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End of summer with a vintage Takumar 1.8/55

davidwozhere
Posted 03/09/2024 - 00:49 Link
This time of year sees the sunshine appearing less harsh and the change from summer's bright colours to a more muted maturity. It is perfect for one of my favourite lenses, a very early Super Takumar f1.8, 55mm. It's so early that it is about three from the beginning on PentaxForum's listings of serial numbers and owners! It has a very close focus and can therefore isolate a subject and additionally produce lovely soft bokeh everywhere else. Here is what a K1 did with it ....

1 Camomile daisies. Commonly seen around the edges of arable crops.
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2 Red clover. Another once common wildflower that has been all but eradicated with selective herbicides. This farmer deliberately sows it with other bee-friendly flowers around the edges of his fields.
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3 The poor start to this year resulted in soggy ground for a long time, making planting difficult and therefore many resorted to fast growing barley varieties that could be sown late. This particular field is one of the last with a crop still on it in my area.
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4 And finally, some weeds: The wind is pulling streamers of parachute type seeds off this spiny milkthistle.
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5 Another common weed is Willowherb that is all but finished now except for solitary flowers on the ends of multi-branched stems and surrounded by long pods that have released most of their downy seeds.
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This lens is commonly for sale on Ebay at very modest prices and I happily commend it to all M42 users.
Your comments are welcomed.
Both the *istDS and the K5 are incurably addicted to old glass

My page on Photocrowd
stevejcoe
Posted 03/09/2024 - 07:39 Link
Exquisite
Lubbyman
Posted 03/09/2024 - 08:28 Link
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I love the muted, soft, dreamy look.

Steve
1stEverPentax
Posted 03/09/2024 - 13:21 Link
Great images those David...you've convinced me.

I'll look out for one over the next few weeks.

Regards

Karlo
LennyBloke
Posted 04/09/2024 - 10:03 Link
Simplicity and low cost - beautiful images (that first image is absolutely spot on) demonstrating your eye and skills in capturing the everyday nature around us
LennyBloke
Posted 04/09/2024 - 19:38 Link
As Steve said, these are beautiful images David. I have this lens mounted on a Pentax SV and after seeing these pictures methinks I need to buy an adaptor for my K-3ii.

As a matter of interest, a Pentax SV and Takumar 55mm f1.8 was my first SLR, bought new in Singapore way back in the mid-1960's and the copy I have today is a testament to the fondness I have for it.
davidwozhere
Posted 04/09/2024 - 23:28 Link
Thank you all for some very nice comments and I'm really pleased that my efforts have prompted some to consider getting one of these venerable lenses. A hood can be useful too - I use one from a Takumar f3.5 135mm.
Both the *istDS and the K5 are incurably addicted to old glass

My page on Photocrowd
Posted 10/09/2024 - 15:17 Link
My genuine adapter arrived yesterday – along with high winds and rain, so I spent a while familiarising myself with its use on the K3ii with my very old Super Takumar f1.8 55mm lens without any problems but what a shock I got trying to focus hand-held with the lens wide open at f1.8.
In a rare moment when it stopped raining and the sun popped out I dashed down the garden to grab a few shots of my neighbours miniature sunflowers. I recall it being a bit tricky at f1.8 my younger days but now – well, thank goodness for stabilisation, high shutter speed and burst mode.
This is the best shot of the bunch and once again my thanks to everyone for their advice and David for the inspiration.

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davidwozhere
Posted 10/09/2024 - 23:42 Link
It's true you don't get much d.o.f. but that's one reason I like it. The same holds with a macro lens with which you focus more or less accurately and then sway yourself fore and aft to find the bit you like. (I think I've only ever used burst mode once - it scared the pants off me!). Burst or not, you caught this one very well.
Both the *istDS and the K5 are incurably addicted to old glass

My page on Photocrowd
Edited by davidwozhere: 10/09/2024 - 23:43
Posted 11/09/2024 - 08:28 Link
Thanks David. I was so keen to try the camera/lens combo at f1.8 that 'spray & pray' shooting was the only way to get a flower in the frame in the high wind, never mind in focus, but at least my property stayed intact-unlike some! Now to re-unite it with the SV and FP4+ and see what that produces at f1.8.

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