| Latest Review Posted | Tele-Takumar/Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 400mm F5.6
Mine is the Tele Takumar version (non-SMC).
This is a pretty nice lens, though as the others have said, heavy. It's reasonably sharp for an old lens, especially when stopped down.
It has the usual Takumar high build quality, and the controls are satisfying to operate. The aperture ring is fully manual -- no auto/manual switch as with the smaller Takumars, and no dual-ring preset mechanism. If you want to focus wide-open and snap stopped down, you'll need to count clicks on the ring.
You'll see some CA from time to time in high-contrast scenes, particularly at wide-open apertures (wide-open is relative with this thing, only reaching f/5.6). But it's not bad.
I find I need to punch-up the colors a little more with this lens than I do with others -- it's an easy problem to solve. It's not that the contrast is bad, it's just lacking saturation for whatever reason. The older non-SMC coating, perhaps?
For the extreme-tele-lens seeker on a budget, I'd say this is a very good choice. |
