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pentax 200mm or takumar 200mm
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PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2016 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lovely samples Thomas. I have both the Super Multi Coated and the Super Takumar in 200 and I can see very little difference between them. The super multi coated version is slightly better when takeing photos with point source backlight (eg into the sun) but in other situations they are very very close.


PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jamaeolus wrote:
Lovely samples Thomas. I have both the Super Multi Coated and the Super Takumar in 200 and I can see very little difference between them. The super multi coated version is slightly better when takeing photos with point source backlight (eg into the sun) but in other situations they are very very close.


Thank you jamaeolus.
Here are a few more from this afternoon with the Super-Takumar 4/200.
Mono done in NIK
OH


#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 10:54 am    Post subject: Re: pentax 200mm or takumar 200mm Reply with quote

fwcetus wrote:
Abbazz wrote:
As a rule of thumb (there are few exceptions), Super-Takumar, SMC-Takumar or SMC-Pentax lenses are better than "M" series lenses. The "M" series were new designs launched with the diminutive Pentax MX and ME compact SLR cameras. Theses lenses were smaller than their predecessors, but very often at the cost of image quality. Most "M" series telephoto lenses have more chromatic aberrations than the SMC-Takumar or SMC-Pentax equivalents. Most "M" wide angle lenses exhibit more distortion and more vignetting than their bigger siblings. If you don't need the compact size of the "M" series, you'd better go for the older SMC lenses.

I would generally agree with this. I would almost always choose a "K" lens over any M "replacement".

However, there can be exceptions (as Abbazz suggested) -- e.g., the M* 300/4 and its optical twin, the A* 300/4, despite their smaller size, are better long telephotos than is the "K" 300/4.

There are some jewels among the M series lenses: I love my tiny Pentax-M 20/4 and I have fond memories of the Pentax-M 50/1.7 I bought new with a Pentax MX (it was my first SLR, bought with my first salary).

But I also had other M series lenses that were not so good: the 80-200/4.5 zoom I bought shortly after the 50/1.7 was not very sharp and the 28/2.8 had poor corners.

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a quick test comparing the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 4/200mm with the Pentax-M 4/200mm (and, for reference, the Minolta MD-I 4/200mm).



The S-M-C Takumar certainly is one of the best vintage 200mm lenses I have (and I probably have more than 30 OEM 200mm lenses). Just a tiny bit less contrast than the Minolta MC/MD-I 4/200mm, but otherwise pretty much on par. The S-M-C Takumar alsois one of the biggest 4/200mm lenses I own - size matters Wink.

If you wonder about the strange reddish/orange color cast: The images were shot around noon, with a WB set to 5500K. The overcast was reddish indeed, and it had been much more so a few hours ago. It was a eerie sight when I woke up this morning, and I immediately thought of the war raging elsewhere. Turns out it was desert dust from the African Sahara blown over the Mediterranean and over the Alps ... That's how it was looking this morning, just a few miles away from where I live:
https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/saharastaub-faerbt-den-himmel-ueber-der-schweiz-gelb-und-orange-ld.1674614

I didn't take it for a good omen, to be honest.

S


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 1:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Noon front yard view during Hopkins fire in September 2020 -- fire is 50 miles to the east(!)



PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to have the SMC Pentax (K) 200/4 and it was very good. Is this the same lens as the Takumar?
Anyway, I found it slightly better than the Nikkor ai 200/4, but also less practical (size).


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can see my impression about the Takumar being sharper than the Pentax-M was correct. I hadn't directly compared. If you think the Takumar is big, try the earlier Tele-Takumar 200mm F3.5 with hood. It is even sharper than the 200/4 (though I haven't looked at corners, just my impression of subject sharpness).


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D1N0 wrote:
I can see my impression about the Takumar being sharper than the Pentax-M was correct. I hadn't directly compared. If you think the Takumar is big, try the earlier Tele-Takumar 200mm F3.5 with hood. It is even sharper than the 200/4 (though I haven't looked at corners, just my impression of subject sharpness).


It could very well be sharper in the center. It has only 4 elements though, so I bet this is not the case for the corners. BTW: I once tested the Nikkor Ai 135/2.8 (5 el) against the Vivitar Close Focusing 135/2.8 (4 el), and the Vivitar had better center sharpness as well, but worse corner performance.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

visualopsins wrote:
Noon front yard view during Hopkins fire in September 2020 -- fire is 50 miles to the east(!)


That reminds me of some "sunrises" in Delhi - so much smog that the sun was barely visible ... or not at all. The smog mainly was arising from burning the fields after harvesting.

caspert79 wrote:
I used to have the SMC Pentax (K) 200/4 and it was very good. Is this the same lens as the Takumar?

I thinks so, but I'm not a Pentax expert ...

caspert79 wrote:
Anyway, I found it slightly better than the Nikkor ai 200/4, but also less practical (size).

That's exactly what I found as well.

S


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:
I used to have the SMC Pentax (K) 200/4 and it was very good. Is this the same lens as the Takumar?


Lens construction is the same (5/5) and overall length and weight are nearly the same; i.e. most probably the same lens with another mount.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, the K-series is identical to the S-M-C takumar with bayonet mount
I'm looking for one of those, the M and A 200/4 are good and play well with the Pentax DSLRs but the image quality of the S-M-C Takumar/K is a notch above them

I've had the S-M-C takumar for ever (my father boughtit in 73) and it gets oil in the blades that need cleaning every few years. Great lens, incredible for portraits

caspert79 wrote:
I used to have the SMC Pentax (K) 200/4 and it was very good. Is this the same lens as the Takumar?
Anyway, I found it slightly better than the Nikkor ai 200/4, but also less practical (size).


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevemark wrote:
If you wonder about the strange reddish/orange color cast: The images were shot around noon, with a WB set to 5500K. The overcast was reddish indeed, and it had been much more so a few hours ago. It was a eerie sight when I woke up this morning, and I immediately thought of the war raging elsewhere. Turns out it was desert dust from the African Sahara blown over the Mediterranean and over the Alps ... That's how it was looking this morning, just a few miles away from where I live:
https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/saharastaub-faerbt-den-himmel-ueber-der-schweiz-gelb-und-orange-ld.1674614

I didn't take it for a good omen, to be honest.

S


It has made it across the Channel; we have the same orange sky in London right now...

I've seen it several times before, it can leave a very thin layer of red/orange dust on everything.

On a bad day this Saharan dust can get as far as the USA by the way, all the way across the Atlantic ocean.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RokkorDoctor wrote:
On a bad day this Saharan dust can get as far as the USA by the way, all the way across the Atlantic ocean.


I learned yesterday in a documentary on TV that this Sahara sand is the essential fertiliser for the Amazonas region. Every year, tons of this sand are shipped by wind/storm across the Atlantic.
It's still not over. Seen today pictures of Arlberg/Austria and the snowy mountains are covered by this sand. Looking weird.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The saharan dust storms are a very interesting phenomenon. I believe the Spaniards call it "Calima".

I only saw it once while living in NL, when a thin layer of dust showed up on top of the car (like pollen in the SE USA)
The sky color was very different and the sunsets/sunrises were blood red


PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forecast for tomorrow: https://www.zamg.ac.at/cms/de/umwelt/luftqualitaetsvorhersagen/schadstofftransport/?imgtype=0

Expecting a dirty car.....