Ah Yes !,..Thanks,..I LOVE My Primes !!!
Worked for Years with Really ONLY The 50mm and 55mm lenses.
Did a lot of Music and Entertainment Work, with a Luverly Old 200mm Lens, a Marexar I think,..which has Unfortunately, Passed on to the Giant Glass Furnace in the Sky !,..lol
It's Funny really, as when I was Younger, I couldn't really afford the Lenses I wanted, or the Faster ones! The First 50mm f1.4 I got Early on came with a Camera I acquired, which Was and Still IS an absolutely Amazing Lens!!
The Moment I put it on my camera and looked through the viewfinder, I was amazed!,..
How Bright it was!
and I guess after the 55mm, a slightly Different View,..But OH,..The Pictures !!,..lol
I find the f1.8 and the f2.0 also take beautiful Pictures, in fact for General 'Centre weighted' People Shots, the f2.0 is Great,..but there Really is an Element of 'Magic' happening with the 50mm f1.4.
When I was Much Younger,..I must admit I 'Dreamed' of either an Extensive Nikon setup,..lol or a "We are Not Worthy", Leica,..(typical eh!?),
BUT !!,
As I got Older and really started to Look at The VERY Real Quality of my 'Humble' little First SP500, I began to realise what I had was Pretty darn Good !!
When I got the 50mm, I began to realise what I had was, in fact, What I had been Looking For!
There is a certain kind of 'Snap' to this lens, that is Succinctly Different, to All other Takumars I feel and I KNOW it takes Sharper Pictures than the Old 500C Hasselblad I used to use Occasionally !!
I know, I know, format differences etc,..BUT, it IS Much Sharper than those Older Zeiss 'Blad' Lenses! Although in Theory Both Planar types, the Zeiss are Very Different in Construction and Methodology to what Asahi were doing!!
Oh, but then you ALL Know that eh!?,..;)
Anyway,..Points being,..I really Do not Now Desire for Many Other cameras, or lenses Compared to the Amazing Quality of The Takumars!
I own a Canon EOS 50 and a 50mm f1.8 II, which, I did purchase Because of how Sharp it is and it's Price, or should I say "Cheapness",..Eeek,..Plastic !!
I bought it recently to work with a Friend and teach them and because another good friend has a Brace of "L" series lenses I can and Do Borrow Occasionally !!!,..Drool ! Very Nice, Fast!, Beautifully Light, Large, but pretty Manageable! easy to use,..AND Do 'Feel' like Lenses of Old!
BUT,..the Cost !!! One single lens is worth MORE than My Whole collection !!!
It Was THIS 'Tacky Placky' Canon 50mm Lens, (that seems to barely even Pay passing Homage to Manual Focusing) and looking at even the Slightly Dearer Series of Canons and the awful Kit and Midrange Zooms, that Made me realise I once again could Not afford to Buy the Quality "I" Expected, or wanted, within the Canon Range !!
This Fact alone caused me to Re Investigate my Old Pentax collection.
Funny though as a point I was making about Not being able to afford the lenses I wanted when Younger!, well, seems Some of the Prime Focal Lengths and Ofcourse Speeds of some of the Takumars, I always Wanted, are NOW Once again, Becoming Rather expensive!!,...lol
Partly Due to the lenses and cameras being Popular with Collectors, (for Good reasons), and also NOW the Fact that The Whole DSLR 'World', has realised there are a Few Older Takumar Lenses that ARE Simply, IMHO and Obviously Many Others as well,..The Best Lenses available Now or Ever !!!,..:) DOH !!
If I were to Criticize My Pentax's for Anything, it possibly Wou;d be their Screw Mount, as at times it IS a wee bit 'Tedious', compared to say an EOS Canon etc.
Also, for someone who tends to also Like Long Exposures, (at Night AND during the Day!!,..Slow Film,..lol), I DO Find the Lack of a "Mirror Lock Up" a slight issue and I Guess in reality, The whole Mirror 'Movement' and resultant 'Shake', CAN also Be an Issue for Longer Hand held Work.
That said, I must admit to always having been Pretty Satisfied with my work Like that,..so it isn't THAT bad,..just a mention !!!,..:D
Having 'Been away' as such from my Photography for so many years,..I must admit,..I Do have a seriously re awakened and Self realisation about the equipment in general!
I mean, I have 'Owned' and Used/abused some of this equipment, for Over 30 odd years Myself!
Since I stopped Taking Pictures, it has simply been Stored, and Not Overly carefully either, due to many Moves etc in Life.
BUT, I was amazed really, that Upon inspection, Everything, apart from some Very Slight Fungus and dust inside My Very Old f1.8 55, (The Seawater drenched one !!), Everything, was Still Fine!
I needed to get two of the Mirror Seals replaced and had a slight issue with One battery Compartment, (Not Unusual !!,..lol).
So I was also amazed as I have said, that all my stuff is Exactly How I remember it
I am Enjoying the Re-familiarisation as it were of Both My Past and of This Beautiful Equipment.
OK,..gotta stop Now,..I'm dribbling on My Keyboard,...:D:D
