Takumar lenses?

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me about Takumar lenses - are they pentax own brand or glass in 3rd party body? I have just bought a 28/80 one on fleabay to replace my smashed SMC version which I quite liked...

cheers in advance

paul

These Takumar lenses are genuine Pentax and were released as a budget version without the SMC coatings,

Pentax cheapened the Takumar name when they released these lenses IMO

You should still get good results with it but it may result in some flaring.

Takumar is a Pentax brand.

In the old (M42 screw mount) days all lenses made by Asahi Optical were branded "Takumar" and bodies were branded "Pentax".

In the 1970's the company introduced the K-mount and all bodies *and* lenses were branded "Pentax". A few years later the Takumar name was resurrected for use on a small band of uncoated budget optics which are generally considered inferior to their SMC Pentax equivalents.

This tack upset a lot of Pentaxians as up until then the name Takumar on a lens had been a seal of the highest quality, the later lenses effectively killed Takumar as a brand.

There endeth the brief history lesson

Clarky beat me to it

I did Hefty But I like your explanation better

The sad thing is that original Takumars were the very pinnacle of Japanese lens-making. They were superb both optically and mechanically.

If you can get hold of a good 55mm SMC Tak you will find the focus ring moves like silk lubricated with purest Jersey cream.

Makes me salivate just thinking about it.

G

The Takumar (bayonet) lenses were in fact coated, with conventional coatings and not the SMC treatment.

I stand corrected! In my defence I've never actually owned one

They are by far and away the best built lenses I've ever encountered bar none (and I include such royalty as Leica and Zeiss in that comparison). It's quite a while now since the cheap Taks were dropped so maybe it's time for Pentax to bring the name back again? I think it's got a much nicer ring to it than "Limited".

I concur!

G

Yep, original Takumars (mainly M42 mount) were the top lenses made by Pentax. Then in the late 70's early 80's, they bacame the budget range without the SMC coatings.
However don't let that put you off. I have a Takumar 135mm F2.5 K mount lens, and although it does not have the SMC coating, it is a great lens to use. I have not even had any flaring (so far).
Worth considering buying a takumar, but don't pay too much and have fun with it. Mine only cost me £40 two years ago.