I just picked up an SMC Pentax A 28/2.8 for $10, good deal?
I tried to low ball the guy for a S-M-C 55/1.8 for $2 because it looked like it was used as a baseball, the filter ring had 2 massive dents in it, but he didn't want to break up his M42 set, oh well, can't win em all.
Thanks, got it at a yard sale. The seller was like "You know it's bayonet mount...)"
I'm tempted to do a leverectomy but I may want to use it on a film body in the future, so i think I'll leave it as is, and I can still use it on my 40D.
I'm new to using Takumar (thanks to this thread) and just got a couple of lenses, with a generic adapter to mount to my k-5. After mounting the lens, I saw "F--" blinking and I was not able to press the shutter. When I press the Info button, I saw "F--" and ISO 200 blinking. Someone told me that I needed to manually input the length here. I got into the menu, and the "Input Focal Length" option was greyed out. Can anyone please tell me what I am missing here? How can I get the adapter and lens to work on my k-5?
just received my takumar 50mm smc f/1.4 and took the shot below testing out at dinner. The lens seems to have nice bokeh, sharp center from f2, but soft edges with very solid physical construction.
image taken at f/1.4 in a dark restaurant in nyc, very thin dof, I like it!
I just took my Super-Takumar 35/3.5 out for a walkaround.
It's not my favorite Takumar; resolution is OK but nothing to get excited about, and the bokeh/focus transition is "messy" without having a particularly appealing character. I find the lens rather difficult to nail focus (combination of slow aperture with lack of biting microcontrast means that best focus never "pops" in the viewfinder). The min focus distance is a bit long for a 35mm lens (0.4m). It does sometimes catch the returning mirror on my usually forgiving 5D when focused near infinity, but never in a way to ruin a shot (and the problem clears immediately by turning back the focus ring).
On the plus side, the lens is rather well corrected against color aberrations (CA/fringing), and has a pleasing color palette; it also has very little vignetting wide open. The build quality is typical Takumar excellence, and it can often be found very cheap (it is a great performer for the price). It's also quite good for IR (where the simple / low-number-of-elements construction gives it a big advantage over many lenses that are superior in the visible spectrum).
S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5
I like this lens a lot more than my Super-Tak 35/3.5. Some of this could be due to the improved coatings; the S-M-C 28/3.5 has punchier color and much better flare resistance (can handle the sun in the frame, where the ST 35/3.5 would be completely washed out). Bokeh isn't super-smooth, but not as "messy" as with the 35 and with a nicer transition to out-of-focus that makes subjects "pop" better. Sharpness is generally quite good, and nearly-focused areas have a "blocky"/"grainy" look that extends the apparent depth-of-field when viewed at a smaller size. Vignetting is very well controlled, slightly less stopped down than wide open but not much. Downsides are a bit of red/blue CA towards the corners, some barrel distortion, and a limiting MFD of 0.4m.
