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Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 vs M42 Fujinon 55mm f/1.8
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:29 pm    Post subject: Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 vs M42 Fujinon 55mm f/1.8 Reply with quote

I received the Fujinon a couple of weeks ago, and played a bit with it. Already through the viewfinder I could see this lens is a solid performer. Today I decided to compare it to another favorite classic, the Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8. Understand this test is limited to what I'm actually testing. Camera A7RII on tripod, with 2 sec self timer.

This is what the lenses look like:



The pictures:

bokehcomparison55mm by devoscasper, on Flickr

First thing that struck me, is that the Super Takumar has bigger bokeh balls, probably indicating a slightly wider aperture at all aperture settings compared to the Fujinon. Furthermore: both lenses have hexagonal bokeh balls when stopped down.

Then, 100% crops of wine label:

crops55mma by devoscasper, on Flickr


Wide open, the Fujinon looks a bit sharper to me, most apparent when looking at the right side of the label.
At f/2.8 the Fujinon is very sharp. Look at the texture of the paper. At smaller apertures, the differences are minor.

Lets look at another 100% crop:

crops55mm by devoscasper, on Flickr

The difference wide open is negligible. At f/2.8, the Fujinon is incredibly sharp, more so than the Takumar. At smaller apertures, the Fujinon is slightly sharper, but the difference is minimal.

Winner of this (limited) lens test is the Fujinon IMO. It is incredibly sharp at f/2.8, considering this is a lens designed for film and not a 42+ mp camera. It actually looks like center resolution is at its optimum at this aperture, which surprises me.
Handling of both lenses is incredibly good.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, caspert79.
Your comparisons are concise and well laid out.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

55 wrote:
Thank you, caspert79.
Your comparisons are concise and well laid out.


Thanks 😊, I’ll actually have to test them more thoroughly outside, but two small kids and a busy job 😉


PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:

. . . but two small kids and a busy job 😉


Yes, understood.
It's good to have such "problems" Smile.


PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like 1 Like 1 Like 1


PostPosted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for these.
I have always liked both lenses for their wonderful buttery bokeh
My Fujinon seems a little "crisper" closed down than my Tak but I love the Takumar for portraits.
I have owned and sold many nifty fifties, but these two stay
Tom


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting test, I have both lenses - I use the Takumar a lot, but the Fujinon very rarely. (I usually use the 2.2 bokeh king.)

Your Takumar looks a lot warmer, is the lens yellowed?


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lloydy wrote:
Interesting test, I have both lenses - I use the Takumar a lot, but the Fujinon very rarely. (I usually use the 2.2 bokeh king.)

Your Takumar looks a lot warmer, is the lens yellowed?


I think it's the room light. Outside, colors are cooler than the Takumar's.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oldhand wrote:
Thank you for these.
I have always liked both lenses for their wonderful buttery bokeh
My Fujinon seems a little "crisper" closed down than my Tak but I love the Takumar for portraits.
I have owned and sold many nifty fifties, but these two stay
Tom


Yeah, and they are real bargains, so no need to sell them.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:
Oldhand wrote:
Thank you for these.
I have always liked both lenses for their wonderful buttery bokeh
My Fujinon seems a little "crisper" closed down than my Tak but I love the Takumar for portraits.
I have owned and sold many nifty fifties, but these two stay
Tom


Yeah, and they are real bargains, so no need to sell them.


I agree with Oldhand about these two. They're both excellent.

I will say this: I own three of the Takumars, and seven of the Fujinons. There's a reason. The Takumars obviously have superb build quality, and they're all equal performers. The Fujinons have a lot more variation in performance from unit to unit, but the two best ones I own are just absolutely incredible. What sold me was shooting macro with them. Using the good ones I can stop them down to f/16 and they're just stunningly sharp - so sharp I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I looked at my RAWs. Unfortunately they don't all measure up to that standard.

Interestingly, my one of my best Fujinons is an old silver-aperture-ring version, and the other is an EBC, so there's not telling whether you've got a great one or just a good one unless you try it out.

The other M42 lens I'd throw into this comparison is the 55mm Auto Mamiya/Sekor f/1.8. I'm impressed with mine every time I try it.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KEO wrote:

The other M42 lens I'd throw into this comparison is the 55mm Auto Mamiya/Sekor f/1.8. I'm impressed with mine every time I try it.


Interesting. I did quite a large test of 50/55/58 mm lenses last year. Most lenses performed equal. But the Mamiya EF 50/1.7 showed that extra bit of sharpness that I see in my Fujinon as well. I should compare the Mamiya and Fujinon one day.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for this very interesting and careful comparison. I always wondered if both lenses are the same, as the lens barrels seem to come from the same manufacturer of barrels. Your comparison confirms my visual impression that the Fujinons have the better white balance, rendering white as purely white, as well as better sharpness and resolution. The Pentax and Takumar lenses always looked warmer to me, with a slight yellow cast. The Fujinon 55mm18 is truly an excellent lens. The non-EBC version has slightly lighter colors, well suited for available-light situations. It would be most interesting to have a comparision between the Fujinon and the Mamiya 55mm18 which has near 99 percent resolution at its optimum aperture of f/5.6. I'd presume that the Mamiya is more prone to flare than the Fujinon. Both Mamiya and Fujinon made their own glass. Please keep us posted.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fujinonuser wrote:
Thank you for this very interesting and careful comparison. I always wondered if both lenses are the same, as the lens barrels seem to come from the same manufacturer of barrels. Your comparison confirms my visual impression that the Fujinons have the better white balance, rendering white as purely white, as well as better sharpness and resolution. The Pentax and Takumar lenses always looked warmer to me, with a slight yellow cast. The Fujinon 55mm18 is truly an excellent lens. The non-EBC version has slightly lighter colors, well suited for available-light situations. It would be most interesting to have a comparision between the Fujinon and the Mamiya 55mm18 which has near 99 percent resolution at its optimum aperture of f/5.6. I'd presume that the Mamiya is more prone to flare than the Fujinon. Both Mamiya and Fujinon made their own glass. Please keep us posted.


I've compared both lenses actually. The Mamiya is sharper / more contrasty and is actually one of the best classic standard lenses I've ever tested. Didn't do a flare test though. BTW: comparison was with single coated Fujinon.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:
Fujinonuser wrote:
Thank you for this very interesting and careful comparison. I always wondered if both lenses are the same, as the lens barrels seem to come from the same manufacturer of barrels. Your comparison confirms my visual impression that the Fujinons have the better white balance, rendering white as purely white, as well as better sharpness and resolution. The Pentax and Takumar lenses always looked warmer to me, with a slight yellow cast. The Fujinon 55mm18 is truly an excellent lens. The non-EBC version has slightly lighter colors, well suited for available-light situations. It would be most interesting to have a comparision between the Fujinon and the Mamiya 55mm18 which has near 99 percent resolution at its optimum aperture of f/5.6. I'd presume that the Mamiya is more prone to flare than the Fujinon. Both Mamiya and Fujinon made their own glass. Please keep us posted.


I've compared both lenses actually. The Mamiya is sharper / more contrasty and is actually one of the best classic standard lenses I've ever tested. Didn't do a flare test though. BTW: comparison was with single coated Fujinon.



In old threads in this forum, some mamiya's collectors and user told that the 55/1,8 TL/DTL were made by Tokina.


PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

papasito wrote:
caspert79 wrote:
Fujinonuser wrote:
Thank you for this very interesting and careful comparison. I always wondered if both lenses are the same, as the lens barrels seem to come from the same manufacturer of barrels. Your comparison confirms my visual impression that the Fujinons have the better white balance, rendering white as purely white, as well as better sharpness and resolution. The Pentax and Takumar lenses always looked warmer to me, with a slight yellow cast. The Fujinon 55mm18 is truly an excellent lens. The non-EBC version has slightly lighter colors, well suited for available-light situations. It would be most interesting to have a comparision between the Fujinon and the Mamiya 55mm18 which has near 99 percent resolution at its optimum aperture of f/5.6. I'd presume that the Mamiya is more prone to flare than the Fujinon. Both Mamiya and Fujinon made their own glass. Please keep us posted.


I've compared both lenses actually. The Mamiya is sharper / more contrasty and is actually one of the best classic standard lenses I've ever tested. Didn't do a flare test though. BTW: comparison was with single coated Fujinon.



In old threads in this forum, some mamiya's collectors and user told that the 55/1,8 TL/DTL were made by Tokina.


It could be. But once somebody starts a rumor on the web, many people tend to copy it. I haven't seen a reliable source on it yet.


PostPosted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a couple more 55 / 1.8's - Petri CC Auto and Auto Rokkor PF. ( also a Auto Chinon 55 / 1.7 and a X Fujinon 55 1.6 )

The Petri is very good, as indeed the Rokkor is. I shall try to test them alongside my copies of the Takumar and Fujinon, maybe throw in the X Fujinon and Chinon as well?


PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 3:31 am    Post subject: Re: Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 vs M42 Fujinon 55mm f/1.8 Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:
...
First thing that struck me, is that the Super Takumar has bigger bokeh balls, probably indicating a slightly wider aperture at all aperture settings compared to the Fujinon. ...


My experience is size of out of focus highlights varies with focusing distance, i.e. magnification. Thus Super Takumar focal length is slightly longer...


PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 6:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

About a decade ago there was this 50mm shootout by Sean Carpenter..
https://pbase.com/carpents/nlsr1m8

Worth a look


PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the 4 versions of the Takumar , including a multicoated one which has more contrast and even better shaprness.
In my opinion the Takumar has a longer focal length and some focal breathing.
This would be a reason for bokeh differences .


PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

memetph2 wrote:
I have the 4 versions of the Takumar , including a multicoated one which has more contrast and even better shaprness.
In my opinion the Takumar has a longer focal length and some focal breathing.
This would be a reason for bokeh differences .


Judging from my images, the Takumar has longer focal length indeed. In don't have the S-M-C version of the Takumar. I expect somewhat better performance of both the multicoated takumar and multicoated Fujinon, at least under some lighting conditions.


PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

caspert79 wrote:
memetph2 wrote:
I have the 4 versions of the Takumar , including a multicoated one which has more contrast and even better shaprness.
In my opinion the Takumar has a longer focal length and some focal breathing.
This would be a reason for bokeh differences .


Judging from my images, the Takumar has longer focal length indeed. In don't have the S-M-C version of the Takumar. I expect somewhat better performance of both the multicoated takumar and multicoated Fujinon, at least under some lighting conditions.


Indeed, I have the Super Tak (2x), Super-MultiCoated and K-series 55/1.8
All of them sharp as nails and brilliant.


Last edited by titrisol70 on Fri Jan 27, 2023 2:34 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

titrisol70 wrote:
caspert79 wrote:
memetph2 wrote:
I have the 4 versions of the Takumar , including a multicoated one which has more contrast and even better shaprness.
In my opinion the Takumar has a longer focal length and some focal breathing.
This would be a reason for bokeh differences .


Judging from my images, the Takumar has longer focal length indeed. In don't have the S-M-C version of the Takumar. I expect somewhat better performance of both the multicoated takumar and multicoated Fujinon, at least under some lighting conditions.


That is somehow subjective.
I have 3 of the 4 versions (sold the 8 element) and I always come back to the early 7 element Super Tak as the one that gives best results.
It might not be the sharpest or the best corrected but the images have an intangible quality that suit my old eyes

The 8 element ST was good, but I preferred the 7 element.
The first K-mount version is a SMC with another mount, from the M series onwards is a different lens.


I asume you're talking about the 50/1.4? As far as I know there's only a six element 55/1.8.


PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

INDERDAAD!!! wrong lens
old-timer disease!

[quote="caspert79"

I asume you're talking about the 50/1.4? As far as I know there's only a six element 55/1.8.[/quote]