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Value of super multi coated 17/4 fisheye
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PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 1:30 pm    Post subject: Value of super multi coated 17/4 fisheye Reply with quote
I have an oppurtunity to buy a 17mm f4 SMC fisheye takumar. It seems that it is a lot more rare and valuable than a non SMC version, but I'm having a hard time placing value and therefore how much I'm willing to pay as the prices seem all over the place. Can anyone help me out what I should pay to consider it a good purchase or what it's worth to sell for if I do t enjoy it? Any input would be appreciated.


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
IMO old fisheye desgns tend to suffer a lot from edge fringing
personally my favourite fisheye is the Pentax 17-28 zoom, which can be picked up quite cheap and is pretty versatile on either apsc or ff


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had takumar 17/4.... this lens in fact has best edges performance among fisheyes I tried.
. zenitar 16. Samyang 8/3.5. Sigma 15. Tokina 17
I got mine few years of ago for $200


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
IAZA wrote:
I had takumar 17/4.... this lens in fact has best edges performance among fisheyes I tried.
. zenitar 16. Samyang 8/3.5. Sigma 15. Tokina 17
I got mine few years of ago for $200


That's good to know. Hoever, as I'm currently only on aps-c I think it would be best to resell it as the fish-eye effect would be gone. Was that a regular takumar fisheye or a SMC version because I think the SMC's go for quite more. But I cannot be sure.


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
StillSanj,

I don't know whether you are looking for a deal or for a lens.
However, I think I can help you a little bit:
At least in Europe the SMC Takumar is sold rather expensive around 500 Euros nowadays. The "normal" version around 300 Euros.
It is very nice and handy and therfore not at all comparable to a huge and heavy zoom (e.g. 17-28mm). Quality is another issue, but the personal perception of quality is something totally different and there will never be any consensus on that anyway.

However, as I was too lazy to pack and store my little studio since yesterday, I took the opportunity to show you the difference of several focus lengths comparable to your crop camera (D70) to give you some ideas how to proceed, if you are looking for a lens and not for a business.

Samples are taken with my Ricoh GXR-M and just resized for publication.

1. CV 15mm/5.6:



2. Zenitar 16mm/2.8:



3. SMC Super-Takumar 17mm/4:



4. SMC Pentax 18-55mm/3.5 at 18mm:



5. Super-Takumar 20mm/4.5:



The picture from the Pentax zoom was shot at smallest aperture as I don't have any possibility the set the aperture on this lens manually. All others at F11. It makes it (at least for my taste) obvious that any fish eye is looking poor against the CV 15mm RF lens.

Have fun.


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had M42 S-M-C Fisheye and Zenitar 16/2.8. Reason says the Takumar should cost less than the Zenitar -- the Zenitar is faster, yes? -- anyway, mine sold for a little less. Wink


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
visualopsins wrote:
I had M42 S-M-C Fisheye and Zenitar 16/2.8. Reason says the Takumar should cost less than the Zenitar -- the Zenitar is faster, yes? -- anyway, mine sold for a little less. Wink


Zenitars are available approximately for 200 Euros. You're right, there is not much difference and the Zenitar is faster.
However, when I compare my pictures at 100% the difference becomes obvious and the Takumar wins.
Today I won't buy either of them, when I compare the results with the Voigtlaender, which is btw. not usable for the OP on his Canon SLR.


PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2015 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
tb_a wrote:
visualopsins wrote:
I had M42 S-M-C Fisheye and Zenitar 16/2.8. Reason says the Takumar should cost less than the Zenitar -- the Zenitar is faster, yes? -- anyway, mine sold for a little less. Wink


Zenitars are available approximately for 200 Euros. You're right, there is not much difference and the Zenitar is faster.
However, when I compare my pictures at 100% the difference becomes obvious and the Takumar wins.
Today I won't buy either of them, when I compare the results with the Voigtlaender, which is btw. not usable for the OP on his Canon SLR.


I was referring to the marketplace price-setting stance rather than comparing lens quality; Tak wins quality-wise for me too. Wink


PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I paid around 200 EUR for a mint-looking copy with multiple fine scratches (cleaning marks) on the front lens (I knew these were there before buying). The marks have zero effect on the images even stopped down fully. Overall it's the sharpest fisheye that I own, with some CA near the edges of the full 35mm frame.


PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 8:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Value of super multi coated 17/4 fisheye Reply with quote
I paid $245 for mine and I think it was a steal. If you find it around $300 is still a good price. It is a nice lens.

StillSanj wrote:
I have an oppurtunity to buy a 17mm f4 SMC fisheye takumar. It seems that it is a lot more rare and valuable than a non SMC version, but I'm having a hard time placing value and therefore how much I'm willing to pay as the prices seem all over the place. Can anyone help me out what I should pay to consider it a good purchase or what it's worth to sell for if I do t enjoy it? Any input would be appreciated.
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