Takumar club

wkraus · 12-27-2013, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by pentaxpete

35mm f2 Super-Takumar on K10D at full aperture, f2 in fading daylight..

Lovely!

I was a little late for the party but may I ask for an ethnographic explanation?

utak · 12-27-2013, 03:27 PM - **2 Likes**

Here's a photo by the Auto-Takumar 55/1.8: the zebra one with a diaphragm charging lever. On a K20D. It produces great colours and bokeh, similar to the later Takumar 55/1.8s (how similar I'll find out after using the lens for more than one day!!)

**jeffshaddix** · 12-27-2013, 05:31 PM

Hey guys, I just picked up a K55/1.8, which looks to be the same formula as the Tak equivalent. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

I'm on a hunt for fun lenses in the 50-58mm range - I've collected several already, but none that are Takumars. I'd like to change that. One of the things that frustrated me about my Voigtlander 58/1.4 was the OOF highlight outer circles (due, I've read, to overcorrected spherical aberration). I see that effect on the Tak 50/1.4, and the 55/1.8 to a lesser extent. It looks pretty good on the 58/2 (sonnar) and 58/2.4 (heliar), though those are hard to come by. Any thoughts on this? What about the 55 f/1.9/2/2.2 "auto" takumars? I read about the lever on the side that can snap the aperture open - neat idea!

I'm also looking for a lens with smooth bokeh at medium distances by f/2 (I could do f/2.4 on the 58mm). I made a thread about this over here as well: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/246481-need...a-obvious.html

@utak fun capture! how do you like that charging lever? can you focus and hold it down at the same time?

tim60 · 12-27-2013, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by jeffshaddix

@utak fun capture! how do you like that charging lever? can you focus and hold it down at the same time?

The usual term for the idea, as used in Australia, is "cocking lever". The first camera I used was a Zeiss Ikon Contessa, beautiful and tough. It had a leaf shutter in the 45mm 2.8? tessar lens. The manual referred to cocking the shutter, to set it ready to fire, by winding up a spring somewhere.

Also remember the same word in the context of shooting manually loaded rifles.

Last edited by tim60; 12-28-2013 at 12:01 PM.

numshah · 12-28-2013, 08:40 AM

Originally posted by Pepe Guitarra

Is that a TORRES guitar, or a Torres Style made guitar? It looks very impressive (and it could be a Torres), but would you know?

I have no idea. He was an old gaucho who was playing traditional songs, didn't speak a word of English. I am also not familiar with guitars so I have no idea, sorry!

bradsarno · 12-28-2013, 11:51 PM - **2 Likes**

S-M-C Takumar 28mm f3.5 using a *istDS. Sunset today - December 28, 2013 - St. Louis, MO - USA

**jeffshaddix** · 12-29-2013, 07:31 AM

Gorgeous colors, especially the last one. Great work!

**chuck_c** · 12-29-2013, 08:09 AM

Originally posted by bradsarno

S-M-C Takumar 28mm f3.5 using a *istDS. Sunset today - December 28, 2013 - St. Louis, MO - USA

Beautiful sunset series! Well done.

Asama · 12-29-2013, 01:28 PM

Originally posted by Stratman

All of these are from my fathers Super Multi Coated Takumar 50 mm f 1.4 My first try with the adapter on my K10D, What I like about these lenses is the rich color, wow....

The middle one with the water droplets on the leaf is insane.
Am I nuts or are these 40 year old ground glass lenses better than the plastic crap they produce today.

tim60 · 12-29-2013, 10:23 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Asama

The middle one with the water droplets on the leaf is insane.
Am I nuts or are these 40 year old ground glass lenses better than the plastic crap they produce today.

In photography, trust your eyes, not the meters and other tests devised by physicists.

What I like about the old lenses is that they seem to have been designed with an aesthetic in mind for the whole series.

The notion of 'goodness' of a lens is different now.

Jean Poitiers · 12-30-2013, 12:16 AM

Originally posted by jeffshaddix

Gorgeous colors, especially the last one. Great work!

Agreed @100% ... very nice colors indeed, bravo ...TFS, J

numshah · 12-30-2013, 05:24 AM

Originally posted by tim60

In photography, trust your eyes, not the meters and other tests devised by physicists.

What I like about the old lenses is that they seem to have been designed with an aesthetic in mind for the whole series.

The notion of 'goodness' of a lens is different now.

That is definitely true about the Takumars. By modern standards, they aren't fantastic; I know that my 50mm f1.4 S-M-C is waaay softer and fringier than many of the modern equivalents now, but then there must be another factor that contributes to their popularity even till now - that is the aesthetic that you talk about. I find the Taks more contrasty than other lenses, and they can maintain a high level of contrast even in brightly lit places or when shooting into the sun. My 28mm f3.5 preserves shadows very well even when other lenses would experience image-destroying haze. Other more subjective traits like "three-dimensionality" are also often mentioned, but I have yet to figure out what it is that makes Taks so awesome.

Dartmoor Dave · 12-30-2013, 06:03 AM

Modern lenses are designed by computers to accurately reproduce test charts under laboratory conditions. Takumars were designed by human beings to do beautiful things with colour and light.

**c.a.m** · 12-30-2013, 08:58 AM

Originally posted by numshah

there must be another factor that contributes to their popularity even till now - that is the aesthetic that you talk about.

Originally posted by Dartmoor Dave

Takumars were designed by human beings to do beautiful things with colour and light.

And to bring tears to your eyes when you capture the colour and light with a 40- or 50- or nearly 60-year old lens on a modern digital camera. Sublime!

I am lucky to have obtained several wonderful Takumars. My favourites are the Auto 55/2, SMC 50/1.4 and S-M-C 85/1.8.

- Craig

**jeffshaddix** · 12-30-2013, 09:46 AM

Originally posted by c.a.m

And to bring tears to your eyes when you capture the colour and light with a 40- or 50- or nearly 60-year old lens on a modern digital camera. Sublime!

I am lucky to have obtained several wonderful Takumars. My favourites are the Auto 55/2, SMC 50/1.4 and S-M-C 85/1.8.

- Craig

Hey Craig, I'm trying to find out more about the auto 55 line you mention. What do you like about it? From pictures I've seen so far, it seems the f/2 and f/2.2 do a great job with even bokeh circles without the highlights around the edges. I'm not sure if the 1.8 and 1.9 are the same - I was thinking the aperture restraining ring inside might have had something to do with it.

Have you operated on yours to remove the ring inside to convert it to a 1.8?

Thanks!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
For Sale - Sold: Takumar: Super Takumar 135mm f3.5 includes case, hood and caps	Peter Zack	Sold Items	7	05-17-2010 07:12 PM
Adorama is dangerous! And so is the Takumar Club!	NaClH2O	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	23	01-24-2010 09:54 AM
For Sale - Sold: Hard Cases for Takumar 28mm/3.5 and Takumar 135mm/2.5	gabriel_bc	Sold Items	8	01-11-2010 10:17 AM
For Sale - Sold: FS: Pentax-F 28/2.8; Takumar 400/5.6; Takumar 500/4.5 - pics	thePiRaTE!!	Sold Items	5	03-06-2008 09:47 AM

12-27-2013, 02:23 PM	#12121
wkraus Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Near Vienna, Austria Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,065	Originally posted by pentaxpete 35mm f2 Super-Takumar on K10D at full aperture, f2 in fading daylight.. Lovely! I was a little late for the party but may I ask for an ethnographic explanation?

12-27-2013, 03:27 PM - 2 Likes	#12122
utak Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 928	Here's a photo by the Auto-Takumar 55/1.8: the zebra one with a diaphragm charging lever. On a K20D. It produces great colours and bokeh, similar to the later Takumar 55/1.8s (how similar I'll find out after using the lens for more than one day!!)

12-27-2013, 05:31 PM	#12123
jeffshaddix Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,473	Hey guys, I just picked up a K55/1.8, which looks to be the same formula as the Tak equivalent. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I'm on a hunt for fun lenses in the 50-58mm range - I've collected several already, but none that are Takumars. I'd like to change that. One of the things that frustrated me about my Voigtlander 58/1.4 was the OOF highlight outer circles (due, I've read, to overcorrected spherical aberration). I see that effect on the Tak 50/1.4, and the 55/1.8 to a lesser extent. It looks pretty good on the 58/2 (sonnar) and 58/2.4 (heliar), though those are hard to come by. Any thoughts on this? What about the 55 f/1.9/2/2.2 "auto" takumars? I read about the lever on the side that can snap the aperture open - neat idea! I'm also looking for a lens with smooth bokeh at medium distances by f/2 (I could do f/2.4 on the 58mm). I made a thread about this over here as well: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/246481-need...a-obvious.html @utak fun capture! how do you like that charging lever? can you focus and hold it down at the same time?

12-27-2013, 08:01 PM	#12124
tim60 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 8,755	Originally posted by jeffshaddix @utak fun capture! how do you like that charging lever? can you focus and hold it down at the same time? The usual term for the idea, as used in Australia, is "cocking lever". The first camera I used was a Zeiss Ikon Contessa, beautiful and tough. It had a leaf shutter in the 45mm 2.8? tessar lens. The manual referred to cocking the shutter, to set it ready to fire, by winding up a spring somewhere. Also remember the same word in the context of shooting manually loaded rifles. Last edited by tim60; 12-28-2013 at 12:01 PM.

12-28-2013, 08:40 AM	#12125
numshah Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 25	Originally posted by Pepe Guitarra Is that a TORRES guitar, or a Torres Style made guitar? It looks very impressive (and it could be a Torres), but would you know? I have no idea. He was an old gaucho who was playing traditional songs, didn't speak a word of English. I am also not familiar with guitars so I have no idea, sorry!

12-29-2013, 07:31 AM	#12127
jeffshaddix Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,473	Gorgeous colors, especially the last one. Great work!

12-29-2013, 08:09 AM	#12128
chuck_c Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Westerville, OH Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,588	Originally posted by bradsarno S-M-C Takumar 28mm f3.5 using a *istDS. Sunset today - December 28, 2013 - St. Louis, MO - USA Beautiful sunset series! Well done.

12-29-2013, 01:28 PM	#12129
Asama Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 40	Originally posted by Stratman All of these are from my fathers Super Multi Coated Takumar 50 mm f 1.4 My first try with the adapter on my K10D, What I like about these lenses is the rich color, wow.... The middle one with the water droplets on the leaf is insane. Am I nuts or are these 40 year old ground glass lenses better than the plastic crap they produce today.

12-29-2013, 10:23 PM - 1 Like	#12130
tim60 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 8,755	Originally posted by Asama The middle one with the water droplets on the leaf is insane. Am I nuts or are these 40 year old ground glass lenses better than the plastic crap they produce today. In photography, trust your eyes, not the meters and other tests devised by physicists. What I like about the old lenses is that they seem to have been designed with an aesthetic in mind for the whole series. The notion of 'goodness' of a lens is different now.

12-30-2013, 12:16 AM	#12131
Jean Poitiers Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 18,076	Originally posted by jeffshaddix Gorgeous colors, especially the last one. Great work! Agreed @100% ... very nice colors indeed, bravo ...TFS, J

12-30-2013, 05:24 AM	#12132
numshah Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 25	Originally posted by tim60 In photography, trust your eyes, not the meters and other tests devised by physicists. What I like about the old lenses is that they seem to have been designed with an aesthetic in mind for the whole series. The notion of 'goodness' of a lens is different now. That is definitely true about the Takumars. By modern standards, they aren't fantastic; I know that my 50mm f1.4 S-M-C is waaay softer and fringier than many of the modern equivalents now, but then there must be another factor that contributes to their popularity even till now - that is the aesthetic that you talk about. I find the Taks more contrasty than other lenses, and they can maintain a high level of contrast even in brightly lit places or when shooting into the sun. My 28mm f3.5 preserves shadows very well even when other lenses would experience image-destroying haze. Other more subjective traits like "three-dimensionality" are also often mentioned, but I have yet to figure out what it is that makes Taks so awesome.

12-30-2013, 06:03 AM	#12133
Dartmoor Dave Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Dartmoor, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,888	Modern lenses are designed by computers to accurately reproduce test charts under laboratory conditions. Takumars were designed by human beings to do beautiful things with colour and light.

12-30-2013, 08:58 AM	#12134
c.a.m Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Ottawa, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,191	Originally posted by numshah there must be another factor that contributes to their popularity even till now - that is the aesthetic that you talk about. Originally posted by Dartmoor Dave Takumars were designed by human beings to do beautiful things with colour and light. And to bring tears to your eyes when you capture the colour and light with a 40- or 50- or nearly 60-year old lens on a modern digital camera. Sublime! I am lucky to have obtained several wonderful Takumars. My favourites are the Auto 55/2, SMC 50/1.4 and S-M-C 85/1.8. - Craig

12-30-2013, 09:46 AM	#12135
jeffshaddix Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,473	Originally posted by c.a.m And to bring tears to your eyes when you capture the colour and light with a 40- or 50- or nearly 60-year old lens on a modern digital camera. Sublime! I am lucky to have obtained several wonderful Takumars. My favourites are the Auto 55/2, SMC 50/1.4 and S-M-C 85/1.8. - Craig Hey Craig, I'm trying to find out more about the auto 55 line you mention. What do you like about it? From pictures I've seen so far, it seems the f/2 and f/2.2 do a great job with even bokeh circles without the highlights around the edges. I'm not sure if the 1.8 and 1.9 are the same - I was thinking the aperture restraining ring inside might have had something to do with it. Have you operated on yours to remove the ring inside to convert it to a 1.8? Thanks!