Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 10 | Review Date: March 4, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | sharp, contrasty, light, small, solid build quality | Cons: | a tad slow compared to some other of similar focal length | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: CONTAX RTS III
| | I like this lens a lot! I use 28mm in other brands like Contax Zeiss C/Y and Nikkor, and this lens can stand shoulder to shoulder with them, even though it is a little slower than the other two. For landscape shooting, slow doesn't really matter, so it's not a complain. The lens is quite sharp and contrasty, works very well for b&w photography on film. I personally like to use this lens on film rather than digital, which is what it was designed for 60 or so years ago. It performs fine on digital as well, but I prefer it for film. I have not used it on color film yet, but given Pentax' reputation of rendering vivid colors, I am sure this lens wouldn't disappoint. I gave it a lower value for its rendering of bokeh, but at stopped down apertures in landscape shooting, bokeh doesn't play a big role unlike a 50mm or longer focal lengths used at close to subject distances. But it still has a pleasant falloff into out of focus areas. All in all, it is a fantastic lens that is well built and is great for street, and especially landscape photography that needs a dynamic wide angle look. The prices do not reflect its true value. | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2019 Posts: 15 | Review Date: July 9, 2023 | Not Recommended
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | Feels solid and looks superficially fine | Cons: | Very soft imaging and difficult to service | Sharpness: 5
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 10
Value: 4
Camera Used: Full Frame digital
| | I had the 28mm (49mm filter ring) lens for a while. That was fairly good at about 8/10 sharpness at f5.6 to f11 and it could just about get good (not very good) infinity shots with minor blur around the edges.pretty neat imaging up to about 30 yards, though. However, I recently got a 58mm filter ring version. It's poor to say the least. Look great, feels great, takes poor images. Very disappointing. Nothing like the 49mm filter ring version.
F3.5 is incredibly soft. Just awful. F5.6 is better but still soft and then things get worse at F8 and worse still at F11. Infinity is poor at every f-stop, but best at f5.6. Close up work and mid-distance revealed a lens that absolutely cannot generate sharp images. The only redeeming feature is that there is very little edge deformation/bending; rare for a 28mm lens this old. If I had to rate it at "best" for overall performance it would be 5/10.
I dismantled it to check it out. It comes with a sealed internal lens section (like a Helios 58mm F2) that is crazy difficult to get into. After careful separation I cleaned the glass up and re-assembled, carefully checking if a previous owner had put glass in the wrong way around. All the effort came to no improvement. Infinity was slightly altered to give a 2mm play before hard stop and this slightly improved ability to focus by eye but the lens remained soft at all apertures.
Things got slightly better when I placed a 0.25mm shim between the front glass and the second element.
A couple of weeks later I took apart a cheap Prinzflex 28mm lens (the one with the 62mm filter ring at the front) and found out that this Takumar and that Prinzflex (which is in turn very similar to a 28mm Hanimex) are 90% identical in every regard except the filter ring; this being a simple screw-on part. The other slight differences were cosmetic external aspect. They also took almost exactly the same images. No wonder Takumar changed the design of later lenses.
One of the worst 28mm lenses I have ever come across. I'd go as far as saying one of the worst wide angle lenses I've ever tried.
| | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2020 Location: Guangdong Posts: 173 | Review Date: February 16, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $85.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | smooooooooth focus ring, size and weight, bokeh, color | Cons: | flare, hard to focus when using OVF | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-50
| | Smooth! Smooth! Smooth!
It has the most fantastic handling for the focus ring I've ever come across! It's hard to imagine how decently it was built that half a century could not bend its glory!
Man oh man my hands are glued to this lens the first time I took it out. I spent $30 on the original rectangular hood.
Recent shots with it: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/31601-takumar-club-3.html#post5678663
Frankly speaking, my original intention to get it is to collect a M42 Takumar lens, which I have none then. I came across 20/4.5, 85/1.8, 85/1.9, 50/1.4, 55/1.8, etc. But I already had PK mount lenses for the same/similar focal length or is planning to get one in the future.
So if you are searching for a 28mm lenses that will see regular use I won't recommend this. You can find lots of alternatives to it. | | | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2017 Posts: 343 | Review Date: December 18, 2021 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | very harp fully open | Cons: | | Sharpness: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: spotmatc and praktica mtl3
| | I got this lens for free, I have only used i with film. The "test" was made with my last Agfa APX 25 , standing development in Rodinal 1:100 - 2X 30 min. 20 degrees celcius. I wonder if the difference between my sharpness rating and the other PF members is because it is not designed for digital sencors
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2019 Posts: 2 | Review Date: October 1, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Takumar build quality. Small body size. Great color rendition, highlights and shadows. | Cons: | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony a7iii
| | 28mm shot at F3.5 | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2018 Posts: 2 | Review Date: September 26, 2019 | Not Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | Size, weight, handling, sharp and contrasty (mostly) | Cons: | Easily picks up veiling flare which reduces contrast, average aberration correction | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 7
Camera Used: SP-F, X-T3, a7
| | I have the Super Multi Coated variant and overall I wasn't impressed with this lens. It's small, light, well built and fun to use but has flaws. Sharpness is OK, there's some field curvature that affects the midfield resolution. Rendering is usually contrasty and nicely saturated which is very good. The one flaw that seems to heavily affect this lens is veiling flare. With bright contrasting light anywhere in the frame and even slightly outside of it contrast is reduced across the entire image. A hood doesn't seem to help much here either, the large front element is a light magnet. Scenes with high dynamic range will often have less contrast and saturation when compared to scenes that are rather flat or devoid of contrasting light. Aberration correction is about average as well and improved upon stopping down. Overall this lens performs worse than all of its K-Mount siblings, when general photography is of concern I would choose any of them over this one if I could.
It may be worth it to explore other options for this focal length and mount combo. Based on my research, a few lenses come to mind. The Fujinon 28mm 3.5 EBC and Pentacon 29mm 2.8 are two lenses that seem to fare well for m42 mount. I believe there is also a Komine-made Vivitar 28mm 2.8 MC and while I've read good things about it I've seen less info on this lens than the other two. You could also choose to go wider and pick the 24mm or 20mm Takumars, they seem to fare better than this lens overall.
Edit 9/8/2020 - Long term thoughts added and review finalized
| | | | | Review Date: April 16, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: N/A |
Pros: | Very good condition and quality of build | Cons: | None so far | Camera Used: Sony Nex-7
| | Just got this lens having read some of the above and took the plunge on buying from my favourite charity website.
I've got the 49mm f16 minimum Super Takumar version (No 3)
In excellent condition with hardly a dint in its armour. Looks good mounted on the Sony being nice and neat in size. Hopefully will do some photography but not nice out at the moment.
| | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2018 Location: California Posts: 103 | Review Date: February 12, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Good build, Sharp enough | Cons: | Aperture ring is hard to control | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3
| | This lens came from a local flea market, it was in a perfectly brand new condition, which explains the price. It is the 4th variant of the series and it isn't a pixel peeper lens but it is sharp enough with minimal cropping. it does have some vintage charm especially for landscapes.
@f11 You can see some flaring and the shape of this bokeh from this picture
@f11 | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: November, 2017 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,978 | Review Date: January 9, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | sharp enough, great handling, cheap | Cons: | slow, not up to today's standards | | I bought this lens used years ago twice (probably the summer of 99 or 2000) and it has been one of my most used lenses. the reason for buying twice was that shortly after getting the first one I dropped it on the concrete floor and broke the front element.
For me on full frame with my spotmatic F this was one of the lenses that almost lived on the camera. Most of my shots were from this lens or my 135mm. It has been well used in the years I have owned it and while it now it has worn off paint in spots and some scratches on the lens barrel it is still in great working order.
Now on digital I find I don't use it all that often for regular photography probably because with the crop it is an unfamiliar focal length for me. However I have found it to be an excellent lens to stick on some extension tubes or reverse mount for doing some macro shots. On extension tubes using the #1 (9mm) Pentax extension tube it gives some really nice results. Sticking it on the 19 or 28mm one however I find puts me a bit too close a lot of times. Also this lens is great reverse mounted giving about a 2:1 macro. I have gotten good results also reverse mounting buy also throwing up to the 28mm extension tube in the mix as well giving about a 3:1 macro.
Here are a couple of shots using it on an extension tube or reverse mounted:
On a 9mm extension tube:
F/8
ISO 100
Reverse mounted (tight crop) the microchip is 4mm on the long edge
F/8
ISO 100 | | | | Closed Account Registered: March, 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 415 | Review Date: December 19, 2018 | Recommended
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Confirmed performance | Cons: | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K1 mark II
| | All has been said and more on this lens in all past reviews. I just want to add that the centre sharpness is exceptional at all apertures, even at f16.0. Posted are the photos at ISO 100, f3.5, f5.6, f8.0, f11.0, f16.0 and with no corrections - straight out of the box.
I used 5 test charts pasted on a 24" x 36" pegboard which seem to be fairly accurate with my new K1 mark II and noticed that the centre image sharpness may be shown as being as low as 4.0 ln/mm (line pairs per mm). Tweaking the focus in live view using "focus peaking" shows results down to 4.5 lp/mm but I must say 3.6 as seen below is still pretty good being a minimum standard for high quality lenses.
Other findings are lower edge sharpness, normal edge distortion, minimal CA, medium contrast, no light fall-off.
At f3.5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/a16g6z1avh03ut5/_IMG0278.jpg?dl=0
At f5.6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/z86s4r3w5l7bma8/_IMG0282.jpg?dl=0
At f8.0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/9l9x54tqn5hcfbc/_IMG0283.jpg?dl=0
At f11.0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/4xn1nrr1i3p1x88/_IMG0284.jpg?dl=0
At f16.0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgqhy3pz0vb7vts/_IMG0285.jpg?dl=0 | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2016 Location: New York, NY. Posts: 1 | Review Date: April 27, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Lightweight, easy to handle. | Cons: | Not so far. | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony Alpha 7 II
| | I own the latest version of this lens.
Tested it using a Sony Alpha 7 II.
At 3.5, shooting flat surface (shot and indoor wall) it seems pretty sharp,
For landscape test I shot at 3.5 focusing at the fire escape (out of my window) and it didn't disappoint.
At f/8 (and night shoot) the lights have a nice, crisp and attractive "starry" look. (Photo attached). | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 24 | Review Date: December 19, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | solid build, small, contrast & sharpness | Cons: | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Spotmatic F
| | S-M-C version: I am totally blown away by the CONTRAST this lens creates on my negative film… It can even be too much. I've been shooting with SMC Pentax (K) lenses so far, this one Takumar lens is one step up regarding contrast. It is also very sharp. Handling and build are awesome, I love using it. Regarding flare, I have a Hoya UV (0) filter on it and there is no problem. I've not seen any flare whatsoever on my negatives/scans even when shooting towards the sun. Here is what I get with Kodak Tri-X 400, developed very softly in Rodinal 1+150: | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2014 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,034 | Review Date: August 13, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $49.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Great colors, well built, small, easy focus | Cons: | Slow at f3.5 | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-5 IIs
| | I was a little hesitant about purchasing this lens because of the variations in the ratings. Some people rated the sharpness as high as 10, while others rated the sharpness as low as 6, in any case I took a chance. For the money if I got a lemon, it wouldn't be that much of a deal since I paid less than $100 for it. This is my 3rd Takumar f3.5 series lens, I also own the 35mm and the 24mm. The 35mm is one of my favorite lenses, the 24mm not so much.
The thing I found striking about this lens is the accurate colors it produces. Usually after I take a picture I take a quick peak at the LCD playback(chimping) to see if everything came out OK. With this lens the playback image was pretty close to real-life, the colors were so accurate. Sure this lens like all Takumars in the f3.5 series tends to over saturate the reds and the greens, but its not over done where the colors become toxic. Actually this saves me a step in post processing since I like the colors to look vibrant in my pictures.
When it comes to sharpness I gave this lens an 8(wish I could give it an 8.5), but comparing it against the Takumar 35mm f3.5, the Pentax 35mm f2.8 macro and the FA 31mm f1.8, the 28mm is underwhelming. It will not give you that special "3D look" that the other lenses I mentioned will give you, although I only had it for a week and did not get a chance to test it under a variety of situations. However the sharpness is adequate enough and certainly does not deserve the low rating of '6' some users gave it(at least not my copy).
Being that this lens is only a f3.5 and a wide angle, trying to squeeze any Bokeh out of it can be pretty challenging. Nevertheless, I did not see any harsh, or busy areas in the out of focus backgrounds when using it. Things looked relatively smooth to me. Again I only had this lens for a short time so my experience is limited.
Some people might call this an "outdoor lens" because of its limited light gathering capacity, but this lens can also be used indoors if you boost the ISO a bit, somewhere around 400-800, or you can use flash. The soft corners I read about ? You really have to pixel-peep to find them even wide open, most of the time you wont even notice(at least I didn't).
My copy came in almost mint-like condition, clean glass with a few small scratches on the casing here and there, but no fading of the paint or anything like that... So I can say I'm pretty satisfied for the price I paid for it.
On a cropped camera like my K-5 II this lens gives me the equivalent of a 42mm lens on a FF, which is a little wider than my 35mm and 31mm, great for street photography. I found this lens easier to focus than all my other Takumar lenses, not sure why, but it seems to give you a little bit more leeway as to when the focusing light comes on and off. Also, anything past 20 feet will be in focus as compared to 30 feet on my other lenses. This makes it great for landscape photography since you only have to do minimal focusing if any at all.
Point this lens anywhere near the sun and that's where the problems begin ! I have the Super Multi Coated version, but even then, pointing this lens at the sun will surely affect the contrast and colors in your pictures especially without a lens hood. If I had a choice, I would rate this lens "overall" at around 8.7. Adequate enough, but lacking in character as some of my other more renowned lenses.
What I do like about it is that its easy to focus, it gives me a somewhat wider look than my other 30 somethings, the colors are accurate, it is really small and well built as most Takumar lenses are and being a manual lens it is quiet. | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2016 Location: Pisz, Poland Posts: 1 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: July 16, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | sharpness, colors | Cons: | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Samsung NX300
| | Fantastic lens, cheap, sharp with excellent colors
Samsung NX300 | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2016 Posts: 13 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 2, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Good resolution, colors, contrast, value, build | Cons: | "Only" F3.5 | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fuji X-M1, Olympus EPL5
| | Bought the latest SMC version of this lens and used it on a old film camera, a Fuji-crop and a M4/3 camera. The lens becomes a normal 42-56mm on these two cameras.
Images look sharp with detail but not artificially sharpened like many modern lenses do. Colors and contrast are very nice, only downturn is the limited bokeh with F3.5, but it still looks nice and creamy.
Some review and image/video sample here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVC20ATaosQ (digital cameras) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8XGOut3IA8 (with Fuji Pro 400H film)
F3.5 - Fuji X-M1
F8 with macro tube extenders - E-PL5 | | |