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Honeywell Pentax Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8 Markings
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
'Product number 37108 is definitely the SMC TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55mm. Year of manufacture 1972-1975, elements groups 6/5, screw mount and same optical design as the Super Multi Coated TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55 mm' says The Ultimate Asahi Pentax Screw Mount Guide of Gerjan van Oosten.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
CBokeh wrote:
Matt, it's kinda funny that you were worried about the :Honeywell" logo on the cap...


Haha. That's okay. My original question has been answered. Please keep discussing, I'm still learning.

quidam wrote:
'Product number 37108 is definitely the SMC TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55mm. Year of manufacture 1972-1975, elements groups 6/5, screw mount and same optical design as the Super Multi Coated TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55 mm' says The Ultimate Asahi Pentax Screw Mount Guide of Gerjan van Oosten.


The part number on this lens is defintely 37106, not 37108. I found the following webpage, which looks like an archived table of Pentax M42 info from a website that doesn't exist anymore called [m-fortytwo.info]. Looking at the table, I agree that my lens matches the specs for 37108, and that the listed specs for 37106 do not match my lens. I don't know if my lens was made during the switchover from 37106 to 37108, or what. The front nameplate being incorrect is easy to explain, but the part number of my lens seems to refer to the previous version with a metal focus ring. Now I'm curious.

Link: Pentax Screwmount Database Project (See items #108 & #110)
Link: Asahi Super-Multi-Coated TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55. This page shows 37106 as having a metal focus ring.

Matt


PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 3:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
quidam wrote:
'Product number 37108 is definitely the SMC TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55mm. Year of manufacture 1972-1975, elements groups 6/5, screw mount and same optical design as the Super Multi Coated TAKUMAR 1:1.8/55 mm' says The Ultimate Asahi Pentax Screw Mount Guide of Gerjan van Oosten.


And it's the optical twin of the SMC Pentax ("K") 55/1.8 (a copy of which I am pleased to have), AND (most bizarrely) the SMC Pentax ("K") 55/2 (and maybe the SMC Takumar 55/2).

Interestingly enough, Pentax created the K 55/1.8 and the K 55/2 with the exact same glass and mechanicals -- the only significant difference is that the K 55/2 has an additional baffle that narrows the aperture a bit, turning an excellent f/1.8 lens into an excellent (but slower) f/2 lens. (This may have been the story with the SMC Takumar 55/1.8 and 55/2 as well.)

Likely the pride of the Pentax marketing department, the "dumbed-down" 55/2 was the lens supplied as the "budget" normal lens with some of the new K-mount bodies, while the 55/1.8, the 50/1.4, and the 50/1.2 were, in turn, each considered a step-up in quality and price. (Logical? No, I don't think so either.)


PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Watching on the net, you can see that Honeywell Pentax was a brand for bodies. The lenses remained Asahi opt . Takumars.

It is strange to see a Super Tak with a SMC focus ring. It could be a Super Tak ( no MC) with this cosmetic made for Honeywell or a SMC not branded as a SMC. Perhaps Asahi wanted to keep the exclusivity of this branding.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Matt, what would you say is the colour of the reflection in the front lens? The coating on the Super-Takumar would normally reflect a gold
or amber colour, and on the S-M-C and SMC versions the colour is usually a purple/green. This might help determine what lens the
optics are from, even though the body seems a bit of a mish-mash. Smile

I don't think this lens came out of the factory like this. It seems more likely to me that someone has cobbled it together from odd
parts.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
memetph wrote:
It is strange to see a Super Tak with a SMC focus ring. It could be a Super Tak ( no MC) with this cosmetic made for Honeywell or a SMC not branded as a SMC. Perhaps Asahi wanted to keep the exclusivity of this branding.


That's what I've been thinking, that this might be a Honeywell-specific model.

peterqd wrote:
Matt, what would you say is the colour of the reflection in the front lens? The coating on the Super-Takumar would normally reflect a gold
or amber colour, and on the S-M-C and SMC versions the colour is usually a purple/green. This might help determine what lens the
optics are from, even though the body seems a bit of a mish-mash. Smile




Here is a photo of the 55mm f1.8 Super-Takumar on the left and a 50mm f1.4 Super Multi Coated Takumar on the right. The 55mm has a gold tint and the 50mm has a purple-red tint. The 50mm has some orange-amber discoloration in the optics, so that may or may not be affecting the reflection tint color. I also have a 135mm f3.5 Super Multi Coated Takumar that has a blue-green tint to it. I've seen a few specs for different lenses that list weights. The 55mm Super-Takumar that this thread has been about weighs 202 grams.

Matt


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
OK, so you have the optics and engraved ring from a Super-Tak and the rubber focus grip from a SMC Tak.

Pentax did issue Super-Takumars in S-M-C bodies with the aperture indicating lever etc - I have a 55/2 Super-Tak like that. Maybe the
production of the new super multi-coating couldn't keep pace or maybe they had a stock of the older optics to use with the S-M-C newer
bodies as a cheaper option. These were the kit lenses at the time, don't forget. However, they would have had the older metal scalloped
focus grip, which makes me doubtful your SMC focus grip is original. I could be wrong though, maybe somebody on Pentax forum or the
Yahoo Spotmatic group can throw some light on it.

The code on the A/M switch is another mystery. My Super-Tak 1.8/55 is 37101 and my S-M-C Tak 1.8/55 is 37104. The SMC Tak is
37108, so your 37106 code appears to be later than both mine but prior to the SMC Tak.

Your lens is certainly an interesting specimen and maybe quite rare! I hope you manage to track down the truth about it. Smile


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Maybe I missing something, but your fine lens is uncommon, but not rare. It is the style of the very last Takumars (M42) which were supplied as normal lenses with Cameras like the Electro Spotmatic (ES). Enjoy.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 4:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes you are missing something. This lens is identified as a Super Takumar, but it has the cosmetic and the mechanic of a SMC Takumar.

Remac : those are two different lenses 1.4 and 1.8.
I have 3 ST 55 1.8 and 1 SMC 55 2 . I will check the coating colours today.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Three generations of the 55mm Super Takumar.

left to right : older version without Thorium ( cooler rendition similar to Takumar), Thorium ST, SMC.
This Honeywell ST is not MC.



PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
@peterqd: Thanks for all of your help in this thread.

memetph wrote:
Remac : those are two different lenses 1.4 and 1.8.
I have 3 ST 55 1.8 and 1 SMC 55 2 . I will check the coating colours today.


Correct. I posted the photo of 50mm for 1.4 just for comparison of it's purple/red color tint to the 55mm 1.8's yellow/gold color tint. Sometimes colors can be subjective. Posting a comparison photo lets everyone come to their own conclusion instead of relying on me telling them what the color it looks like to me.

Thanks for posting you photo. I'd say that my color tint looks like the center lens in your photo. The engraved ring matches too. The only difference that I can see from the front is rubber focus ring instead of the metal one.

Earlier I mentioned that my lens weighs 202 grams. Out of all of the weights I've found for 55mm f1.8 Takumars, the only weight that is close to my lens is the SMC Takumar at 201 grams. The other versions have listed weights of 164gr, 174gr, 215gr, and 239gr. It's weird that the gold tinted optics looks like a Super-Takumar, but the weight puts it around the SMC Takumar.

Matt


PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes the mechanic is the same as an SMC which allows metering at full aperture. so it is heavier.
I discuss with a friend about that case. He told me that Honeywell mounted some lenses themselves in the USA. So they could make such hybrids.
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