Author: | | New Member Registered: October, 2017 Posts: 3 5 users found this helpful | Review Date: February 10, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Legendary Takumar | Cons: | | Sharpness: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 7
Camera Used: K1
| | A more special lens, the radioactive Takumar
My version is an SMC Takumar. I have found this lens at a second hand trader together with a functioning SP 1000 for 29 €. The few pictures I did until now with this lens on a K1 are ok. Even fully open, the pictures are sharp, color rendering is typical (beautiful), flawless for a lens of this age. Even after so many years of use, leaving damages on the housing, functioning is smooth. Takumar's are build to last forever.
The most interesting property of this lens: it is radioactive.
Some articles about radioactive lenses can be found on the web, different variations of Takumars are among them.
Which of them are radiating, depends on the maximum f stop of the particular lens and the year built. Takumar's with f stop above 2 are not radioactive.
To reduce chromatic aberrations on the higher opening Tak's, thoriated lenses were used as rear element of these optics. Thorium is a radioactive element, which is also responsible for yellowing or browning the glass on these lenses. According to information found on the web, not necessary all Takumars or the replacing Pentax K-Series with fast f stop have these thoriated lenses. Following M- and A-Series Pentax lenses no more used thoriated glass.
I have tested mine with a soviet Pripjat Radiometer of the 90's. The radiometer apposed directly on the rear element of the lens, the reading exceeds12 microSievert, which is considerable. Radiation does rapidly decrease with distance. A few centimeters away, only 1.5 MicroSievert are indicated, at over 30 cm, no more radiation above natural background level can be measured. So, nothing to worry about such a lens stored at home, it will not irradiate the entire house...
Might it be dangerous? If used properly: No. But i would not recommend to hold the rear lens close against your eye for longer time.The cornea is very thin, and the Beta-rays and (few) Gamma-rays emitted can certainly penetrate and enter the eye. Never would I hold it against bare skin in general for a longer time.
Interestingly, almost no radiation is measurable at the front lens.
Beta- and Gamma rays are able to damage sensitive electronic circuits if their intensity is high enough. A digital camera sensor is such a sensitive device.
When taking pictures with this lens mounted on an SLR, the mirror protects the sensor (or film) from radiation as your eye too. What happens on a mirrorless camera, with the sensor exposed for very long time to the radiation ? Anybody interested in testing this out?
And yes, the Pripjat Radiation-meter is reliable. Even if it's soviet & old, it's still among the best available.
And no, the pictures taken with this lens are not glowing in the dark, nore does this venerable old Takumar provide x-ray view through clothes..
Pictures below shows the Tak & Pripjat, the radiometer a few centimeters away reading 1,5 uS, and the radiometer apposed directly on the lens reading over 12 uS. | | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Location: Ancona - Marche - Italy Posts: 6 4 users found this helpful | Review Date: January 10, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Sharp, great colors, nice bokeh, quality build, handling | Cons: | None | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
| | I have used many Takumar lenses and I love them all, but this is one that I always have with me because it's very practical and versatile. This lens, like all Takumar, is really well built and a joy to handle, focus and aperture rings are silky smooth and I find it easy to lock focus on my subjects. The colors straight from the lens are remarkable and bright, the bokeh is simply lovely. I recommend it to everybody... moreover, it's also easy to find one
PENTAX K-5 + Super Takumar 55 f2 @ f8
PENTAX K-5 + Super Takumar 55 f2 @ f11
PENTAX K-5 + Super Takumar 55 f2 @ f2
PENTAX K-5 + Super Takumar 55 f2 @ f2.8
The photos was resized to 600px... for more details see my Pentax Gellery: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/Toonik | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Port Angeles, WA Posts: 505 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: November 20, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Cheap, nice length on APS-C, sharp, nice colors | Cons: | lots of sample variation, yellowing front element on ST, super loose focus ring, barrel distortion | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 4
Value: 10
Camera Used: ME Super, SPII, K-X, K100d
| | Solid 8, but a 10 given price.
Very sharp at everything past f/4, decent Bokeh. Colors are on par with the other Super Takumars I have, but it has a large front element that is prone to flaring and loosing contrast when the sun is anywhere in front of you. The hood from the ST 135mm f/3.5 fit on front, and did not vignette (barely). This fixed this issue.
Handling is the biggest issue for me. There is almost no resistance in the focus ring. It's like trying to focus a DA lens manually, and it won't stay put between shots. This isn't unique, either, I've heard a couple similar complaints.
Barrel distortion is an issue. The length is nice for people shots, but it tends to distort features which take time cleaning up in PP. Overall a really good bargain, but not quite as sharp as the SMC-M 50mm f/1.7.
For this price, my recommendation would be to avoid this and find a Helios 44M/Zeiss Biotar. I've had two-- both had sharpness in between the 55 f/2 and SMC-M 50 f/1.7 when at 2.8 to 4. Both had Bokeh that blew away any of these lenses. Colors were a bit cooler and more subdued, but that's easier to bump up in post than fixing the barel distortion of this lens. | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2012 Posts: 4 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: April 28, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Great colors, sharp, nice bokeh | Cons: | did not find any, yet | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5
| | I got this lens yesterday and installed it on my K5 using my M42 adapter ring. I was really surprised by the quality od the images.
The bokeh is great and the images are very sharp. This lens loves the blue and purple colors, Beautiful!!
I am not going to switch it for the next couple of weeks, I'm sure! | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: September, 2013 Location: Cuenca Posts: 621 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 6, 2019 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | sharp, great color and contrast, nice bokeh | Cons: | aperture ring is a bit stiff | | I have all three 55's, the f1.8, the f2, and the f2.2. The f1.8 is a Super Takumar, and the other two are auto-Takumars with a 46mm filter size, 10 aperture blades and a minimum f22 aperture. They all have the same 6 elements in 5 groups design and so perform similarly except perhaps at maximum aperture where the ten-blades would affect the out-of-focus rendering. I have the impression my f2.2 vignettes slightly, so my preference is for the f2. The attached photo was taken at f2.
An interesting technical evaluation of the Takumar 55mm f2 is here: https://www.ephotozine.com/article/asahi-super-takumar-55mm-f-2-0-m42-vintage-lens-review-32105 | | | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2015 Posts: 6,381 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: July 2, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Small, light, beautiful build quality | Cons: | Appears to underexpose at wider apertures. | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5
| | This is the second M42 lens I have owned - the other is a non-Pentax short-tele prime. Mine is the SMC version.
This lens is compact, protruding no further from the face of the camera than does a 50mm f/2 Pentax A, while giving me an extra 5mm of focal length. Manual focusing is relatively easy on the K5, although I would of course prefer a split prism, and the focus action is very smooth. Image quality appears quite decent on initial inspection. Background blurring wide open is satisfactory for my purposes.
There are a few downsides to this lens. The first is that my copy tends to underexpose at wider apertures (aperture priority mode selected), a pattern that appears to correct itself as the camera is stopped down. I have deducted points for handling for this reason, though I'm aware it's a problem that isn't restricted to this particular design.
The second thing to be aware of is that the base of the lens does NOT cover the contacts on the camera's K mount, and one needs to take extra care in this regard if the weather looks like becoming inclement.
The third is that the push-on lens cap is NOT a very tight fit, and might easily become dislodged (potential buyers with K1000s and similar cameras whose meters are "always on", take note!).
Nevertheless, I would still rate this a decent old lens and recommend it.
Diameter is approximately 57mm, rising to just under 60mm where the A/M clutch switch protrudes. Length is 38mm from camera face to forward extremity at shortest extension, no filters or lens caps, and 43mm from base of mount to forward extremity (as above), not including aperture-reading tab or stop-down pin.
(Review edited 16 Sep 2015; example photo taken with the lens added 8 Jan 2016) IMG11411 by PD's Deadly Lens, on Flickr
ETA:
I have since acquired a Super Takumar version of this lens (from an earlier run that does not support open-aperture metering). It does this when you open it nearly all the way up (I closed it one stop to keep the entire fruit in focus)... IMX22529 by PD's Deadly Lens, on Flickr
...and although it may well be more flare-sensitive than its SMC successor, I think the rendering possibly has a bit more class (a very subjective opinion, I agree). Not being a late SMC variant, it also has that all-metal classic Super Takumar look and feel.
| | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Melbs Posts: 1,237 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: October 2, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | cheap, fast, quality, looks the balls mounted on a dsrl. | Cons: | if we keep talking about it ppl may work out its ok... | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K10d, K1000, Me Super
| | The more people forget about this lens the better for you and me.
I stumbled across mine on a Spotmatic I purchased. They are probably forgotten next to the 50mm 1.4's every seems to be after. As for quality, handling etc etc Its wonderful. Like all the other 50ish mm Takumers out there optically great, But don't tell anyone. Just secretly buy them up and cherish them as long as you promise to dam well shoot with them!
I find it so very hard to justify purchasing "new" fan-dangled lenses with auto this and that when these old forgotten things work a treat!
This skyline shot at f2, infinity, during dusk last spring I think on the k10d, iso 100. http://tromboadsclicked.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/imgp0919.jpg
The bottom of the frame that looks like film guides, well that's a train but I was hoping it would look like film guides | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 3,757 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: November 5, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | sharpness, bokeh, build, smooth aperture movement, light | Cons: | for the price? none! | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| | I had 3 copies of SMC Tak 55/1.8, which I sold. (Why? I was ignorant. I was testing lenses instead of using them, and my testing was poor.) Anyway, I can see no difference between the 55/1.8 and the SMC 55/2 I have now. As far as I'm concerned, we are talking about the same lens. I hope someday someone will open my eyes to the practical difference btw. f1.8 and f2.
The lens is slightly lighter than the 50/1.4, whose bokeh is a little creamier. However, I personally prefer the 55mm range, and the slightly more pronounced bokeh produced by the 55's. (I can get more easily 'highlight discs' with a 55. For absolutely creamy stuff I have my Cosina 100mm 3.5.)
Sharp enough wide open, very sharp at f2.8, razor sharp from f4 on. Very pleasing bokeh, with just a bit of fringing. What else can I say? This lens is an amazing value for the buck. There is no reason one cannot use it to create photos that compete with, say, the FA 77. If it had AF, I bet it would cost 10 times more.
Not the most artistic set, but here are a few pics that may give an idea of the lens' capabilities: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/164511-macro-fall-bokeh.html#post1703646 | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2010 Location: Dundas, Ontario Posts: 28 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: March 1, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Very good optics, smooth focus, small, SMC | Cons: | My version is prone to yellowing | | This is for the SMC Takumar 55 f/2.0
Very good lens because it's characteristics are already pretty good at f/2. My version (rubber focus ring) tends to yellow so I'll be treating it with UV light, this will fix it. Exactly the same problem I've had with a SMC Tak 50/1,4 - not a big deal but I noticed that contrast is lower (close to wide open) and makes the VF view a bit dimmer, so worth while procedure.
Over all, the lens is fabulous. Please look at some samples, between f/2 and f/2.8 - this lens is actually pretty good wide open, comparable to the smc 50/1,4 @2,0 (I was silly to sell that one). I prefer the overall look to the images over a DA 40 and DA 70, which I used to own as well - personal preference. | | | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2007 Location: Greater Copenhagen Area Posts: 428 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: November 3, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp, Nice focal length on APS-C (eqv. to 85mm on film) | Cons: | | | I find it quite funny that the Takumar 55mm/1.8 is rated in average 9.3 based on 14 reviews, whereas this 55mm/2.0 is rated 8.0 based on three reviews. Why? Because it is the same lens, but with a slight change to the aperture mechanism so that it does not open fully to 1.8!
Quote from another forum: "...the Pentax 55/2 ;-) It's one of the oddest ways of making a cheap variant of a lens anybody's ever come up with but the 55/2 is just a 55/1.8 with the aperture ring changed so it doesn't open up all the way. Pentax did much the same thing with the body which the 55/2 came on originally, the SP500, which is a Spotmatic SP with the 1/1000 setting left off the shutter dial markings (the position is there) and uncalibrated."
I've read somewhere that it is possible to remove one part inside the lens to make it function like the F1.8 version, but I haven't tried this myself.
I have one Super-Takumar 55/2.0 and one SMC Takumar (rubber focusing ring) 55/2.0, and they are both very nice lenses. Very smooth focus. I will give them a 9.0 to even it out a bit.
This is the cheapest way to get something resembling the 85mm/1.8 or /2.0 from the film era on a modern APS-C DSLR.
| | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 30 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: September 20, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | The perfect people lens ?? | Cons: | Only that it is f2.0 | | I have owned one of these almost since New and was My Original and for a while Only Pentax Lens.
I Learn't to take Photos with this lens, I have used it for Over 30 years and am Still Using it !!
Overall, I would really have to Rate these lenses very Highly.
In the days of Slow film, it May have been an issue, but with DSLR's, f2.0 is Still Pretty Fast and These are actually little 'Gems'.
They ARE Very Sharp,..but,..are perhaps a more slightly centre weighted lens, especially at infinity, BUT, that Is an Interesting and very useful effect, it is very Minor mind you, but if you are being Pernickety,..
Overall, another Very, very Good Lens by Pentax, with an extraordinary build quality, (Mine is Honestly Still Works as well as when i First got it), beautiful optics and 'Feel', with a beautiful focus action, like all Takumars.
These are such Good lenses and are Often So Common, along with a (Probably still working 35mm Camera), often found in Junk shops and 'Jumble/car Boot/Garage sales' etc, let alone eBay.
Ofcourse, Everyone Wants an f1.4 50, or f1.8 55, but having owned one almost all my Life,..i CAN thoroughly Recommend This Lens as an Excellent Investment. lol
Just get one ! | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2007 Location: Toronto/Victoria Posts: 460 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: April 22, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | Compact, solid, good performance | Cons: | Tricky to focus | | I have the SMC version, and it's not much unlike my M50/1.4.
It's better wide open than the M lens wide open by a bit, though the M lens is definitely better at F/2. Not a surprise. It's definitely better than the M50/2.0.
Its focusing is smooth but a bit tight, and definitley not as nice as my M lens.
Probably the best F/2 standard lens made by Pentax. I like it more than the 1.7 versions, less than the 1.4 versions.
| | | | New Member Registered: January, 2021 Posts: 1 | Review Date: January 24, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $61.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Build quality, easy to use, reasonable sharpness, great colors | Cons: | Heavy for its size, some c | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Canon 5D Mark III
| | This was one of the first manual lenses I ever tried on my camera. It is very easy to use, smooth focus, decent sharpness, and really nice colors. The images it produces have a sort of soothing effect, so nice to look at and easy on the eyes while still providing a lot of detail at the key points.
The build quality is very solid as one would expect from a Takumar. I even dropped mine so the filter ring is a tad bent but didn't effect the lens other than that. | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2019 Posts: 2 | Review Date: January 1, 2021 | Recommended
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | size, black and white use, vintage look to photos | Cons: | none for the price | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony a6000, Sony a7,
| | I have an Auto Tak and it is a favourite of mine. I love it for its small size, the black and white images it can produce and the overall vintage look it can give to the photos. It can lose contrast when shot towards brighter areas of a scene and even with focus peaking, I don't find that it is the easiest lens to nail focus with.
For the money, this is a lovely little lens. Given it was made somewhere in the late 50s, you can forgive it for not being quite as smooth as other Takumars are in their focus. The aperture ring movement isn't as positive and decisive as newer lenses from the 70s and 80s either. But that doesn't stop me from regularly enjoying this lens.
| | | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15 | Review Date: March 14, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Small and light and well-priced | Cons: | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: ME Super K2
| | A nice lens on all counts, but seriously over-exaggerated by some folks who worship the Takumar brand. Beyond that, some tend to sneer at the f2 and dance with joy around f1.8 or f1.4 versions. As all of the Takumar 55mm lenses all give best image quality at f4 to f11 the f2 lens is as good a buy as the f1.4 or f1.8. So the f2 is a pretty good lens on par with the others. Do a comparison and see for yourself.
Some f2 lenses are in superb condition 50 years on, but some are awful. Keep this in mind when ordering online. A very good lens with the potential to be excellent in the right hands and with a good film camera. Digital applications will obviously have the processor/sensor having a huge influence in image quality, so don't fall into the trap of assuming lens quality is the only variable with a digital camera. For the secondhand costs of the f2 Takumar, this is a lovely lens that everyone should try in an M42 mount camera, or with an adaptor. If you are buying one for digital use, also think about the Pentax M or A Series 50mm bayonet mount lenses. The 5mm extra on a Takumar gives no real added benefit except in perception, but the sometime ridiculous prices often asked for old Takumar lenses really shows why more recent Pentax 50mm bayonet lenses are a wiser buy.
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