[GUB]

I do not see where you had done anything wrong, or that your lens is not sharp enough. When my wife and I were dating, I would take a boatload of photos of the acreage her family owned with a lot cattle. One thing I learned is that these animals do not remain motionless for more than one half to a full second at most, especially when sniffing each other out. Overall, I feel you did a great job on these pics. Many thanks for sharing.

Antonio

Thanks for that Antonio.

[paulh]

I guess it was probably designed as a portrait lens.

Maybe - from the reviews it would seem many users feel that way. Now that I look at your cattle photo on a proper monitor (I replied earlier from my phone), I see nothing wrong with the sharpness in your photo. Yes, maybe stop down a bit more to get both in focus, otherwise it looks very nice to me. I really don't see how razor sharpness would help that photo at all. Enjoy

[GUB]

I really don't see how razor sharpness would help that photo at all. Enjoy

Yes I must use it more in portrait type situations. Trouble is too many lens too little time!! Thanks for your comments.

[GUB]

A couple with the Takumar 200mm 3.5

Attached Images

   

[tim60]

A couple with the Takumar 200mm 3.5

Thanks. It shows me ways I might use mine.

[JosQ]

S-M-C Takumar 50mm F1,4 on K-1

Gr. Jos

[paulh]

Very nice Tak shots, GUB and JosQ.

[wigwamtrout]

A couple with the Takumar 200mm 3.5

Now that is a great lens. Haven't checked in to the forum in a long time. Since then I've shot a lot of high priced modern lenses and cameras in other countries and continents, on top of beautiful mountains, on blue oceans and in great cities. I'll say the Taks and Pentax Ms are superior to modern lenses and only two primes outside old Pentax MF are needed to provide complete 35mm satisfaction (convenience, useability, variety, and definite quality). One needs the expensive 10-22 Canon to shoot at 10mm (I don't own this lense but have one available almost any time I wish), and the Zeiss 12mm Touitt on a very very light mirrorless Sony or Fuji apsc camera so that you can shoot with one hand in auto mode (for quick shots down low-close to the ground-fast, high aesthetic quality, high resolution shooting on the run). Their isn't any setup in Pentax land for these last two mentioned lenses or lens camera combos. I know someone might offer up some other options in Pentax land, but there just isn't a match for lightness and wideness and high quality files to be had outside these lens camera combos.
I don't like using zooms but have had some of the best modern zooms at my disposal recently...I just don't want or need them for a number of reasons. Except for the huge 10mm lens and the big Tak 200, all of my gear is compact. Sometimes these big lenses can't come along, or they come along at the sacrifice of wide coverage. Certainly the Zeiss, Tak 200 combo is very good (not too heavy and requiring only two cameras, one light as a feather, and no lens changes) for, lets say, climbing a mountain. So there is a lot of fun and variety carrying odd combos along on various excursions.
On my last outing to the Yucatan and Mexico City, I carried two Ms (50 1.4 and 100 2.8) and the light Zeiss 12mm Sony combo. Next time if I go down there, I'll carry only M 42s...the Tak 35 3.5, 8 element 50, 200 3.5 and probably the 20 4.5 for city street shooting. If I want to shoot the interior of the Cathedral in Mexico City again, I'd just have to have the Canon 10mm along. How fun. This way you get a lot of variety in your renderings (different looks and possibilities-positive ones-while pressed to overcome a few minor challenges or accomodate different limitations).
In all this talk, I left out the man who shoots with 500mm lenses and so on. I like wildlife shooting, but I get it as I can with shorter lenses.
I am almost 60 (can climb a mountain) and have slowly come into this gear with time. So, I am not rich and youthful by age. I'm an everyone's or any man's photographer. This has not been an expensive endeavor at all considering the time I've been shooting old Pentax lenses (about ten years). I've done this with meager finances and a bit of luck. I thought it would be a good time to write a note to MF Tak guys or anyone using older lenses that might be wondering about their viability and quality on digital cameras. Looking at files after being out with Zeiss lenses, then Nikon or Canon lenses, then various Taks and SMCM lenses, I see that these old MF lenses are making the better files and always, at least comparable files. I would point once again to the two above mentioned non Pentax lenses though. Outside of these two, nothing else is needed or wanted except old Pentax lenses.
The 200 3.5 has all of the exceptional color, sharpness, 3dness, bokeh and mechanical beauty of a highly desireable lens. New lenses tend to lack the 3D qualities of a lens like this, and that becomes apparent in a very definite way after looking through a couple of hundred thousand files from various lenses. Newer lenses are flatter in general...a tedium sets in after a while...the eyes tire of the look. I'd liken it to listening to a musical instrument that has a tone quality that eventually either grates on the nerves or becomes flat and dull as one listens to it over a certain period of time. At first a certain punch may grab the attention, but over time that particular quality needs to be confined to certain things only. Otherwise, boredom or even harshness overcome the senses. Maybe I've written long here, but the purpose is to set some things straight and clear, and encourage the Tak fans to care for their lenses and appreciate their quality as they use them on various new cameras....get new FF Pentax cameras or some mirrorless version and skip worrying about or acquiring new lenses!

[GUB]

encourage the Tak fans to care for their lenses and appreciate their quality as they use them on various new cameras....get new FF Pentax cameras or some mirrorless version and skip worrying about or acquiring new lenses!

Great post widwamtrout. I am at a similar age and I am often out trekking with my K01 or K30 with taks and Ms attached . This is the time of year I am stuck at home with farm chores and so is the time for checking out my lesser used lenses. I have found that these old lens are all I need and give soul to the image like no kit lens can ever do. You have to know their limitations and expect a lot of failure shots but hey it is digital and those shots are free. I have no need for the wide lens you mention - the M28 is default on the camera and should the vista get a little broad I paint the image with a panorama. My path forward will almost certainly be the K1 - just a matter of when!!.

[wigwamtrout]

Great post widwamtrout. I am at a similar age and I am often out trekking with my K01 or K30 with taks and Ms attached . This is the time of year I am stuck at home with farm chores and so is the time for checking out my lesser used lenses. I have found that these old lens are all I need and give soul to the image like no kit lens can ever do. You have to know their limitations and expect a lot of failure shots but hey it is digital and those shots are free. I have no need for the wide lens you mention - the M28 is default on the camera and should the vista get a little broad I paint the image with a panorama. My path forward will almost certainly be the K1 - just a matter of when!!.

Farms and ranches are good places for photography. I've made some stitched panos with the M 28s. The Tak 55s are very very good for stitches too. I might shoot 200 landscapes in a two day period with the 10mm....or the 12mm (18mm) and I like to take a lot of very wide shots so I need to use those wide high quality lenses that I can frame directly. Also, sometimes I need miniscule weight and auto to keep pressure off of the knees. But, yeah, stitching can be a solution to a degree and there are some things attainable only by stitching. I'm looking forward to seeing more shots from the 200.

[Tonytee]

K100D Super with Takumar F 70~210mm 1:4~5,6 lens.

1/1000s, f/8, ISO 200, no flash, Focal Length 155mm, CWA Metering.

Thanks a million for viewing.

Antonio

[Jonathan Mac]

S-M-C Takumar 50mm F1,4 on K-1


Gr. Jos

You know, I expected when the K-1 came out to see a flurry of posts to the old manual lens clubs - Takumer, M, K etc - as people rushed to use their old lenses at their intended focal lengths on the new FF, but it hasn't happened. This photo shows that they work very well though.

[GUB]

Yep it is a portrait lens! sup tak 105mm 2.8 @f4

[Tonytee]

This photo was shot at 70mm. K100d super with Takumar F 70~210mm 1:4~5.6mm.

1/320s, f8, ISO 200, no flash and used CWA Metering.

Many thanks for viewing.

Antonio

[paulh]

Yep it is a portrait lens! sup tak 105mm 2.8 @f4

Yes - that's what I'm talking about - sharp, yet smooth. Very nice shot!

Tonytee - nice work yourself. Gorgeous flower