My Top 5 MF lenses - #1 - Macro-Takumar 1:4/50
The late 1950s pre-set 1:1 version of the Macro-Takumar is my favourite manual focus lens, without a doubt. Physically, it’s a gem. Beautifully engineered, quite small (when not extended), with exquisite engraved markings, and it has a fabulously smooth focus throw. When it extends to take close-up shots, it looks like it’s ready for some really serious macro photos....
...and here is my photo album from the lens:
www.flickr.com/photos/95859572@N06/albums/72157644855700903
Personally, I enjoy using pre-set lenses. The unclicked aperture rings are useful for trying out different depths of field in close-up shots.
It’s quite a hard lens to master, and that makes it even more appealing to me. Modern DSLRs seem to struggle with metering the deep-set glass in macro shots, too often over-exposing and blowing out brighter details, such as reflections on leaves. It’s a lens that one needs to learn how to use, and you need to be comfortable with all the manual camera controls as well as close-up focusing. With a relatively slow maximum aperture of f4 the lens can be hard work sometimes, not just focusing on a darker screen, but also handling moving objects.
Optically, The Maco-Takumar is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever used, including that optical paragon, the DA 35 Macro Limited, and the much praised F 100/2.8 Macro. The colours, to me, are more natural than the DA’s output, and the images have bags more character than digital lenses IMO. It’s also quite rare to have 1:1, because after this lens, Pentax dropped the 1:1 ratio for macro 50mm lenses for decades.
The lens is more than a macro. It is a perfectly decent walk around lens. Given the deep-set glass, it doesn't need a hood. It works very well all the way to infinity. Some macro lenses, because of the design compromises required to optimise close-up focusing, are not that great at infinity. This is not an issue with the Macro-Takumar.
If I was told I had one day to go out with a single lens and take a photo that people might say “WOW” to, then it would be the Macro-Takumar. I’d trust it completely, either to take a fascinating insight in the macro world of flowers, insects or other objects, or a more conventional scene without flares or distortions. It’s that good.
At this point I should say that there are many wonderful MF lenses I don’t own, that could easily make my top 5 list. There are Leica lenses I’d love to own, with that Leica effect. I don’t have any lenses faster than f1.4; the 55mm/1.2 lenses strike me as having a great focal length/speed. The A* Pentax lenses. And then the Helios 40 (85/1.5), the rare Takumar 58/2 and Pentax K 28/2, the exotic radio-active Carl Ziess Jena Pancolar 55/1.4…..and many more….
My Top 5 MF lenses - #1 - Macro-Takumar 1:4/50
The late 1950s pre-set 1:1 version of the Macro-Takumar is my favourite manual focus lens, without a doubt. Physically, it’s a gem. Beautifully engineered, quite small (when not extended), with exquisite engraved markings, and it has a fabulously smooth focus throw. When it extends to take close-up shots, it looks like it’s ready for some really serious macro photos....
...and here is my photo album from the lens:
www.flickr.com/photos/95859572@N06/albums/72157644855700903
Personally, I enjoy using pre-set lenses. The unclicked aperture rings are useful for trying out different depths of field in close-up shots.
It’s quite a hard lens to master, and that makes it even more appealing to me. Modern DSLRs seem to struggle with metering the deep-set glass in macro shots, too often over-exposing and blowing out brighter details, such as reflections on leaves. It’s a lens that one needs to learn how to use, and you need to be comfortable with all the manual camera controls as well as close-up focusing. With a relatively slow maximum aperture of f4 the lens can be hard work sometimes, not just focusing on a darker screen, but also handling moving objects.
Optically, The Maco-Takumar is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever used, including that optical paragon, the DA 35 Macro Limited, and the much praised F 100/2.8 Macro. The colours, to me, are more natural than the DA’s output, and the images have bags more character than digital lenses IMO. It’s also quite rare to have 1:1, because after this lens, Pentax dropped the 1:1 ratio for macro 50mm lenses for decades.
The lens is more than a macro. It is a perfectly decent walk around lens. Given the deep-set glass, it doesn't need a hood. It works very well all the way to infinity. Some macro lenses, because of the design compromises required to optimise close-up focusing, are not that great at infinity. This is not an issue with the Macro-Takumar.
If I was told I had one day to go out with a single lens and take a photo that people might say “WOW” to, then it would be the Macro-Takumar. I’d trust it completely, either to take a fascinating insight in the macro world of flowers, insects or other objects, or a more conventional scene without flares or distortions. It’s that good.
At this point I should say that there are many wonderful MF lenses I don’t own, that could easily make my top 5 list. There are Leica lenses I’d love to own, with that Leica effect. I don’t have any lenses faster than f1.4; the 55mm/1.2 lenses strike me as having a great focal length/speed. The A* Pentax lenses. And then the Helios 40 (85/1.5), the rare Takumar 58/2 and Pentax K 28/2, the exotic radio-active Carl Ziess Jena Pancolar 55/1.4…..and many more….