| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15 | | Review Date: January 24, 2024 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp across most of the aperture range | | Cons: | Read the review | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: Full frame digital
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I have the Takumar Super Multi Coated design.
A neat and very sharp across-the-aperture-scale lens. Being a Zeiss Tessar design it does suffer from dark viewfinder work in low light conditions. And because the glass diameter is tiny you have to ensure that marks on the glass are few and far between when buying. But that same design means sharp imaging across more of the aperture range thanks to what Pentax/Takumar have done to the Tessar glass design. It's 9/10 sharp at f4 and just as sharp at f16 with 10/10 at f5.6 and f8. Few lenses can do this at infinity. No noticeable chromatic aberrations.
Macro is very good. But infinity work is as sharp. The colours have a nice golden glow to them, like you are shooting through an 81a or 81b warming filter.
One downside is that the slightly different rear end design means the obtrusive section will stick on some digital adaptor screw-ins; causing a failure to reach infinity by stopping the screw-in by about 1mm. This is very different to many Takumar with the SMC Pentax M42 Spotmatic rear end. You may have to get yourself an M42/PK chromed brass ring adaptor to screw this into and use it on a Pentax bayonet adaptor. I find it odd that so few people have noticed this, but maybe they only use this lens for close work. This reason alone may be why you will fine some people concerned that they cannot get infinity with it. It simply does not screw in fully with some digital adaptors. Simple and not the lens at all.
The second downside is that it is too expensive for such an old lens, but a well-stored version in top condition could be worthwhile. For what a lot of people use it for, a Tessar on an extension tube could be worth a try for a tenth of the inflated price. Also, a Pentax "A" SMC 50mm Macro lens is almost exactly the same as this Takumar but with a wider wide open aperture of f2.8 and it's currently half price from most sources. I suppose it's not as fashionable as owning a "Takumar" but fashion isn't everything.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2011 Location: Dorset , UK Posts: 6 | | Review Date: March 31, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, small, smooth focus | | Cons: | pre-set | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 6
Camera Used: various
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I have the 1-1 version and am very pleased with the results ! This lens is sharp, bokeh is smooth and size is lovely. The pre-set rings at the front aren`t great but ok. The results are super smooth on full frame (Panasonic S5) and also very good on Fuji x cameras. I have not noticed any aberrations !
++ sharpness and smooth out of focus areas on full frame
++ size, weight and focus
- pre-set at the front rather than rear of the lens for aperture changes
https://www.flickr.com/photos/182259682@N03/52781416424 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2020 Location: Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago Posts: 40
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 15, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tack Sharp, great build, bokeh | | Cons: | F4 | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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After many years enjoying the fast fifties in the Takumar line I came across one of these on a visit to WA at Kenmore Camera for a great price given its condition and inclusion of a set of extension tubes! I wanted to hold out for the earlier preset 1:1 version, but I couldn't pass up a pristine copy of this lens for a fair price.
I'm usually all about wide open shooting with a good amount of bokeh and often prefer to shoot in low light. This lens made me take a very different approach to shooting every time I took it out. Sometimes a bit of a challenge in one area can help you to grow overall. So, my time spent with this slow, but SHARP lens has been a learning experience for sure. I'd suggest this lens mainly for product photography, but some light macro work and flowers, bees, etc would also be good uses of this glass. If you're interested in trying out macro the macro Takumar 50mm f4 is a great introduction!
So, here's my collection of images through this lens so far.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordawesome/albums/72157717028814188 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: July, 2016 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 65 | | Review Date: November 20, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Super Sharp | | Cons: | Hard to focus past 2 meters (just use it for macro) | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 6
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3, K-70
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I picked up a 2nd-hand copy of the 1:1 Macro-Takumar version of this lens a few months ago, and I've used it several times since then. For such an old lens, it is remarkably sharp and aberration-free even wide open, although wide open is just f4.
The Good:
Using it as intended - for macro and close-up work - the lens is a dream. The pre-set ring makes focusing and exposing on modern digital cameras pretty easy, even though it doesn't communicate aperture info to the body. The focus throw for close objects is very long and smooth, so finding the subject precisely is simple.
The Not-as-Good
The aperture rings are very narrow, which makes them a little tricky for my fingers to operate. I often end up turning the aperture ring with the preset ring because there's no space between them. The grip ring used to mount and unmount the lens is also quite narrow and tough to grip, but not so much that it causes a significant problem. And finally, the focus throw for subjects between 1.5 meters and infinity is extremely short, and the small aperture can make nailing the focus on more distant subjects very tough.
Conclusions
If you're using this lens to shoot close subjects and macro photography, and you can tolerate a slow, all-manual process, I can't imagine a much better lens than this one. It also does fine for landscapes and other infinity-focus applications, but I'd carry a separate lens for walk-around shots.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 1, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $240.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Takumar build quality. Superb handling. Great color rendition, highlights and shadows. | | Cons: | 5 blades iris | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony a7iii
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I have the SMC version. Excellent macro lens. Very sharp and colorful. Butter smooth focus ring. Very precise.
50mm Macro at F4
 | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2018 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 26, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | High sharpness and contrast, vivid color, excellent build and handling | | Cons: | 5-bladed diaphragm and pentagon bokeh | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: SP-F, X-T3
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I have the Super Multi Coated version. WOW, this lens is by far my favorite Takumar. Super sharp and contrasty even at minimum focus distance. It resolves very well on 26 megapixels APS-C and has some of the best color contrast and micro contrast I've seen in any macro lens. In terms of raw optical performance it outperforms the 100mm f/4 (as well as most modern macro lenses) in both sharpness and contrast. The simple Tessar-anastigmat design of this lens is very effective. This is one lens that will never leave my collection.
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2012 Location: Toowoomba, Australia Posts: 5,486 | | Review Date: March 21, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, good handling | | Cons: | None really | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: Q10, Q7
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My lens is the later model engraved Super-Multi-Coated MACRO-TAKUMAR 1:4/50
On the Q system, this lens allows a fairly long working distance. It seems to out-perform the small sensors (or maybe it out-performs me) but it is still not a bad option while the Q-system does not include a macro lens. I will let the images speak for themselves. (A comparison with a macro filter on the Pentax 110 50/f2.8 might be interesting if I get around to it.)
Native bee on a white rose (windy day so perhaps not ideal). Shot with Q10 as a jpeg, cropped to 3000x2400 and resized for posting. Tripod used.
Honey bee (feral) at the entrance to a wild hive. Shot with Q7 as a jpeg, cropped to 3000x2400 and resized for posting. Hand held.
100 per cent crops from the above images. Satisfactory result on these small sensors.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2018 Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 30, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $95.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very solid built, easy to use, small size | | Cons: | Only f/4 aperture | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fujifilm X-T3
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I use this lens as my only macro lens and enjoy it very much. Very easy to use, metal construction, small size. I use m42 adapter for my Fujifilm x-t3 camera.
As this is only 1:2 magnification, I use also extension tubes if needed.
This lens is incredible value for money so highly recommend for anyone.
Please take into account that this is manual focus lens so focusing is a challenge. I use it with focus peaking feature which helps a lot to get proper focus.
Check out my latest macro photos through the links below.
https://flickr.com/photos/161489971@N05/sets/72157697122730530
https://flickr.com/photos/161489971@N05/sets/72157703670662814
https://flickr.com/photos/161489971@N05/sets/72157703620084741 | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2018 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: November 14, 2018 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Incredible sharpness, color fidelity, handling ease | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Spotmatic
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According to the chart I must have lucked into one of the last production models a couple of years after it was discontinued, which might have discouraged me from buying it.
I'd been curious about macro photography and started with those clumsy extension tubes and sacrifice and exposure calculations (for slides) on an H3V, so went to close-up filter add-ons which solved the calculation problem, but then realized that, even though it would roughly duplicate my 55mm 1.8 lens, and was, on a newer Spotmatic, only manual, it would be worth acquiring. It was. Without the need for extra-fast lenses I essentially never used the 55 again.
The standard for resolution at the time was a Summicron, but it was impossible to see how any lens could be sharper, at all apertures, and with a perfectly flat field. I later used it extensively for slide copy work for other artists, as well as, with a bellow and slide copier, for enlarged details of slides and other experimental work.
An automatic ought to have been faster, but by presetting the aperture and with only a slight twist to get from 7ft to inf it was easily a more convenient lens for ordinary usage, if not, for me, as preferable as a much wider FOV. With this and the 17mm Fish-eye lens (and an excellent 135mm) it was clear that I'd chosen the best system for me.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: October, 2009 Posts: 983
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 3, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, 1:1, Sharp, deeply recessed front element | | Cons: | Sensitive to moire, tends to underexpose | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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This is the 1:1 preset version. It should probably have it's own thread, as it skews the average purchase price for the rest of the lenses. At time of this review, prices for the 1:1 version can be over $300.00 depending on the cosmetic condition, while the 1:5 versions can be had for $50-75.00.
This is a lovely light little lens. It's sharp. My copy tends to underexpose a half stop to a stop. Not a huge problem with the K-1 if you forget to compensate.
When I get a lens, I always take a picture of my laptop LCD screen. Pictures had a slight a rainbow moire pattern at 1:1. I don't see the issue with my newer 1:1 macro. Would probably go away if one uses the filter simulator when using the K-1. So you might need to be careful shooting patterns.
It has a nice long throw, so critical focusing is easy. Assuming you already have the M42 to K mount, it's probably the least expensive way to get a nice 1:1 macro lens.
Macro-Takumar 50mm f4 1:1, on Flickr
Macro-Takumar 50mm f4 1:1 - Crop, on Flickr
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: TAIWAN Posts: 11 | | Review Date: May 1, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $160.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | 1:1, Low contrast, exquisite | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: PENTAX
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I own version Macro-Talumar 1:4/50 (preset, 1:1), 50mm macro lens of choice (except F 50 / 2.8 MACRO), happily useing.
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2013 Location: Kent Posts: 159
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 1, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $115.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | excellent in all respects | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Canon eos 50D
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This review is for the the first (preset) version. I purchased this lens in good used condition in 2014 and have rarely taken it off the camera over the last year.
I have owned a lot of different macro lenses in the past but none of them have performed as well as this one.
Being the 1:1 version makes it incredibly versatile and I find the preset diaphragm really easy to use with my Canon digital camera.
With a little practice using it handheld even when very close is very easy.
I haven't done a direct comparison with the SMC version but I cant believe it would give any sharper, brighter or more contrasty results than mine.
I think the 1:1 is probably a better feature to have rather than SMC.
I would suggest to anyone if you see the first version at the right price then go for it, you won't be disappointed.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2015 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 16
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 13, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | SHARPEST, color saturation, contrast, no CA, no distortion | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-500 and 5 older bodies
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I bought this Macro Takumar 50mm f4 in 1979 and have used it on M-42 film cameras,
PK-mount film cameras, and now two DSLRs. I commend the corporate culture of Pentax
for considering backward compatibility as having value. I appreciate efficiency, which
includes getting full use from assets. Top quality and top performing lenses are assets.
I have every intention of using this lens as long as I have a camera with the ability to
mount it. Mine is the old one that goes 1:1 without tubes on 35mm format, and even beyond
on current DSLRs like my K-500.
 | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2014 Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 2, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Excellent sharpness from f/4 | | Cons: | Comparatively slow lens | | Sharpness: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony A7
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The SMC Macro-Takumar 50mm f/4 is a great lens optically and mechanically. As expected for a macro lens, it is very sharp across most of the frame at f/4, and even sharper at f/5.6. FF edges and corners are just a tad worse, but at f/8 the entire image is sharp.
The biggest downside to this lens is that it is only f/4, which makes it less attractive as a normal lens when macro capabilities are not needed.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2010 Location: California Posts: 2,223
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 12, 2015 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Greatest Macro Ever - Sharp and 1:1 | | Cons: | None so far | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Kx, K5, K3
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I had both versions of the lens the SMC Tak50/4, and the Macro-Tak50/4 (preset). I am evaluating both, although the preset is my main guide. I have had both lenses for several years, and I am surprised that I only use the preset when I need some special real macro, things too small or so. It is the best. I also use it with added tubes and bellows (and of course flash). For walks around, I use the Vivitar 105/2.4 or the Tamron 90/2.8 AF. If you find the Macro-Tak preset, get it.
 Macro-Takumar50mmf4=ExtensionTubes-Tornillo1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
 Macro-Takumar 50mmf4-MacroPreset+ExtensionTubes@f4-PlugTerminals1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
 S-M-C Takumar 50mmf4-Macro@f4-Buganvilia-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
you can also use this lens for product photography, it is so sharp:
 S-M-C Takumar 50mmf4-Macro&Refconverter-A@f4-frutas1-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr
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