pwp said:
That's where I have gotten mine. They typically don't cost much more than $10 shipped.
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Takumars, Anyone?
- Thread starter AprilForever
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That's where I have gotten mine. They typically don't cost much more than $10 shipped.
TWI by Dustin Abbott said:I enjoy using vintage glass as well. I have the SMC 28mm f/3.5 (a great lens on a crop body, vignettes pretty bad on my 5D MKII), Super Takumar 35 f/3.5 (works amazing on crop, not at all on FF), SMC 55mm f/1.8 (works great on both crop and FF - kept this one over the SMC or Super variants of the f/1.4 and the SMC f/2), and I also use the 150mm f/4 Super Tak (great on my 5D - awesome portrait lens). I've used several others at times, including both the 3.5 and 2.5 versions of the 135mm and SMC 35mm f/2.
I also love my Helios 44-2. These lens brings something very unique to both the finished product and the shooting process.
SMC 50mm f/1.4
These Shoes Are[n't]Made for Walking by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Super 50mm f/1.4
The Man with the Scarf by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
28mm f/3.5
Kent and Erin by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Super Tak 35mm f/3.5
One Perfect Winter Day by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
SMC 55mm f/1.8
Gathering Dust by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
SMC 135mm f/3.5
You Lookin' at Me? by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Super 150mm f/4
Fade to Memory (Explored August 14th, 2012) by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
And my favorite: the Helios 44-2
Cast Off by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Spiral of Color by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Brownie Points - Explored June 17th, 2012 by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Those are absolutely stunning! Really great photos!
I was asking myself why the Helios 44-2 was your favorite, so I tried getting more information.
I saw some photos with magnificent vortex-like bokeh and can barely believe a f/2 lens can produce it.
Is it too good to be truth? How does it perform in terms of sharpness?
Being a avid manual lens fan myself, some first hand opinion would be greatly appreciate!
If this lens is as good as it seems, it could definitely be a great christmas present from myself to myself; although I still love my good old SMC 50mm f/1.7 (my first lens, with which I started photography, with a Pentax K-1000), I could definitely use an upgrade in term of bokeh capacity.
Thanks a lot, and yet again, congratulation on the awesome photos!
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The Helios produces the most unique bokeh of any lens I have used and is also very sharp wide open. It is also quite versatile, because stopped down it has less "character" and just becomes a sharp prime. Color rendering has a Zeiss quality. Considering I got mine for $25 shipped from Russia, it is also an amazing value. It is an awesome portrait lens.
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Thank you very much! I checked and found a few at about 40/50$.
In term of adapter, what do you use? I say that there were some
AF-confirm adapter in M42 mount at 5/10$. Do you know if they
work correctly? Having focus confirmation could definitely be a plus!
Thanks again for the help!
In term of adapter, what do you use? I say that there were some
AF-confirm adapter in M42 mount at 5/10$. Do you know if they
work correctly? Having focus confirmation could definitely be a plus!
Thanks again for the help!
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Artifex said:
For adapters, almost anything for $2 from China will do. Some of the lower-quality metals can get jammed on your camera and/or lens (but i've never had a problem on Canon bodies, mostly that applies to m42 on Pentax K bodies).
For AF chips, same thing applies, pay next to nothing and get a basic chip.
But for the best, I'd look for one by 'ml-gvalt' on ebay. They're still fairly cheap, but the AF confirm works great, you can set the EXIF data to read anything (ie I've got one set to 50/1.4 on my Tak, 85/1.5 on my Cyclop, 35/1.4 on my Samyang). They also work with ETTL Flash, although I've never tried flash with a different chip, and you can AF Micro-Adjust from within the Chip, if you've got a 60D or less without AF MicroAdjust in the body. They're a bit weird to program, but once you get used to it it gets easier.
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One thing of interest: a disproportionate amount of my Explored imaged on Flickr have been with my M42 lens. To date I have had 69 Explores, 18 of which have been with M42 lens. M42 uploads on Flickr account for less than 90 of my over 700 uploads.
Now Flickr Explore is a strange animal (I'm not as excited about it as I once was), so I don't know if being M42 adds to the "interestingness", but I suspect that at least part of the equation is that the M42 glass often gives images a slightly unique look that people instinctively like.
This is most prominent with my Helios uploads. Over time I have uploaded 8 images; 5 of those have been Explored. Of course, nothing really produced images quite like the Helios 44-2. It is the epitome of a "character" lens.
Now Flickr Explore is a strange animal (I'm not as excited about it as I once was), so I don't know if being M42 adds to the "interestingness", but I suspect that at least part of the equation is that the M42 glass often gives images a slightly unique look that people instinctively like.
This is most prominent with my Helios uploads. Over time I have uploaded 8 images; 5 of those have been Explored. Of course, nothing really produced images quite like the Helios 44-2. It is the epitome of a "character" lens.
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@ dr crouble: Thanks for the advice! Since I barely use the EXIF data and don't missed them that much with my samyangs, and I work in manual mode with my flash, I will probably get some cheap one from China (it might also have something to do with the fact that I'm fairly poor!) 
@ TWI by Dustin Abbott: I guess it as to do with the fact that these lens produce a different "look" that modern lens; it makes the photos more unique because it doesn't have the "look" of today's lens. Also, but this might only apply to me, I feel that the more time I spend preparing per photo, the better they are; having to choose the exposure and to focus manually give's me more time to think about the photo itself, what I want to express by it and how I can do it. This is one of the reason I mostly use manual lens, aside from the fact they are far cheaper. Personally, I rather shoot 30 photos and have 1 great than shooting 100 and have 50 okay, but nothing better!
@ TWI by Dustin Abbott: I guess it as to do with the fact that these lens produce a different "look" that modern lens; it makes the photos more unique because it doesn't have the "look" of today's lens. Also, but this might only apply to me, I feel that the more time I spend preparing per photo, the better they are; having to choose the exposure and to focus manually give's me more time to think about the photo itself, what I want to express by it and how I can do it. This is one of the reason I mostly use manual lens, aside from the fact they are far cheaper. Personally, I rather shoot 30 photos and have 1 great than shooting 100 and have 50 okay, but nothing better!
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Artifex said:@ dr crouble: Thanks for the advice! Since I barely use the EXIF data and don't missed them that much with my samyangs, and I work in manual mode with my flash, I will probably get some cheap one from China (it might also have something to do with the fact that I'm fairly poor!)
@ TWI by Dustin Abbott: I guess it as to do with the fact that these lens produce a different "look" that modern lens; it makes the photos more unique because it doesn't have the "look" of today's lens. Also, but this might only apply to me, I feel that the more time I spend preparing per photo, the better they are; having to choose the exposure and to focus manually give's me more time to think about the photo itself, what I want to express by it and how I can do it. This is one of the reason I mostly use manual lens, aside from the fact they are far shaper. Personally, I rather shoot 30 photos and have 1 great than shooting 100 and have 50 okay, but nothing better!
I know what you mean; the distinctive bokeh is really quite to love!
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I went out in some early morning fog the other day for a shoot. It was raining and cold, so I had my Tamron 24-70mm VC lens mounted on the camera and threw my Super Tak 150mm into a pocket. It is fantastic to be able to have a competent telephoto compact enough to GO in a pocket! Anyway, here is one of my results from the shoot using the Super Takumar 150mm f/4 mounted on a Canon 5D MKII:
Swallowed by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Swallowed by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
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When you want to use a Takumar 50mm 1.4 SMC on a full frame, you'll run into the problem with the mirror hitting the back of the lens. You can mod the lens though, wrote a bit about that on my website www.florianbieler.de. Going to try the lens out as soon as my M42 adapter arrives.
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LOVE 'EM!
Just started playing with a small variety of old primes and a couple zooms in M42 on a crop body so no mirror-strike worries.
the super smooth feel, and every one has an interesting character that will lend itself to certain kinds of shots.
prices are rising tho, as everyone hops on board the oldies train.
favorite so far is also the SMC 50/1.8 but looking forward to trying a Mamiya that's still on its way to me.
Haven't take the Helios 44-2 outside yet.
Was quite surprised to see just how well the old SMC performs, very sharp, good contrast characteristics and nice bokeh. I wonder if new Pentax glass performs as well?
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Just started playing with a small variety of old primes and a couple zooms in M42 on a crop body so no mirror-strike worries.
the super smooth feel, and every one has an interesting character that will lend itself to certain kinds of shots.
prices are rising tho, as everyone hops on board the oldies train.
favorite so far is also the SMC 50/1.8 but looking forward to trying a Mamiya that's still on its way to me.
Haven't take the Helios 44-2 outside yet.
Was quite surprised to see just how well the old SMC performs, very sharp, good contrast characteristics and nice bokeh. I wonder if new Pentax glass performs as well?
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I finally just bought the Helios 44-2! I was looking for one in perfect condition from a trusted seller, so it took me a while to choose. I'm definitely looking forward to try it! If anybody's interested, I could post test shots whenever I receive it (I guess the ride from Ukraine to Québec might take a while). Thanks for the great advices on previous posts!
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TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
I've also just picked up an MC Helios 44M-4, which should be sharper than the 44-2 according to the Zenit website (you don't have to read russian, just google translate, or look for the line "MC Гелиос-44М-4 — 41/20 линий/мм", which means MC Helios 44M-4 has 41 Line Pairs per mm in the centre, 20 on the edge, better than non-MC 44-2 at 38/20. And before anyone asks, the much-better 44-7 is rarer and more expensive).
So one day when I get time (in a few months, if that), I'll do a proper scientific comparison between my:
Takumar 55/2.0
Takumar 55/1.8
Takumar 50/1.4
FL 55/1.2
OM 50/2.5 Macro
MC Helios 44M-4
EF 50/1.8 II
EFs 15-85 @ 50mm
(maybe the Shorty Forty?)
(maybe Zeiss 50/4.0 in Pentacon Six? Or Mamiya645 45/2.8 C?)
But until then I'll just keep shooting in the real world and comparing them that way...
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I finally got my Helios 44-2! ;D
First impression: The lens is smaller and lighter that what I would have though. It is all made of metal and really feel solid. The focus ring is about 270°, allowing slower but more precise focusing. As strange as it might sound, it seems that the aperture values are put backward; at f/16, the aperture is wide open and at f/2, it is closed. I am quite happy to see that the lens itself is in perfect condition; barely any sign of use on the barrel, the glass elements are perfect, the aperture is smooth and oil-free. Although the lens is a bit less sharp than I excepted, though I haven't done any formal testing so I might be surprise later, the result it gives are stunning. It is reasonably sharp, the CA is reasonably well controlled, but the color and image rendition is unique and lovely. The bokeh is nothing short of amazing IMO. The photos I took with it really have a unique feel to them. To me, in a modern photographer bag, this lens is a wonderful tool. Of course, performance-wise, it is out-classed by modern standard lens (though I only have significant first-hand experience with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4), but I consider it more like a speciality lens, a bit like a fish-eye. It might not be your everyday use, walk-around lens, but it is definitely give unique image than no other lens I know can do.
Conclusion: Highly recommended!
P.s: I attached a picture I took to show the unique bokeh rendition of the Helios 44-2. Not my best photo artisticly-wise, but still, I guess it make it point.
First impression: The lens is smaller and lighter that what I would have though. It is all made of metal and really feel solid. The focus ring is about 270°, allowing slower but more precise focusing. As strange as it might sound, it seems that the aperture values are put backward; at f/16, the aperture is wide open and at f/2, it is closed. I am quite happy to see that the lens itself is in perfect condition; barely any sign of use on the barrel, the glass elements are perfect, the aperture is smooth and oil-free. Although the lens is a bit less sharp than I excepted, though I haven't done any formal testing so I might be surprise later, the result it gives are stunning. It is reasonably sharp, the CA is reasonably well controlled, but the color and image rendition is unique and lovely. The bokeh is nothing short of amazing IMO. The photos I took with it really have a unique feel to them. To me, in a modern photographer bag, this lens is a wonderful tool. Of course, performance-wise, it is out-classed by modern standard lens (though I only have significant first-hand experience with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4), but I consider it more like a speciality lens, a bit like a fish-eye. It might not be your everyday use, walk-around lens, but it is definitely give unique image than no other lens I know can do.
Conclusion: Highly recommended!
P.s: I attached a picture I took to show the unique bokeh rendition of the Helios 44-2. Not my best photo artisticly-wise, but still, I guess it make it point.
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Here's one from the SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8. Brought it out this last weekend and was again reminded what a great little lens it is:
Simple Things by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Simple Things by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
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Here's another beauty from the SMC 55mm
Intimate World by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Intimate World by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
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Here's another from the 55mm f/1.8
Floating in a Sea of Light by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
Floating in a Sea of Light by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr
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My first SLR, purchased in 1973 or 1974, was a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic and over the years I acquired 4 wonderful Takumar lenses: 28mm, 55mm, 105mm, and a 200mm. I sold everything a few years ago. I loved that camera and set of lenses, but I had switched to Canon some years before and I had no idea there were lens adaptors for my Canon DSLR. The Takumar lenses, despite extensive use over almost 30 years, were in excellent condition. (This was in part due to the fact that in those days, when you bought a lens, it came with a really nice hard case with leather exterior and velvet lined interior.) Hopefully, whoever bought my lenses will enjoy and appreciate them as much as I did.
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Dustin, that Takumar 55 1.8 images make me curious. Tell me, do I also get mirror problems with that lens, so that the mirror hits the back of the lens?
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