I've heard nothing but good things about that lens. So I figured i'd give it a try. I have a friend that has one but figured I'd ask if anyone else was doing this.
p.1 #5 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
I haven't used any of the Takumars yet but have briefly used the SMC Pentax 55mm f/1.8 and so far am quite impressed. Pentax Forums is probably the definitive guide to all of these lenses: https://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/
p.1 #6 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
I use S-M-C 50mm f/1.4, SMC 55mm f/1.8, S-T 105mm f/2.8, S-M-C 120mm f/2.8, and S-M-C 150mm f/4. All have that gorgeous Pentax color. Sharpness in decreasing order 150, 55, 50/120 tied, 105 (but it improves a lot stopped down and open is great for portraiture). All suffer from some degree of chromatic aberration on digital but they usually correct well and if not are great in monochrome. The longer lenses have pretty low maximum magnification but I usually use them with a helicoid adapter that solves that problem. All in all, wonderful lenses.
Edit: I just added one with the 50. It's much sharper stopped down a little.
I have pictures from the 150, 120, and 55 in the Zf adapted lenses thread.
p.1 #7 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
There are two versions of SMC Takumar 50/1.4 M42 mount lens, one with 7-element, and one with 8-element. Some of earlier copies of 7-element lens may have thorium glass (radioactive), which result yellowish color cast. I have an 8-element copy and I quite like it. It has good resolution wide open with low contrast, compared with some of Nikkor Ai/Ai-S equivalent. Here are two random sample images I just took from my desk, both wide open and the first on is at MFD of 0.45m. with my z7 body.
p.1 #8 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
ocean2059 wrote:
There are two versions of SMC Takumar 50/1.4 M42 mount lens, one with 7-element, and one with 8-element. Some of earlier copies of 7-element lens may have thorium glass (radioactive), which result yellowish color cast. I have an 8-element copy and I quite like it. It has good resolution wide open with low contrast, compared with some of Nikkor Ai/Ai-S equivalent. Here are two random sample images I just took from my desk, both wide open and the first on is at MFD of 0.45m. with my z7 body.
My understanding is that the yellowing caused by the thorium is easily reversed with UV light thought, correct?
I love ebay listings that say A++++ MINT NO YELLOWING and the glass is orange
p.1 #12 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
Yes that is correct. I have the older Nikon 35 f1.4 that has the similar radioactive glass. A few days exposure to sunlight cleared it up significantly.
RoamingScott wrote:
My understanding is that the yellowing caused by the thorium is easily reversed with UV light thought, correct?
I love ebay listings that say A++++ MINT NO YELLOWING and the glass is orange
p.1 #14 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
The Spotmatic/SPII and an SMC Takumar 35mm f/3.5, from my father, are still left over.
But I haven't adapted it since I bought the 35/2 Apo Lanthar Z.
Without adapting/adapter, the lens is tiny, measuring 56.5×34mm and weighing 151g.
For comparison, the Z 28/2.8 is 70×43mm and weighs 155g.
Z8 & Z MC 105/2.8 VR S, 16x Pixel-Shift + HDR Bracketing combined.
p.1 #15 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
I had an SMC-Pentax (K-mount) 28mm f/3.5 that gave great looking shots in the film days. This would be one I'd investigate for adaptation to Z mount if I wasn't already overloaded with old Nikon MF f-mount lenses.
p.1 #16 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
Love my Nikkors but the Super Taks are some of the most “jewel like” lenses I’ve used with excellent craftsmanship and still buttery focus. Maybe they just don’t get abused like Nikkors? They’re also very petite relatively speaking.
Wides seem to suffer from field curvature, especially the older faster ones like the 35/2’s (I’ve tried big and small but it’s been a while.) They 50’s are fairly clean for a legacy lens, not too much spherical aberration etc. The 105 is t bad either but not as good as the Nikkor.
Worth a try and pretty economical. I believe the SMCs are similar optics with better multi coatings.
p.1 #17 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
Vento wrote:
The Spotmatic/SPII and an SMC Takumar 35mm f/3.5, from my father, are still left over.
But I haven't adapted it since I bought the 35/2 Apo Lanthar Z.
Without adapting/adapter, the lens is tiny, measuring 56.5×34mm and weighing 151g.
For comparison, the Z 28/2.8 is 70×43mm and weighs 155g.
p.1 #18 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
I have a Super-Multi-Coated TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55 which is the 1971-72 version in M42 screw mount in pretty much mint condition. Looks like I got it off E-bay in 2007 for $33 plus another $10 for shipping. Presumably used it on my APS-C Canon SLRs back in the day. Had to wander down into the basement just now to find it in a drawer. Looks like I have a M42 to Canon FD adapter for it as well, so I could stack adapters and try it out on my Z cameras.
I suspect it is pretty amazing for less than $50 shipped. It appears it wasn't amazing enough for me to care about it for the past couple of decades. I'm sure I carefully shopped for it back in the day and it appears to still be held in high regard (presumably weighing its low price into the evaluation). I think a lot of legacy glass has a fair bit of nostalgia baked into viewers' visual perception. Not sure how amazing it really is, though maybe it is worth giving it a try in the coming days!
Sorry, that's not very useful - but thank you for poking my memory so that I could do some quick basement shopping!
p.1 #19 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
I have the SMC 50 1.4 with a K-Z adapter. Works like a charm even without focus confirmation - at least as easy as using the same manual lens on the Pentax K-1. My lens has lots of glow and is super soft wide open. It's probably not the most perfect copy of the lens but the images are certainly a fun for how cheap and accessible the 1.4 is.
p.1 #20 · Super Multi Coated | Takumar Lenses | Images Thread
davidrwilliams wrote:
Wow - that original black body in a Spotmatic of any type is exceptionally rare. Lovely!
With the Spotmatic, almost our entire childhood was captured in thousands of photos and slides taken by my father.
We even had our own development lab in the cellar back then.
After the first oil crisis in the 70s, my father converted the sauna in the cellar into a photo lab.
I still own the Spotmatic SPII and a Ricoh TLS 401 Dual Viewfinder and both still work perfectly.
The Pentax ESII and a Takumar 50/1.4 have unfortunately been lost during relocations.
However, I still own most of the M42 lenses from back then, see profile if interested.
To the OP, if there is interest in adapting SMC Takumar lenses to mirrorless, I would also take a look at the 6x7 Pentax SMC Takumar lenses.
There are some excellent optics there, like the Pentax 67 SMC 105mm f/2.4 and many others.
Extremely high quality optics that still deliver impressive results when adapted to MILC.
Unfortunately I no longer have any Pentax 6x7 equipment, but occasionally I still adapt two of my remaining Mamiya 645 Sekor lenses and these also deliver amazing performance, which is probably also due to the fact that they are designed for medium format with the correspondingly larger image circles.
The adapters are quite bulky for M645 or even more so for Pentax 6x7, but the lenses are sometimes comparatively compact.
My 645 Sekor C 150mm f/3.5 N without adapter is more compact, thinner and shorter than my Nikkor Z 50/1.8 S and the 645 Sekor C 80mm f/2.8 N is tiny in comparison and would pass for panecake as a Z lens.
