| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: June, 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Posts: 5,707
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 2, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $360.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image Quality, Sharpness, Bokeh | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I acquired the lens through a member here on the MarketPlace.
For a 50 year old lens, its wonderful. Excellent Image Quality, sharpness, contrast and coloring. Build and glass are superb. Ability to focus even with my old eyes is excellent.
The only slight negative it has, is having to extract the M42 adapter from the camera in the dark when I shoot in the evening. So I am considering just removing the clip on the adapter, so that it will just stay on the lens.
This lens also compares very favorably with the Contax Carl Zeiss 85mm f2.8 Sonnar T* (mount changed from C/Y to K). Slightly different characteristics.
 | | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: August, 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 674
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 15, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | excellent IQ, compact, fast and well built | | Cons: | rare and expensive, manual focus | |
This review is for the later SMC version.
I bought this lens after first considering a new FA77mm Limited and a used A*85mm F1.4. I received my lens in the mail yesterday and after only a few test shots decided that I made a good decision. I am extremely happy with it!
This lens is 90% as good as an A series 85mm F1.4 for a third of the price. It is also lighter and much more compact.
IQ is excellent: it is fast, sharp (even wide open) and has a very smooth, pleasing bokeh.
It is extremely well built and despite being almost 40 years old my well cared for example makes contemporary plastic lenses look and feel like toys by comparison.
I don't believe the screw mounting is much of an inconvenience. Stop down metering is no problem with fast lenses and aperture priority operation is easy and intuitive.
In my opinion, it is easier to use fast screw mount lenses on a DSLR than later K-mount lenses without an 'A' position (ie. using the green button method in manual mode).
At F1.8 the lens gives sharp and surprisingly contrasty and colourful images even in low light. Bokeh is smooth and pleasing but focus can be hard to get right especially due to the very narrow depth-of-field. In such cases a photo's success can depend on where the point of best focus is placed. (In the images I have attached, I focussed on the eyes which I believe gave the best effect.)
All photos taken with K10D at 400 ISO:
F1.8, 1/60s
100% crop: (best focus on left eye)
F1.8, 1/60s
100% crop:
F2.8, 1/50s
100% crop
F2.8, 1/50s
All in all a fun lens and one to admire and enjoy for its build quality even when not taking photos with it.
If there is a fault with this lens, it is the (increasing) cost and, due to their age and rarity, the difficulty in finding a good one (without scratches, fungus etc) for a reasonable price. They are fast becoming collectors' items and the fact that screw mount lenses are not limited to Pentax cameras only (but also Canons and Nikons) will only elevate prices higher.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2009 Location: Cork Posts: 1,882 | | Review Date: November 20, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $265.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, Quality, Bokeh, Sharpness | | Cons: | Price | |
This is a very good lens. Build is unsurpassed, all metal. It feels like quality. Focussing on a K20D with a Katz Eye split prism is relatively easy, you have a 330 degree throw to work with allowing easy micro adjustments.
It is sharper than its older sibling the f/1.9 maybe a bit too sharp at times for my intended purpose of portraits. Colour rendering is a bit colder than the f/1.9 as well, it is more Zeiss and less Pentax.
Metering on the K20D with Katzeye was actually spot on @ f/1.8, I tended to use +0.3 and +0.7 the further I stopped down.
So why a 8? The price I paid above was last year from a more high end dealer, who generally had Zeiss and Leica stuff and did not know what to do with this. Ebay and even here on our Marketplace show a completely different set of prices. $500 is the norm now, and that takes it into FA77 territory, where it is completely outclassed in every way with one exception, it is easier to use this on non Pentax cameras.
Sample image:
K20D, ISO100, 1/20s, f/1.8 - Maximus
 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: June, 2007 Location: Eilat, Israel Posts: 51 | | Review Date: March 1, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp even wide open, great color rendition, wonderful bokeh, solid built, smoooooth... | | Cons: | For me, because of my bad eyes, non-autofocus | |
This is the best lens I've owned; ever!
Just last weekend I sold nearly all of my manual Pentax lenses, accessories and cameras.
Nearly...
I kept this lens.
It will continue to give me great pleasure on my K10D and 5D Mark II...
If you ever have the chance to acquire the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1:1.8/85
get it; you will not regret it...
Cheers,
Michael
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2008 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,180
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 25, 2008 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp--lots of contrast--built like a Rolls | | Cons: | | |
Auto Takumar f1.8
This is not merely a lens; it is a high-crafted work of art! On this model, the aperture ring is out on the front, adding an exotic touch to it. Performance?
The lens does all the things you want a lens to do, providing great sharpness, contrast and colors. It is the one lens I use which does not require any post processing. The fact that this baby was made in the early 60s, makes you wonder what has been going on in lens technology these past 40+ years. It is sharp even wide open. If I search for criticism, I could say the focus ring requires a bit more force than I would like, though it moves so smoothly I feel almost guilty for complaining. All this, by itself, is enough to make me love the lens.
But, as icing on the cake, its simplistic elegance is so overpowering the lens almost generates feelings of idolatry in its owner.  Honestly, it is a genuine treat just to hold the lens in your hands, turning the focus ring to and fro.
I need mention this was gifted to me-- by the original owner--the joys of family! I think I have made a case for why I give a 10.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Denmark Posts: 146 | | Review Date: November 29, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $320.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Build and IQ | | Cons: | That it's manual everything - but you knew that | |
This review is for the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 85/1.8.
Optically, this has got to be the best lens I have ever owned. It is simply wonderful, very sharp and with buttery smooth bokeh. It is sharp wide open beyond my wildest expectations. Looses a little bit of contrast at 1.8, but picks up at 2.0.
DOF at 1.8 is of course very thin, and with the limitations of viewfinders on DSLRs (which are optimized for AF with slow kit zoom lenses), focusing is difficult, even though a split screen helps quite a bit.
It is the perect potraiture lens. Even though the crop factor means that 50s have replaced the focal length in terms of field of view, I much prefer the more flattering compression of perspective of ranges between 70-100 mm.
Oh, it's built like a tank.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: USA Posts: 1,901
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 19, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, nice color, build quality | | Cons: | screw mount | |
An absolute joy to use, especially after looking at the results. I haven't used this lens a whole lot yet but so far I really love it. I am also new to Takumars and the focus is sooo smooooth on these lenses. I like the look of the colors this lens produces also. Great in low light and great bokeh in most situations. Certainly plenty sharp!! I am liking the manual focus lenses also because I like the control and it gives me a feel of bonding with camera/lens and subject. I am new to all this also so keep that in mind when vieiwing the photos I have posted.
BTW I hated giving this lens a 9 rating because of the average 10 before. I quess I gave it a 9 because its a screw mount. The lens I purchased is in near mint condition so thats the only reason I paid that high of a price. Still, its a bit high. Wish the price of Takumars would go back down but there has been a new birth of interest since they are known for a high image quality and you can't say enough about the quality of build. A real dream!!
   | | | | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2006 Posts: 181 | | Review Date: October 31, 2007 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Fast, Very Well Built | | Cons: | Its screw mount? | |
This review is for the SMC Takumar 85mm f/1.8. I am very impressed with the optical qualities of this lens, and think it lives up to its legend of being one of Pentax's best lenses. Its sharp, fast, very well built, a dream to focus, has beautiful bokeh. I have yet to see signs of CA, despite shooting some very contrasty scenes. When looking for examples on the net, before purchasing, I was unable to find many good examples. After shooting with this lens for a couple of days, I have to believe the reason for the lack of quaility samples has to be due to focusing errors.
(Non working links removed)
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 667
6 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 17, 2007 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fast portrait lens with very good sharpness (even wide open), great contrast, solidly built, no autofocus | | Cons: | Much sought after (can be expensive), no autofocus | |
The 85/1.8 Auto-Takumar shouldn't be put in the same category as the 85/1.8 S-M-C Takumar as they are not the same lens. The 85/1.8 Auto-Takumar, like its successors the 85/1.9 Super-Takumar and the 85/1.9 S-M-C Takumar, is a 5 element/4 group lens, whereas the 85/1.8 S-M-C Takumar is an improved design with 6 elements in 6 groups.
You can find more information about Pentax 85mm lenses on Frank Mechelhoff's website here:
http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Pentax_Takumar_85mm.html
The 85/1.8 S-M-C Takumar has more sharpness and contrast below f/4.0 than both its predecessors and the 85/2.0 SMC Pentax M lens. It is perfectly usable wide open, has a marvelous bokeh and much less purple fringing on digital than the FA 77 LE.
It is the must sought after lens of all the screw mount Pentax 85s but it usually goes for less than the 85/1.8 SMC-Pentax K, despite the fact that the latter shares the very same optical formula.
Cheers!
Abbazz
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