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….

Taken on: May 30, 2016

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My favourite lens

Macro Takumar 50/4

Macro lenses

Sets appears in: • Macro Takumar 50mm f4 Preset • Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8, 8 blades more » • 1000 and 20 « less

Groups appears in: • Macros Group • A Personal Viewpoint

Camera: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3, f/0, 1/6 sec, 50mm (=75mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3
Aperture:	f/0
Exposure Time:	0.167 sec (1/6)
Focal Length:	50mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+0.571 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	Low
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 Windows
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