David, I’ve just discovered your channel & really appreciate your casual honesty about algorithms, clickbait & stupid facial expressions. After bypassing many of those videos, it’s refreshing to see your videos. I’m also using this lens with my Fuji GFX 50R & the images, color, bokeh are beautiful, film-like & addictive. For me, most modern digital 📷s are too sharp (I’m from the 35mm film days of yore), but when paired with a vintage lens, the feel is balanced ( between sharpness & softness), gorgeous colors, stunning character & an addictive photographic experience. I’ve recently purchased a nikkor lens adapter for my vintage 50mm f1.4 & the character from this lens produces sumptuous color, crazy swirls & gorgeous bokeh. Very psychedelic. I heard the vintage Olympus lenses are 2 die 4?!!! The options available for photography is limitless…but, the 💵 supply is always 💸. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Scribed. ✌🏼& 📸
Thank you so much for letting me know how you feel, it is treating comments like this one that make me want to make videos. I really do appreciate your time and thoughts. It is really refreshing to see something like this. Thank you.
i bought mine for $15 on ebay because the rotating distance dial was unglues and moves freely as well as a ding in the hood thread. but optically is perfect. an AMAZING lens for sure! easy to nail focus and pictures are top quality. great review!
Take your pick of these vintage Super-Takumars and SMC Takumars. There are so many. I have these: 28/3.5, 35/3.5, 50/1.4, 55/1.8, 85/1.9, 105/2.8, 135/3.5, 135/2.5 and a 200/4. All in good condition. They are all M42 mount so for my Pentax camera all I need is a flat screw mount adapter. Simple. If you want quality metal smooth focusing lenses pick up a few of these.
I have been shopping a little. I picked up the 70-150mm f4.5 and it is a gorgeous piece of glass. I also love the 55mm f1.8 that I have too. It is great as well. Thanks!!!
Just put the camera in manual mode and set aperture on the lens and focus by hand. F mount lenses fit directly. If you are talking about the super takimurs, they will not fit due to flange distance issues...
I have one of these, and i love it! I have a Mamiya-Sekor 55mm f1.4 and a Super Reflecta 55mm f1.4 ( Tomioka Corp ) f1.4 and also a Miranda 50mm f1.4, as well as a Cannon 50mm f1.4 S.S.C. The Takumar 55mm f1.8 is HOT with Alpha, Beta and, Gamma radiation from thorium doped glass! I actually prefer the slower lenses sometimes. F1.8 is still considered 'fast' though! What I love about this lens, is that the out of foucus BG is NOT 'swirling' cat-eye bokeh round the centre, but instead produces round circles across the frame. I use mine for Cinema and the swirling bokeh is a tad distracting .. Glad you made this post, and nice photos!
I have put a Geiger counter next to mine and you are right. They are radioactive… so be careful when storing it. I do love the effect this little gem has. I have sold many lenses over the years, but this one is one I keep no matter what. 📸👍 Thank you.
@@davidsaylors shooting Cinema with these is totally possible, but with compensations... I can reverse the follow-focus orientation easily. gorgeous irreplaceable Glass!
I have the early K mount version. Optically Identical, I just prefer bayonet mount, because I usually leave home with a prime pentax kit and got tired of trying to rapidly unscrew and rescrew m42 lenses off my camera. If you ever get into the K mount pentax lenses, for sure look for a k 28mm 3.5. It's a unique optical design that is both different to the takumar predecessor and the following pentax M version. It was only made between 1976-77 so it can be hard to come by, but if you find a sub 100 dollar copy, I highly recommend it! It's one of the few lenses on the Pentax Forum where every photo shared looks fantastic. Also look at the review on Phillip Reeves website. You would not be disappointed.
I just did my review of this lens as well on my channel - I really love it. I shoot mine on the Canon R6... with 2 adapters! Anyways, I'm with you on the whole algorithms thing, and not getting hits... but hey, I enjoy making the videos!
Thank you! Im glad to hear you make videos because you love it. That will make you more fulfilled in the end anyway. It does for me. I just like making the style I have come to embrace. Just blogging about a location or reviewing a piece of gear I have picked up. Ill give your channel a look after I write this. 👍📸
Pentax makes great lenses you need to find the Takumar 50mm1.4 my favorite 50mm lens. The other great Pentax lenses are the M series I have 28mm 2.8 , 100mm 2.8 ,135mm 3.5 and the 150mm 3.5
That is an awesome collection of glass! I have the Pentax 50mm f1.4 and love it. It is a wonderful lens, I just have not done the review on it yet. I’m a slacker🙄🤷🏻♂️📸 I do love the old Pentax glass though. Some of my favorite lenses in my collection. Thank you so much!👍📸
Thanks for the vid, these pics are incredible! I'm learning about photography with a Nikon d3100 so I need to figure out how to get this thing adapted!
www.ebay.com/itm/264743804383 This is your first stop. 😉 This will allow you to mount M42 thread mount lenses to your Nikon D3000 series camera. Then you can look up a lens or two after that. 👍📸
Hey mate dont mean to alarm you but becareful if that's a Thorium infused lens. & dont keep it on the fuji for extended periods of time as radioactivity can cause sensor damage!
Enjoy your stuff David from here in the UK and hope your channel grows soon. Please could you make a video about the focus aids, peaking etc on the Fuji to get the sharp results you do on these old lenses?
This video discusses the basic setup. I am doing one on how I execute the process. It has evolved a little since this video. 😆 Thank you so much for commenting !!! 👍
Thanks David for the video link, the detail for me was moving the selection box around before magnification. I have a Samsung 300M APSC mirrorless, a great value little camera but for manual lens adaption, it is disappointing as the magnification box remains at the centre of the screen. There is also no viewfinder, just the rear screen so soon I will find a better mirrorless body for all the interesting manual lenses I am collecting, possibly a Sony A7 :-) My main camera is a Nikon D7200.
Ahhh.... I see now. Can you magnify the view on the screen? Just not moving the focus view area? I will zoom in a good bit ot the time and just find my subject then get the focus and turn off the magnifier. Then I will just recompose the image and fire away. Most of the time it works, I do miss focus occasionally and just chalk it up to manual glass problems. 😂
@@davidsaylors I haven't been very successful recomposing. unless f8 or more is used. Working on a tripod would keep me in one place. Of course in the film SLR days we always focused at the centre of the screen! I haven't practiced enough and good to hear you miss focus occasionally too :-)
I agree with you 100% about the new model "upgrades". People are being conned, especially regarding the megapixel race. I remember when I owned a Canon 7D which was an expensive semi-pro 18mp camera and when the 7D Mk2 came out people were trading in their 7D for half the price they paid just to get a camera with 2mp more. It's crazy. Does anyone think they could tell the difference between an image shot at 18mp and one shot at 20mp? Unless you're shooting for a fashion magazine or some other high end professional market where publishers are demanding it, there's no need for these large file sizes. The Nikon D100 was a 6mp camera which came out in 2002. I had two of them and shot weddings, supplied picture libraries and exhibited prints from their 6mp files. Once you reach a certain basic file size the glass you use becomes way more important. You can pick up a s/h D100 body now for around $60. Put a decent quality lens on it and you can have A3 sized prints no problem. The rest is just a marketing ploy to get people to dump their perfectly usable cameras.
Yep, wihtout us photogs out here buying their latest cameras, the camera companies would go out of business, I cant believe that there isnt more new photographers entering the hobby/business these days, it has to be growing. I see all these new kids taking really nice photos with DSLR and mirrorless cameras these days, I see it... It has to be growing... Thanks for watching my drivel and leaving me the wisdom about the megapixel race, it is completely true.
I came across your channel because I've just received the same lens for using on my Fuji x-T1. If you're into using older manual focus lenses on your Fuji I'd suggest giving the Canon FD 50mm f1.4 or the Olympus Zuiko 85mm f2 a try, two nice lenses. And if you ever come across a Zuiko 100mm f2, don't even think about it just grab it. I had one but foolishly sold it to fund an AF lens. One of the sharpest lenses with the best bokeh I've ever owned! Enjoyed the channel and subscribed. Best wishes from Ireland Oh and one more thing (sorry to keep waffling) If you like small, manual focus lenses and you're looking for a wide angle take a peek at the... Zonlai 22mm f1.8 (equivalent to 33mm on crop sensor). It's a really well made Chinese lens with very good optics, an all metal construction with metal lens cap and hood, all for around $120 in Fuji mount.
I just scoured fleabay for one of the 100mm lenses and they seem to be kinda proud of them. I guess due to rarity as well as the high quality. I will keep a lookout for a used copy locally and grab it if I can. Thanks for the tip!!!
I feel your pain. I think there is a general growth in the adapted lens segment of our hobby too. Alot of people have realised that they can use that old glass and it has a character about it that the new glass doesnt have. Both of those lenses will be awesome. That still isnt too bad for that 55mm too. Especially for what you are getting. 👍📸
Hey there! What does the auto / manual switch actually do on this aperture ring? I’m using mine on a Pentax spotmatic with no battery? Is it only affecting what I see through the viewfinder when set to auto? Thanks!
It gives aperture control of the lens, over to a vintage Pentax camera only. Some of these older lenses wont let you adjust aperture unless it is set to manual and I dont remember if this is one of those lenses. Does the image get darker as you stop it down in manual mode? That is manual ISO AND manual shutter speed as well. It should get darker, if it does, then the switch is set right. Does that answer your question?
@@davidsaylors The SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 is the bee's knees. Very popular though - more $$$. As with your 55, it's not surgically sharp wide open but it's very usable sharp. The bokeh is awesome creamy. The SMC version handles flair pretty well given the age of it.
What??? Replace that beautiful Minolta? I think you're suffering from the heat, fella. I've got a Yashica 50 that is SUPER sharpe, has warm color rendering (perfect for those GA mountain fall leaves) and it's pretty fast. Would you like to borrow it?
So this is a thorium lens? Interesting. It is very low signature as I literally just got back from Israel with it in the bag and nobody gave it a second look at the airports. It must have a VERY low signature for their gear not to see it.
@@davidsaylors Yes, not as radioactive as the SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 though. I don't worry too much about it, but I would not hold it near my eye for hours on end. :-) Good channel, I subscribed.
