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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-21-2020, 06:29 AM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-21-2020, 06:05 AM
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I've a few 58mm lenses, and enjoy them for all kinds of different subjects. Here's a mix of photos:
Takumar 58/2
CZJ Biotar 58/2,17 blades version
Helios 44, early silver 13 blades version
Helios 44-2
Helios 44-3
Helios 44M (not my favourite 58mm but one of my favourite photos)
Helios 44M-4
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
06-19-2020, 05:18 AM
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Don't we all - it's a hot lens!! (In all ways).
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Forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive
06-19-2020, 12:06 AM
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Wonderfully vibrant photos pepperberry! My version is the 17 bladed Biotar T, made around 1950. When it arrived I was surprised at how small it was - packing in all those blades. Here it is between a Tessar and a Pancolar.
The early version is famous for providing the optical design for the Helios 44s, and it can swirl...in the right conditions..
I have to push the contrasts and colours quite a bit to get vibrant images, but there's no doubting the success of the optical design - the lens is sharp wide open and gets very sharp stopped down, with minimal purple fringing. Here are a few other images:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-13-2020, 12:29 PM
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Very interesting, thanks for posting this. The Macros have done well again.
I'm curious to know - do you feel you have a closer empathy/affinity (or whatever the right emotional-tie word is) with some lenses than others, and does this influence your photographic successes/results? For example, does this apply to your Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f2 SL II versus the FA 43 Limited?
Personally, every time I screw on the Macro-Takumar I feel I'll get a good shot somewhere, somehow, and not just a macro shot. But with some other lenses, including some quite expensive lenses (I'm thinking of you, the K85/1.8, for example), I'm never so sure, not so confident and perhaps not so good. And although I know it's a very good lens, and the 85mm focal length is fine, the K 85/1.8 and me never bonded, and I sold it.
Thanks, a scary list in a way, Glad I got some Explores under my belt before reading this.
One thing I should perhaps have stressed more is the confluence of "subject, composition and style" . I mentioned it in my video, and gave an example - sunsets - but didn't mention it in my post above. Because it is possible to take a popular subject and come up with a composition that people seem to like. And Explore, if that's your game. (And how to get Explores was not really my focus in this lens thread. I was simply trying to say - I have a camera and some lenses, and I've posted a lot on Flickr and here are the most popular of my lenses as voted for by Flickr/Explore, and some lessons why...if you're interested).
The photo below - the moon shot - is another example of subject, composition and style. A friend was complaining about how many toy figures were being Explored, and how silly some of them were. So I tried to take my own toy figure photo....as a joke, it really was meant as a joke....and it got a big Explore!
---------- Post added 06-13-20 at 08:31 PM ----------
Thank you! I did look at the top faved photos, but only for Explores. Yes, I should also look (and will look) at the top non-Explored faved photos, as some of those have quite a high fave to view ratio.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-12-2020, 06:26 AM
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That's a good question. This does make some difference, but I don't think that's the sole reason.
I've gone and checked the top numbers of photos posted (sorry Dave)…
280 - DA 35mm Limited - it took me years to get even one photo Explored by this great lens, and then it was landscape
263 - Macro Takumar 50/4
253 - Helios 44-2
221 - F 100mm Macro
209 - Super-Takumar 50/1.4 - 8 elements version
199 - DA 10-17mm
188 - Tamron 70-300
184 - Pentax K 28/3.5
184 - Auto-Takumar 35/2.3
179 - Pentax K 85/1.8
169 - Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8 radio-active version
Total photos posted = 5,274.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-12-2020, 05:17 AM
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Yes, it's certainly a mystery. The only time I've had the same photo Explored twice on the same day, was when I posted a colour and a b&w photo of the same image. And it was taken with a mobile phone! Here's the b&w photo:
---------- Post added 06-12-20 at 01:29 PM ----------
That's an excellent point. Some bad old lenses are beyond help from even the most aggressive post processing.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
06-12-2020, 04:06 AM
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During the lock-down, with time on my hands, I did a review of my most successful lenses on Flickr. Which lenses are the most Explored and why? Why are some of my most viewed lenses not the most Explored? What lenses produce photos with the most faves? And above all else, how important are the lenses versus the compositions?
The Flickr Explore algorithm can be very quirky in how it selects images. I’ve had 160 Explores from 46 different lenses and 7 million views. Not nearly as many views/Explores as some on the Forum, but a big enough sample to see some clear patterns in all the quirks.
I'd like to share my conclusions with you, and I’d welcome your comments and observations. Hopefully it is of some interest and not too ego-centric! (Of course it reflects the focus of my lens collection).
In general - camera lenses are more important than the cameras. The Helios 44-2 is a case in point. It’s a popular lens, capable of eye-catching rendering. Including all of my Helios 44s (not just 44-2) I’ve had 28 Explores with various cameras, far more than any other lens series. And it’s not simply because of the number of photos I’ve posted – nearly 10% of photos from the rare early 44 have been Explored.
However, the most important (and not particularly earth-shattering) lesson I’ve learned is that compositions are more important than camera gear. Post processing also plays a part in this. I like to take a lot of bokeh images, and buy lenses that produce "monster bokeh". But a number of my most successful photos have no bokeh at all. And one of my most successful landscape shots was taken with a macro lens. So, looking at my most viewed lenses with only a few Explores – like the Biotar for example - I definitely need to improve the quality and variety of my compositions. Here's a video on YouTube about the results with photos, if you’re interested: [EDIT - I've re-loaded the video in HD after someone commented on the low resolution of my videos - I'm very new to YouTube uploading!...And I took the opportunity to amend the title and a few minor parts of the text...]
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TKnzznJ4Ckw?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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And if you’d rather read the lens results, here they are:
Top 5 Explored Lenses
1. Helios 44-2
2. Pentax F 100mm Macro
3. Super-Takumar 50/1.4
4. Pentax DA 10-17mm
5. Macro-Takumar 50/4
Top 5 most viewed lens albums
1. Auto-Takumar 35/2.3
2. Macro-Takumar 50/4
3. Pentax K 135/2.5
4. Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58/2
5. Auto-Takumar 55/2.2
Lenses used on the top 5 faved photos
1. Tamron 17-50
2. DA 35mm Limited
3. F 100mm Macro
4. Macro Takumar 50/4
5. Helios 44-2
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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-03-2020, 12:26 AM
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Sorry to hear about this. It's always a risk buying these old cameras off the web.
Yes, mine is green with some blue, but to be honest it's a darker green than it looks in the photo - it was a quick pre-work snap on the kitchen table (with some printer paper) and the camera was a bit dark so I had to lighten it all up.
BTW, your rare early Takumar 55/2.2 is a very interesting lens. Thanks for sharing a photo of it/from it. I'd love to compare it with the different, later Auto-Takumar 55/2.2, which is a fine lens. The Auto-Tak produced this Explored photo on Flickr, and a good number of views/faves - great to see people looking at Takumar photos!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
06-01-2020, 11:37 PM
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A beautiful camera and lens - congratulations.
The purple of that instruction guide is so cool! Thanks for sharing.
The guide I have for the K is green. Wonder if they came in different colours for the same camera? Anyway, a short and succinct manual. I liked your composition, so I tried to copy it...(with a S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5)
And a recent snap (with processing) taken by that Auto-Takumar 55/1.8 zebra....
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-24-2020, 11:34 PM
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K1 + S-M-C Takumar 50/1.4.
I work in non-essential manufacturing and as we've been shut up at home, I decided to try and make/post a YouTube video about some of my lenses as an experiment. I actually ended up posting four videos on "Best bokeh lenses" for M42 lenses. For your potential amusement, I'd like to share this one - it covers 55mm to 58mm lenses, and includes 7 Takumars up against some pretty good "competitors".
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i0sNtXwt3wc?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
04-22-2020, 05:43 AM
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Three golden lenses...
...and their bodies - the "AP", K and S3. Such beautiful pieces of engineering.
And a conundrum. The lens in the middle, a Yashica Yashinon 5cm f2, was allegedy made by Tomioka. The two Takumar 55s look similar, so were they made by Tomioka too, or was the Yashica made by Asahi? Or neither? This is quite a well worn debate.
I was lucky enough to find a "for repair" Yashica recently and took it apart completely for a good look. My own guess is that the lenses at least shared the same parts manufacturer/sub-contractor for some of the parts. Fortunately I got it all back together again and working after a few hiccups.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-31-2020, 10:14 AM
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I'll give it a go. We're not essential workers, so we're locked inside at home in London for the foreseeable future, with lots of time to experiment with new (to me) processing techniques...
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-05-2019, 10:04 AM
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Fed up waiting for a bus on a very wet London day. K-01 and DA40XS
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-05-2019, 09:59 AM
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A flying red man sign
And a slice of life in a classical City - Rome. (PS proud to see my RANT photo is still the thumbnail for this fun thread :))
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Forum: Lens Clubs
09-11-2019, 05:53 AM
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Two recent shots from a Leitz Colorplan 90/2.5 Made in Germany, using a Russian bellows. I don't normally add a frame/text to photos but it seemed appropriate for the first shot.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-01-2019, 03:40 AM
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I'm in. I'm going to use my Russian and German lenses this month. And trying to find something Red to photo each day.
This!
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-26-2019, 12:10 AM
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Thank you! Yes, it's a cosmos, growing in our local park.
Those 85mm prices! The good news is that if/when you buy one, as long as you can find one at a reasonable price versus current prices, then it should be a good investment as well as fun. I paid 150 UK pounds for this in early 2017, when most were going for around 180, and they've gone up since then:
Looking through my albums with the 85/1.8 and 85/1.9 on Flickr this morning...my personal favourite below was taken with a 85/1.9. If you'd like to take a look, my 85/1.9 album is: Super-Takumar 85/1.9 | Flickr and my 85/1.8 album: SMC Pentax 85mm f1.8 ("K series") - sold | Flickr
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-24-2019, 12:36 AM
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I had a similar itch to own a 85mm, and ended up buying the SMC K 85/1.8 (the K-mount version of the SMC Takumar). On the basis that if you've going to spend money on an expensive manual lens, you may as well try to buy the best you can. The A* was out of reach and I waited some time before finding an affordable-to-me K version. I wasn't disappointed. Physically, it's a very handsome lens, and optically impressive. After using it every day for a month on a Daily challenge, I posted a 10/10 review on Forum's lens reviews (so I won't repeat what you can read there).
However, I found that I wasn't using the lens nearly as much as I thought I would - on crop or FF. The K135/2.5 seemed to open up more interesting photo opportunities, even as a portrait lens. So it turned out to be an expensive lens sitting on the shelf.
Then I saw a good-value Super Takumar 85/1.9 for sale, and thought that if it's anywhere near as good I'd sell the 85/1.8. The 85/1.9 is an older optical design dating back (I believe) to the Auto-Takumars, with lesser coatings. My copy was well under half the price of the K85mm.
And is it half the lens? Not at all. Ergonomically, it's more tactile to use with the all metal focus ring (compared to the K85's hard rubber covered ring). Optically, the 85/1.9 is probably a tad softer across the stops, and the lesser coatings result in a slightly more dreamy rendering. But I actually prefer that - generally, I prefer the Auto-Takumar renderings to the later SMCs. It's just a personal preference, and I'm happy to do the pp'ing required to compensate for any lack of contrast. To my eyes, the 85/1.9 bokeh is better than the 85/1.8; sharp enough on the in-focus parts with softer and creamier oof areas - and others have said so too. Not that the 85/1.8 has anything other than beautiful isolation/bokeh. I ended up selling the 85/1.8 for a profit.
Coincidentally, I took out the 85/1.9 on the walk to work yesterday - the first time I've used it for ages - and here is a pp'd snap from the walk, taken wide open.
Hope this helps and happy hunting, Simon
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-17-2019, 01:31 PM
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Excellent and lots of fun, as always.
Amazing collection, congratulations! And so well captured (in all senses). I really like the different colours reflected across all that glass.
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Three out of my last four Explores on Flickr have been from Soviet lenses:
Helios 44-2
Helios 44-3
And an all seeing eye in the woods with a Helios 44M-4
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Forum: Lens Clubs
08-14-2019, 10:44 PM
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@ scratchpaddy. Great light! It's years since we've been on the same thread - good to see you back. I took this photo of one of your friends yesterday with a S-M-C Takumar 55/1.8. I was supposed to be going to a cricket match at Lord's London, but it was rained off, and so I went outside to snap this duck in the wet (a duck is also a cricket expression for getting out without scoring).
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-28-2019, 11:48 PM
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Thank you and congratulations. Yes, the Helios 44-2 photo did have some contrast and color boost. I did most of this in-camera (K-1), as it was taken on holiday. The good news is that the lens is centre sharp wide open and the raw/jpeg images can handle quite a lot of pp - which they normally need, but I think you'll find the results are worth it. It's a fun lens.
Thank you! Here are two more from interesting bokeh lenses with the K-1; both radio-active, like the Pancolar above. A Tomioka Auto-Revuenon 55/1.2 and a Yashica Yashinon 50/1.7
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
07-28-2019, 07:50 AM
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Two of my favourite bokeh lenses (amongst a dozen other favourites!) - the Helios 44-2 and the Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8.
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-26-2019, 09:40 AM
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Two great, radio-active lenses! I think the chrome version Mamiya/Sekor 55/1.4 is probably my most handsome lens. I just wish my copy was a bit sharper wide open.
Here it is taking a snap (heavily processed) of another radio-active lens:
..and with a Raynox M-250:
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Forum: Lens Clubs
05-15-2019, 09:01 AM
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My new acquisition to go alongside a Leitz Portugal Colorplan 90mm 2.5 from Jean Poitiers :).
From what I’ve read they have different optical designs - the earlier silver one has 5 elements 4 groups, and the black one 6 elements 4 groups. Haven't used the German one in earnest, except to test it, and it has a different min/max focus distance. If it's as sharp and colourful as the Portuguese, I'll be very happy.
Here are some recent photos from the Portuguese one.
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