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SMC Takumar 300mm f4
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:54 pm    Post subject: SMC Takumar 300mm f4 Reply with quote

Any experience ?


PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have one and have had for a while but have just now begun using it on my Panasonic L1. To date I have found it to be quite sharp with good color rendition and I have not to date noticed and unacceptable chromatic aberation. In some recent tests I found the bokeh a little odd but will try it again soon. I also have the early Nikkor 300mm f 4.5 and am planning to test them against each other but based on what I have seen to date the Tak is the better lens. I posted a picture in this thread. http://forum.mflenses.com/asahi-pentax-takumar-200mm-f3-5-pre-set-lens-t3987.html

On the whole I have found these lenses to be well made (like all taks) and to usually sell quite cheaply so are worth getting given their image quality. The one slight bother when using on an M42 body is that they are a manual aperture lens so are relatively slow to use. On an adapter and used on a digital it does nto really matter as all lenses have to be operated manually.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh there is one other thing. They are slow to focus too with a very long throw. But I suppose that helps focusing accuracy when shooting static subjects wide open.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SMC Takumar 300mm f4 I guess must be a better lens than early Nikkor 300mm I look forward your testing. I guess lot better than 200mm Takumar what you showed on above link.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Attila wrote:
SMC Takumar 300mm f4 I guess must be a better lens than early Nikkor 300mm I look forward your testing. I guess lot better than 200mm Takumar what you showed on above link.


Cant say about that... early Nikkors were copy of Sonnar... But early takumars were notorious for CA (esp 200mm and 300mm)... but again, its all from web...


PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SMC Takumar is the latest one ...


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 300mm did seem to perform better than the 200mm but this could have been my focussing. (I have just updated the firmware on my camera and it now has focus confirmation for manual focus lenses - which it previously did not have.) I had a lot of trouble with my eyes trying to focus manually and it was hit and miss as to whether I got things focussed properly. Still I thought the 300mm did well and I could see no evidence of CA in the shots. I will try to make a further comparison over the holidays and post results here. But my impression of the lens so far is that it is a basically sound lens.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you have SMC lens ?


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dont think mine are SMC (I am not at home right now so cannot check.) There was a version of the 300mm that had a fully auto aperture and from memory this was SMC. Mine are both earlier than this I believe - will confirm later.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whatever else you can say about it, its a serious looking lens



PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This looks an older Takumar , they have huge difference in quality as I heard from Ballu.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cant say whether the later ones were better as I have not tried them. Of course this would not surprise me if it were true as so often lens manufacturers updated their lenses optical forumulas over time and as models changed. As I said I know there is a later version with full auto aperture as I have seen one. Still I can say based on my testing to date I am reasonably pleased with this early versions results although my testing has not been extensive.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you ! When you have time to test I would like to ask you for test pictures to mflenses.com/gallery.