S-M-C Takumar 28mm f/3.5

I had a bad week last week and indulged in a little retail therapy. I was very pleased when the lens arrived extremely well packed and in lovely condition. I mainly got it to use on my ES/SPII (along with my SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8, and S-M-C 135mm f/3.5 and 200mm f/4 Taks) but I bolted it to my K20D for a quick test run.

None of the pictures below will win any prizes but I think I have found quite a nice lens!

1.



2.



3.



4.



5. Taken at f/3.5



6. Taken at f/3.5



Best wishes, Kris.

Nice shots Kris and it is a lovely lens

Looks like you got a good lens there Kris, doesn't look like there are any blemishes visible in the pictures (unless you cloned them out)

you 'test' pictures are better than some of my attempts at a serious capture ! I especially like No.6

Regards
PaulM

It certainly does the job Kris - the IQ in your images look as good as anything the Pentax-branded lenses do?

This is a screw-mount M42 Tak, not one of the later bargain uncoated bayonet taks. I assume it is the direct ancestor of the SMC "K" 28mm f/3.5. The IQ seems pretty good for shots taken handheld in lowish light. The last one was taken at the minimum focus distance of 40cm and wide open in an attempt to illustrate "bokeh".

Best wishes, Kris.

These go way beyon a series of test snaps Kris. What a wonderful way to cheer yourself up although, I'm bound to point out, that only women are supposed to respond to retail therapy: we just have to finance the treatment!

I can't believe you got away unmolested with using the camera in St Pancras but what a fantastic space, so full of opportunities.

I love the Betjemin shot and the bronze statue. If you've not had to correct any verticals then the shot of the blue cast iron springers is remarkable. This will make an excellent architecture lens, albeit rather a"long" one on a small sensor.

Regards,

Andrew

With the springers I just cropped it a little to get the nearest vertical straight, no converging verticals correction or the like.

The more I use these older lenses, the more I rather like them. I haven't used the 55mm much, I must give it an airing too.

I have often taken photos in St Pancras and have never had problems, but I have never used a tripod. I would ask first in that case.

K.

Kris, you don't need to convince me of the pleasures of using old lenses, that pretty much describes my whole collection.

As for distortion, I agree, my 28s (and none are in this class) produce anything like the same amount of vertical bending as an equivalent zoom. I guess it's so much easier to make a prime optically stable (if that's the right expression). I also value the increased viewfinder brightness which you get.

So glad you're pleased with it.

28mm (42mm in predecimal): that's the way I see the world!

A.

It is, but the K version has an extra element and is a lot sharper in the corners (even on APS-C). It is also a lot bigger.

Did you get any hassle from PCSO's or station staff taking shots in St Pancras?

R

None at all. The statue in particular attracts lots of people taking photos.

K.

One of my all time favourite lenses, mine was a 21st birthday present in 1975!

Did you get the rectangular hood and the two cases? If not they do appear on ebay quite a lot.

Very nice pictures too BTW.

I have the case for the lens but I don't have the hood. I have my eye on one on evilbay at the moment...

K.

A few more taken with this lens today.

1. Spring growth.



2. No way in.



3. Old gate at Lamer



4. Miniature daffodils



Best wishes, Kris