Nikon 55mm f3.5 Macro vs. Super Takumar 50mm f4 Macro

Giantcappuccino

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Hello all,

Just curious if anyone here has experience comparing these 2 vintage macro lenses? Did you prefer one over the other? Any observations?

I'm planning to use on Fuji X-T2 / X-T20.

Thanks in advance,

Jason
 
They're both going to be very nice lenses overall assuming both are in good condition. You're probably going to love any 50mm/55mm/60mm macro from the era, really!

There are a couple slight variations of each, I think. Some 55/3.5 Micro-Nikkors have an aperture compensation mechanism to account for light loss, some don't. Some are optimized for close-up work and thus suffer slightly at far distances, some are a little more balanced. There's a preset Macro-Takumar that focuses natively to 1:1, while later Super/Super-Multi-Coated Taks did 1:2 and came with an extension tube for the rest.

I did once compare a Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 (infinity to 1:2 natively) to a Sigma 50/2.8 (infinity to 1:1 natively) and a preset Macro-Takumar 50/4 (the one that does go to 1:1 natively). I liked all of them. At the time I was trying to figure out which one to keep. In the end, I made a utilitarian decision to sell the ones that would net me the most cash; the Nikkor and the Takumar... Today, I have regrets! :-P

I still have/use/enjoy the Sigma (and accumulated a few other samples/versions (AF on EF via Sigma MC-11). I have since also re-acquired a Nikkor (different version though hehe) because it popped up very cheap locally. Given the same opportunity I'd definitely grab the Macro-Tak again.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3991052

The Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5s I have used tend to have red/cyan color fringing, while the Takumar's color fringing was more towards magenta/green but also more subtle. In my post-processing pipeline (Capture One -> Photoshop if necessary) I've found that lenses with red/cyan LoCA can end up being a little problematic in the pixel-peeping arena - I seem to get more democaicing artifacts (zippering, etc) with them and they come across as being a little less sharp (is this a Bayer CFA issue? Will it effect X-Trans? *shrug emoji*). I often find myself more distracted by red/cyan as well, but to be fair, the Micro-Nikkor was plenty sharp and takes excellent distraction-free B&W images.

The Macro-Takumar's aperture is a bit odd - it can make star shapes in the middle of the range, which I found interesting and charming, but tends to be more rounded wide open and fully stopped down. Strange aperture shapes are not everyone's cup of tea.
 
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They're both going to be very nice lenses overall assuming both are in good condition. You're probably going to love any 50mm/55mm/60mm macro from the era, really!

There are a couple slight variations of each, I think. Some 55/3.5 Micro-Nikkors have an aperture compensation mechanism to account for light loss, some don't. Some are optimized for close-up work and thus suffer slightly at far distances, some are a little more balanced. There's a preset Macro-Takumar that focuses natively to 1:1, while later Super/Super-Multi-Coated Taks did 1:2 and came with an extension tube for the rest.

I did once compare a Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 (infinity to 1:2 natively) to a Sigma 50/2.8 (infinity to 1:1 natively) and a preset Macro-Takumar 50/4 (the one that does go to 1:1 natively). I liked all of them. At the time I was trying to figure out which one to keep. In the end, I made a utilitarian decision to sell the ones that would net me the most cash; the Nikkor and the Takumar... Today, I have regrets! :-P

I still have/use/enjoy the Sigma (and accumulated a few other samples/versions (AF on EF via Sigma MC-11). I have since also re-acquired a Nikkor (different version though hehe) because it popped up very cheap locally. Given the same opportunity I'd definitely grab the Macro-Tak again.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3991052

The Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5s I have used tend to have red/cyan color fringing, while the Takumar's color fringing was more towards magenta/green but also more subtle. In my post-processing pipeline (Capture One -> Photoshop if necessary) I've found that lenses with red/cyan LoCA can end up being a little problematic in the pixel-peeping arena - I seem to get more democaicing artifacts (zippering, etc) with them and they come across as being a little less sharp (is this a Bayer CFA issue? Will it effect X-Trans? *shrug emoji*). I often find myself more distracted by red/cyan as well, but to be fair, the Micro-Nikkor was plenty sharp and takes excellent distraction-free B&W images.

The Macro-Takumar's aperture is a bit odd - it can make star shapes in the middle of the range, which I found interesting and charming, but tends to be more rounded wide open and fully stopped down. Strange aperture shapes are not everyone's cup of tea.
Thanks for this. Really appreciate the info!

I have the Takumar coming in the mail today and the adapter coming tomorrow, so I look forward to playing around with it soon 👍
 
What TG said.

I don't think I have come across any bad macro lens. Even my Phoenix 100mm 3.5 does a decent job.

As long as they are both in good shape no fungus or rust, they should be fine.
 
Hello all,

Just curious if anyone here has experience comparing these 2 vintage macro lenses? Did you prefer one over the other? Any observations?
They are both very good, if you mean the Macro-Takumar, it goes to 1:1 (lifesize), if you mean the Super Takumar it does 1:2 (half lifesize), the Nikkor does 1:2, they both focus the same way(as does my X-Fujinon which would work great on your Fuji cameras)
I'm planning to use on Fuji X-T2 / X-T20.

Thanks in advance,

Jason
I have both and others, in general the performance of different 50ish macro lens will be so similar it's almost pointless to compare them, a few will have worse performance at longer distances because they may have optimized the design for only macro use. I only have one like that, a Yashica ML 55/2.8 Macro, my other macro lenses are wonderful at all focus distances.

Macros typically use a triplet which is why most top out at f3.5

If you are ok with Nikkor, I'd get the f2.8, it's extra speed means it's better suited for general photography, something I do use them for in addition to macro use. I really do like the extended focus range that macro lenses provide, that they also have a high level of correction means that image quality is excellent.

OM 50/3.5

Nikkor 55/3.5 & 55/2.8

Canon FD SSC 50/3.5

Rokkor 50/3.5

Konica 55/3.5*

Topcor 58/3.5*

Macro-Takumar 50/4 of all these, only this one focuses to 1:1 without a lifesize adapter.

S-M-C Takumar 50/4

Leica R 60/2.8*

X-Fujinon 50/3.5*

Yashica 55/2.8 (soft past 5m)

The * denotes lenses I prefer using or seem to use more than the rest, the Topcor and Leica getting the most usage.
 
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Hello all,

Just curious if anyone here has experience comparing these 2 vintage macro lenses? Did you prefer one over the other? Any observations?

I'm planning to use on Fuji X-T2 / X-T20.

Thanks in advance,

Jason
The Vivitar (made by Komine) 55mm f2.8 macro is outstanding. One of my favorite lenses to use. Refer to this review:

Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review [Komine] | Outside The Shot

I also have the Vivitar (made by Komine) 90mm f2.8 macro. Seems to be just as good.

And have the Asahi Pentax Takumar 100mm f4 macro. And it is really good too.

There are lots of good choices to choose from.
 

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