Super Takumar lenses

Newbie question:

forgive my ignorance, but can anyone tell me why the Pentax Super Takumar lenses are so cheap? I understand that they are not SMC, but does that affect quality that much? Plus, are they even compatible with the DSLR's from Pentax (e.g. K100D)?

Thanks,

MD - a new K100D user learning a lot from the forum

Possibly because they a screw fit...so you need to use an adapter.

To be honest i havnt looked that much at the Takumars so i dont know if they are cheap or not
--
Peter Schluter

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter_schluter/

They're so cheap because they're from the '60s and '70s - not considered cutting edge technology any more. Some of the later Takumars do have multi-coatings, and they are labelled as such - either, "Super Multi-Coated Takumar", or the very last ones were labelled, "SMC Takumar". Some will call the first variety "S-M-C Takumar" so as to avoid confusion and type less.

As for quality, I haven't compared a standard Super Takumar vs the same S-M-C Takumar (the optical formula usually changed with the upgrade anyway), but what the coatings will do for you is cut down on flare and transmission losses between lens elements. In most situations, the shots will look similar. The Super Taks, from what I've heard are coated with a three layer coating rather than a seven layer... I wouldn't let these little details worry you, however. The Super-Taks are great lenses - pick one up and try it out if you get the chance. The only thing you need to worry about is, as another poster mentioned, that you'll need a M42 (Pentax screw mount) to K mount adapter. I recommend the Pentax branded one - I've used it with no troubles.

Finally, for some reason Pentax brought back the Takumar name (I think in the 80s?) to use on some auto-focus lenses. From what I'm told, these aren't so great, but I haven't tried them.

Cheers,

• Jeremy

Thanks,

I was actually going to buy a 55m f/1.8 for 10 bucks to see what it's like. It seems like many of these are going 10-30 bucks on e-bay, so it's not a huge investment.

Mircea

finest lens in that range made by Pentax. I have used many, many Pentax lenses over the years, and this is one of only 2 screwmount Pentax lenses that I still have. There's a reason for this. BTW, great buy at $10...but don't be shooting towards the sun with this lens or flare will result. Cheers. Don
--



'Nothing could-be-finah-than-to-be-in-Carolina-in-the-morninnnnnn...'

I bought a fair of them, 28-80mm & 70-200mm both work great and sharper than my Sigma 70-300 which I have sent in for service.

Here are a couple from the 70-200 fully extended.

http://www.dwhitneysr.members.winisp.net/
--
Dave
-------------
http://k10d.whitnet.homedns.org
http://photoweb2007.whitnet.homedns.org

great examples Dave, thanks a bunch.

I'm kinda excited to try my cheap glass now

Mircea

Good to know. I recently went rummaging through some of my mother's 1970's Pentax paraphernalia and found this exact lens (is that still called LBA - Lens Borrowing Addiction?). I've ordered the M42 to K mount adapter to put it to use, but I'm still waiting for word from the shop.

Since my only other lens is the Sigma 17-70 F2.8-4.5, I'm really looking forward to exploring wider apertures.

Incidentally, from what I can tell, the Super-Takumar is built like a tank - solid metal and even after almost 40 years, the focus ring is smoother than my Sigma!

Also, I recently did a little research on the web about these lenses - one thing to be aware of is that some lenses of this vintage suffer from yellowing due to radioactive elements within the lens elements. Fortunately my Super-Takumar 55mm F1.8 seems to have dodged this bullet, but I've read that some of the 50mm F1.4's made in the 1960's suffered from this and there is little that can be done to fix it (short of some pretty creative white-balance adjustments in your camera).

the yellowing can be easily fixed ...
http://www.bigred4x4.com/super-takumar-11450
--

Shane,Gold Coast Aussie. Lens list in profile. http://www.bigred4x4.com/pic-a-day-2007

Super Takumars? Exceptional lenses. Grab any that you can get your hands on. Have a look at these links -

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-05-02.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-09-22.shtml

I own later SMC Takumar 135/3.5, what a great lens! It definitely resolves more than my K100 can record.

Between the Pentax M and Takumar lenses I'd go for the Takumars : cheaper, sturdier, stellar image quality.

Then Pentax A lenses are for sure more convinient but the price is high.

it has been awhile since i put my mind to these lenses so need a refresher.

are the m42 screw mount lenses sharper than the later bayonet mounts?

did takumar make SMC bayonet mount in 135mm?

has anyone used the m42 mount w/adapter with the 1.7x adapter?

as i have a 1.7x adapter due any day i would prefer the f2.5, the adapter will cause it to lose one stop, so opinions on f2.5 vs 3.5?

thanks.

--
karen

.. here is an example pointed not right at, but close to the afternoon sun.
Super Takumar 135mm F3.5



I have a couple and use them occasionally for a bit of fun. They have amazing build quality.

Of course there are the SMC (or S-M-C as it was) Takumar versions but these fetch higher prices. The flare in these was remarkably reduced. Somebody had some examples comparing...

--
Brett
http://www.pbase.com/shreder



The Journey is the Thing

Hi there,

i don't know if those qualify,but i never encounter any flare problem yet with any Takumar lenses i have (super or SMC),maybe i didn't take photo in strong backlit situation.
Here is the closest situation.

DS2,SMC Takumar 200mmf/4.0





leopold
pentax forever

This is my last acquisition,i tried it with Ext. tubes and bellows,work very good up to now,enjoy!

With Ext. tubes



With Ext. tubes



With bellows



With Ext. tubes



All with DS2 and tripod,MLU

leopold
pentax forever

there is a Takumar bayonet mount 135 f2.5 lens but it is not an SMC lens. More info and picture here http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/lenses/primes/_non-SMC/tak_135f2.5.html .

It was a cheap lens and shouldn't be confused with the SMC 135 f2.5 which is a K series lens and of much higher quality. Some consider that it was a disgrace to use the Takumar name in this way to try to attract some kudos from the earlier high quality lenses.

--
Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill

I also have a 105mm/M42 that I use with bellows and extension tubes.

Really great lens. Has a manual focus feel that is even better than the 77mm ltd!

--
Ed Hannon
http://www.pbase.com/edhannon