The Takumar Lenses

[p.giannakis]

No dedicated thread for Takumar lenses?

Post your pictures here. Film or digital, 35mm or medium format, anything with the Takumar word on it.

I'll make a start.

Takumar 55 f/2

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Nice idea, great lenses; as a group seemingly designed with an eye more towards pleasing rendering style than impressive mtf charts.

 

[charjohncarter]

I have three Super-Takumar screw mount lenses: 28mm, 50mm, and a 200mm. All were purchased between 1969 and 1971. My 50 is the radioactive model and really a great lens, The 28mm also great has just a slight vignette at wide open (F3.5) and I had to send it to the Pentax guy in the Carolinas to fix a lazy aperture, and the 200 is perfect except I never used it too much:

28mm, with H&W copy film using H&W developer, very fine grained but dynamic range was short:


H&W Copy Film; H&W developer by John Carter, on Flickr

50mm, again with H&W copy film and a no. 1 extension tube:


H&W copy film and with their developer by John Carter, on Flickr

200mm, this time with Plus-x handheld and after a couple of beers:


Plus X D-76 by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[Greyscale]

105/2.8 Super Takumar

Auto Takumar 55/2.2

SMC Takumar 55/1.8

SMC Macro Takumar

Super Multicoated Takumar 50/1.4

SMC Takumar 50/1.4

SMC Takumar 50/1.4

Super Takumar 105/2.8

 

[charjohncarter]

I have a couple of other Takumars; I forgot the Takumar Macro f 4.0 50mm screw mount (mid-60s but it is recent to me), and a really sharp radioactive 105, f 2.4 (6x7).

105mm:

Arista EDU ultra 100 HC-110h by John Carter, on Flickr

and:


Untitled by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

8 element 50mm f1.4 Super Takumar

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

85mm f1.9 Super Takumar

 

[xayraa33]

The Takumar 55mm f2 and the f1.8 version produce nice OOF areas full bore and are very flare resistant to boot.

 

[p.giannakis]

Takumar 50f/1.4

 

[petronius]

50mm/1,4 adapted to my EOS 650, Polypan F

 

[peterm1]

There are some very nice photos in this thread, so much so it is difficult to select the ones I like the best. And it is also difficult to select the "best" Takumars - there are so many of them that are so darned good.

I am a long time collector / user of Takumars having started down the Asahi Pentax route perhaps 25 years ago when I discovered how good these lenses are for myself. But familiarity breeds contempt as they say (or perhaps complacency is a better term) and I have not used them so much in recent years as other more exotic lenses have come along and been within my grasp. This thread moves me to get them out once more and use them again seriously. I may start with the 50mm f1.4 and 55mm f1.8 both of which are superb performers. Or even the 135mm lenses. Or the ......well you see my problem - there is a surfeit of choice.

 

[charjohncarter]

Peter, start out with the 50mm f1.4, it is great for out of focus. You could really do some beauties with that cool post processing you do.

 

[Doug]

My Gal? Pentax 67II 4.0/135mm Macro Takumar

Give Me Blood! Pentax 67II 4.0/135mm Macro Takumar

 

[Mackinaw]

50/1.4 on my black Spotmatic. Forgot the film.

Jim B.

 

[Barry Kirsten]

I love the m42 Takumars. I have a 35/3.5, a 28/3.5 and a 50/1.4 7-element, all of the Super-Multi-Coated variety. Here is a shot with the 35/3.5 on expired Tmax 100, YG filter, developed in PMK (no sharpening or other PS fiddling).

 

[nikon_sam]

I love the m42 Takumars. I have a 35/3.5, a 28/3.5 and a 50/1.4 7-element, all of the Super-Multi-Coated variety. Here is a shot with the 35/3.5 on expired Tmax 100, YG filter, developed in PMK (no sharpening or other PS fiddling):

Scotch Thistle Takumar by Barry Kirsten, on Flickr

Barry,
I have the same set of lenses...currently have the 28mm 3.5 mounted on my a6000..

 

[Oren Grad]

Pentax SV / 35/2 Super-Multi-Coated Takumar / XP2 Super

 

[narsuitus]

Pentax System by Narsuitus, on Flickr

I use the following lenses on my Pentax Spotmatics:
Asahi 300mm f/6.3 preset Tele Takumar (left)
Asahi 200mm f/5.6 Super Takumar
Asahi 135mm f/3.5 Super Takumar
Asahi 105mm f/2.8 Super Takumar (right)
Asahi 50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar (8-element) (on black body)
Asahi 35mm f/3.5 Super Takumar (not in photo)
Asahi 28mm f/3.5 Super-Multi-Coated Takumar (on chrome body)

 

[narsuitus]

Portrait by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Taken with Asahi 105mm f/2.8 Super Takumar on a Fuji X-Pro1.

 

[peterm1]

You know the optical characteristics of many of the photos on this thread are in my opinion amongst the best I have ever seen on this site......says a lot for those old Takumars. Honest to God if there were not so many around on the market I have a hunch that people would be willing to pay big bucks to get their hands on them.