be a bit overblown as I shoot it in bright afternoon testing lens flare

C&C are welcome especially what you think about the lens quality for $37? I feel it is a bit better than my DA 18-55.

Thanks,
Hin

[Mike Cash]

Hinman, since you were already in the kitchen anyway it is very likely that white balance salvation was right at your fingertips.

You just needed to get a white coffee filter, tear it in half so you only have one thickness of the filter material, and hold it across the front of the lens while you do a custom white balance adjustment. Give it a try. You'll be so thrilled you'll jump up and down like a little girl.

For a more permanent and handy solution, get a step-up ring and a clear lens protector filter to fit into it. Cut the coffee filter to fit inside the step-up ring, and screw the lens guard filter down to secure it into position. Make the rig a size that will nicely fully cover the front of your lens. You're not going to mount it when you use it; just hold it in place.

And if you like shooting on a budget....look into the world of M42 (screwmount) Takumar lenses.

[FotoPete]

Wow, the contrast is surprisingly great on that lens! Haha, no more 'remorse from LBA', Hin!

=P

[roy]

i had this lens for awhile and found the build quality to suck. it did do alright for closeups tho.





just playing around with off camera flash.

[hinman]

Some test night shots with manual focusing and hand holding with the Takumar Asahie 28-80 Macro. Some blur from shaking and it is harder to focus manually at night but not too bad as I thought it would be. All have SR turned on in my K100D tonight. I am definitely getting excited about the $37 takuma zoom lens. I totally forget about trying out tungsten WB and I used all in AWB. It has a yellow cast to the pictures.

#1 nightshot
2/5 sec, f/4, 70mm, iso 400, 0ev


#2 nightshot
1/5 sec, f/4 70mm, iso 400 , 0ev


#3 nightshot
1/8 sec, f/4, 70mm, iso 400, 0ev


#4 nightshot
1/4 sec, f/4, 70mm, iso 800, 0ev


#5 nightshot (intention blur but not successful, a car is passing the building)
3/5 sec, f/4, 70mm, iso 400, 0ev


C&C welcome,

Hin

[FotoPete]

I not even totally sure what White Balance to use in your case haha. I like the whore eriee look from the lights!

(You can always try a custom white balance shot to see if it would help more than tungsten.)

[hinman]

Yesterday, I just opened the 20+ year old camera bag that I totally forget -- I have an manual analog Praktica MTL5 with three very old manual lens. I don't even remember the names of the lens but they all look like M42 mount. I have the following (without exact model, just roughly)

A 50mm praktica f/1.8 (condition looks very good)
A 135mm f/3.5 with name like schneider (the lens looks like very old)
A 28-70 praktica zoom f/3.5 to something (seems not good condition with haze)

I am looking for M42 adapter to try it out. Any idea if M42 mount for pentax are the same for the Praktica screw mount type of lens

And I look at something that seems too cheap but looks good without an extra tool in ebay

M42 screw Lens to Pentax Pk K mount adapter - (item 300141812168 end time Aug-19-07 17:12:00 PDT)

But of course, I want something to be of good quality in not damaging the K mount in my K100D. Any pointer to a good ebay item for M42 adapter would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Hin

[FotoPete]

No good. You will lose inifinity + long range focal ability with this adapter. The M42 mount and the K Mount have the exactly same flange (lens to film) distance. You must buy the adapter that sits flush into the K Mount Plate.



Left to Right : Adaptor Tool -> Genuine Pentax M42 adapter -> third party adapter

[Mike Cash]

I don't know how they manage to keep selling those things like the one in the eBay link. Get one of a similar design to those Pete points out and you'll be just fine. If you see a big flange (one side with wider diameter than the other), leave it be and keep looking.

All of your old lenses will work just fine provided:

1. They are M42 mount
2. They have a manual/auto switch for the diaphragm. (Auto-only lenses won't work. Need to be in manual.)