| Author: | | New Member Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 26, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, light and solid. Cheap. | | Cons: | Slowish - not a real limitation | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fuji X-e1
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I have an SMC Takumar 3.5/35mm with original hood.
This was my very first Takumar and having collected several others since, I decided recently to come back to it and give it another outing. I'm glad I did and can say this is now my favourite wide / normal legacy lens for landscape and close-ups ( with tube ) on my Fuji X-e1. Its small and light with outstanding sharpness although contrast needs a little boost post. Its a little slow at 3.5 but I would never shoot anyway other than 5.6 or 8.0 and with some type of support. Highly recommended and a match, if not surpassing, many modern primes of this length. I know this is just my opinion but having owned dozens of the better legacy lenses over the years I would recommend owning this lens if you ever get the opportunity.
    | | | | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2014 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: October 1, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, great build quality, low CA | | Cons: | Slow, M42 mount | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K10D
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Nice lens, 9/10.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2010 Location: The Black Hills Posts: 1,108
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 17, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $45.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, great rendering, color | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I have been pleasantly surprised by this nice little lens. So much so that I quit using a SMC "K" 35 3.5 and sold it. I have owned a Pentax 40mm ltd and Voightlander 40mm and prefer this lens to both as well. It picks up so much detail and subtle contrast, and I like the color better than the Limited, which to me is quite an accomplishment for a lens of this age. Very little CA and fringing, even it very high contrast situation, something I could not say for the SMC "K" 35 3.5. What a good deal!
Examples
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2012 Posts: 39
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 30, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great Color and contrast. Sharp. No CA | | Cons: | A tad slow at its widest aperture f/3.5 | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K200D; K-01
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This lens is sharp, sharp, sharp. Out of all my lenses that I have (including two Pentax/Takumar 50mm 1.4) This lens is by far my favorite. It's such a beautiful, light- but robust, professional gem. This is my go to lens that sparks creativity and is a joy to use.
 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2012 Posts: 295 | | Review Date: December 17, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Small Form, Smooth Focus/Handling | | Cons: | Slow at f3.5, bokeh isn't special like the 50mm Tak | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-01
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Think humble do-it-all. This Super Takumar 35mm has beautifully sharp pictures, handles superbly and is much smaller than you would expect because Takumars are already usually smaller but this is tiny. The bokeh could be smoother and more out of focus but it's not too bad. The colors are rich and contrasty. This Takumar is way up there in comparison to many similar focal length lenses I have used such as the DA 35mm, MIR 1 Multicoated, DA 40 limited and XS as well as the FA 28mm. I'd say it has a generous blend of everything and can be one of those lenses that you could just get and never really need to buy another lens if you needed to be stuck with one low cost lens where you HAD to sell all your >$50 "best" and pricier lenses. This is a do it all lens that practically fits all bills except speed(higher iso quality cameras can get away with it though).
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2013 Location: Near Basle Posts: 9
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 17, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, small, light | | Cons: | To small on the 5D | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Canon 5D, Sony Nex-6
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I have an Auto Takumar 3.5/35mm and a 2.3/35mm.
This lens is very constant across the hole range, startingfrom wide open. The 2.3/35mm is diffrent and chances with every aperture click, the 3.5/35mm doesn't. It is sharp, contrasty and brilliant from f/3.5 on.
CAs are nearly absent wide open.
It produces very nice flares and stars against bright lightsources. The flares are not very pleasant, because it produces pentagons.
I have a lot of examples from both 35mm at the end of >this page< in the Gallery. The lens which is used (f/3.5 or f/2.3) is written in the pics.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Port Angeles, WA Posts: 505
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 18, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, great colors, super sharp! | | Cons: | Slow, focusing with filters is difficult | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 6
Value: 9
Camera Used: ME Super, K100d
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This lens is fantastic as both a standard on digital as well as a medium-wide on film. Very sharp overall, I see a little softness in corners at 3.5, but stop it down and you're golden. I prefer it on film for general use when I'm outdoors, especially in canyons-- I tend to stay wide, and 35 is about the longest I do for landscapes and general shooting.
It also seems to work fairly well for macro with a short extension tube, as long as you're not shooting anything that's alive and moving.
On digital, it becomes a longer-ish standard (52.5mm) and makes a very compact, lightweight package to walk around with. Works well with aperture-priority leaving the diaphragm in manual. My meter is off by 1.5 stops in Av (dead on in M, though) so test, first!
Bokeh seems to be frequently distracting, but that's not that big of a deal on a wide-angle. However, even focusing wide open is a challenge-- Add a B&W contrast filter (I frequently use a Yellow-Orange) and the Split-Prism and Microprism are useless for focusing. The M/A switch is a little hard to access, but I can't complain too much with how compact it is.
Here are a couple quick macro snap from earlier with my K100d, and one of my favorite B&W images (ME Super):
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Posts: 3,348
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 10, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $49.99
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small size, low cost, image quality | | Cons: | Handling | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 4
Handling: 6
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-30
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I recently bought the SMC version of this lens and did a quick walk around with it. It's great for capturing wide views but be sure to stop it down to f/8 or so. At f/3.5 the edges are soft and blurry. If you're a pixel peeper then you'll notice some optical defects. Zoom in at 100% zoom on a big 27" monitor you'll see it: color shift, a bit of distortion, etc. Then again, if you want to capture a landscape why would you be zooming in on the twigs and leaves?
Portraits are great if you can get close enough and stop down the aperture a bit. Get even closer for macro-like shots of flowers and insects and the quality is very good! Open up the aperture a bit and you'll still be OK. Colors are vivid and aberrations seem to decrease in quantity and intensity, almost down to none! Be aware that this is not a macro lens though.
Bokeh is there but it's nothing artsy or impressive from what I was able to capture. Maybe I did something wrong?
My biggest complaints come from the mechanical handling. Because the lens is small the control rings are small too. It's difficult for me to grasp them and it takes some getting used to. The operation of the rings is smooth snappy in my lens.
This is a completely manual lens, it's "vintage", and it's price is relatively low. All of that combined makes it a great value for photographers if you can find a good copy at a decent price. Pixel peepers should stay away and gravitate towards modern lenses that are super-sharp and cost many hundreds of dollars more.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: October, 2010 Location: Baltimore Posts: 2,542
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 28, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact | Sharp | Useful Focal Length | Minimim Focus Distance | | Cons: | I have none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K20D | K10D | K-x | K-m
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The 35mm is my most useful focal length and the ability to use Takumars in Av mode is a great advantage over M lenses. I find this focal length perfect for everyday use...
So very compact, sharpness is there if you are at all good with manual focus and because the lens is stopped down, metering in Aperture Priority is possible. I've never had problems with CA, I do use a hood and minimum focus distance helps produce somewhat pleasing bokeh.
Super Takumar 35/3.5 | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2012 Location: Berlin Posts: 9 | | Review Date: June 9, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, very compact, nice to handle | | Cons: | I guess it's slow... doesn't bother me much | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: ME Super & Canon 5D m3
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I have the SMC version. One of my favourite lenses, along with the K28/3.5. And they are similar in many ways - slightly cool rendering (compared to other takumars anyway) blazingly sharp and punchy across the frame at all apertures. Just makes juicy pictures.
Bokeh, which you'll probably only manage focused near mins, is very vintage and textured, not like smooth modern glass. It has a lovely 3D pop to near focused pictures. Flare is very well controlled, although it kicks up a little bit wide open. It's a tiny lens, which personally makes it a little tricky to operate at times. Can be fiddly to focus on digital bodies, I find it easier to range focus on my MX and shoot quick and easy. Great walk around lens and now it simply lives on my camera.
I liked this one so much I sold my SMC Tak 35/2, which is much softer at every aperture, and much less vibrant.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | | Review Date: April 14, 2013 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, sharp, great build ... | | Cons: | Slow (f3.5), M42 mount ... | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5, K-r
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Bonjour,
I recently acquired a "SMC" copy of this lens, with original caps and case, and I am quite happy with it.
Great Tak build, and what was surprising for me is the relatively small size of this lens.
Attached is an image of the 35/3.5 on the K-5, using a Pentax adapter for the M42 mount.
Salut, J
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2012 Location: Queensland Posts: 4,294 | | Review Date: January 25, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Surprisingly clear and sharp | | Cons: | Still thinking | | Sharpness: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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Mine is the S-M-C version which came with a Pentax SV,
Here are pictures taken with the SV on expired 200 Fuji Superia, in different light conditions: I let the pictures do the talking. This is a lovely lens. It was a bit cloudy when I got it, and I spent $90 getting it serviced. For me, it was worth it. These are keeper lenses.
   | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: North West UK Posts: 390
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 15, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp! Lack of CA, small, light, a tactile delight! | | Cons: | Slow. Not much more than that | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5, Spotmatic F, K20D, K10D
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This lens is a little gem. It is small well made little jewel of a lens. It is not fast by any means but when you have a lens this small. that does not really matter.
How does it perform? Well, lets put it this way. Brilliantly! On film it it a delight, and partners my SpotF perfectly. On digital? Well lets just say that it is one of the best 35mm lenses you can buy. The surprise is the complete lack of CA, even on a demanding body like the K-5.
Sharpness? Good wide open, but get it to F8 and you could cut metal by how sharp it is.
Contrast - Oh yes, this has great contrast.
With this lens, along with the mighty 55mm F1.8, and you can understand why Takumars were considered the finest lenses of the era (sorry Leica!)
The real surprise, is that these lenses still perform superbly in the modern era, especially on demanding digital bodies.
Would I recommend? Well of course! 
I paid $80 equiv in the UK, but that was with my SpotF body too.
Find one and grab one, you will enjoy using it.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2012 Posts: 94
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 29, 2012 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image, build quality and great feel | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Canon 550D, Chinon CS
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Image quality filming
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,897
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 21, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, generally good IQ, extremely small, beautiful build quality | | Cons: | Slow, M42 and all that entails | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K200D
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This review is for the Super-Multi-Coated version.
Obviously this is an M42 lens, so it's fully manual and will take some getting used to. Not only is it M42, but it is so small that it does not meet the electrical contacts on a DSLR. What does this matter? If an M42 lens meets the contacts then it can be used more easily in A mode, as the camera will meter correctly. If there's nothing on the contacts then A mode will underexpose by 2 stops or more, and you'll be better off just using M mode.
Speaking of size, this lens is absolutely tiny, but the handling remains good.
In my experience of old Pentax f/3.5 lenses (this one plus M & K 28s), they are all extremely sharp wide open, with no colour aberrations visible at all, which is wonderful. Stop down for exposure or for increased depth of field as required, but there's no need to stop down for increased sharpness. Colour and contrast are good. I also own the DA 35mm ltd, and while the Tak does not have the magical IQ that the ltd has, it sometimes comes very, very close, and is certainly at least as sharp.
Obviously this is not a very fast lens. The problem with this for me is not in low-light or shallow DoF shooting, but in that it provides less light in the viewfinder. It's definitely a good-weather lens.
Overall, this lens provides extremely good IQ within it's limitations and provides a very enjoyable manual shooting experience due to it's superb handling and build quality.
A few examples:
IMGP8925a by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
IMGP6453a Tak 35 3 by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
Madrid by night by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr
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