Super-Takumar 20mm/4.5 - misty morning

[LaHo]

I recently acquired the Super-Tak 20mm/4.5, and I love the results on my K10D. The lens may be old, but the IQ is still top notch. Here is a set from early this morning:

My cat followed me:


Some foggy landscapes:








The mist is rising:








I think this lens handles the light very well, even when the sun is shining directly into the lens.

[Orio]

WOW series !!

I love them all - starting from the great cat pic!

The lens is top notch but it needs a photographer able to take the best out of it and you surely are one!

[Poolhall]

Fantastic ,just wonderful to see ,congratulations

[arhi_tectu1]

just great all of them nice lens looks very sharp
they look very natural (the cat one made me laugh i have a cat at home that fallows my mother when she goes shooping at a near by store he acts like dog he even enter's the store )
looks like a very early sun rise (you get up early in the morning)

congratulations for the lens and for the photos

[Attila]

AMAZING!!!

[sichko]

Tremendenous ! Very atmospheric.

[Barata]

I'm speechless!

[greg]

I love fog. Great set.

[poilu]

first class pics! I enjoyed looking at them

[Katastrofo]

Excellent shots, 1,4, and 8 are my faves.

[Spotmatic]

Thanks for this superb series! I really see Takumar colors there (hard to explain byt anyone using a Takumar regularly knows what I mean)

[LaHo]

Thank you all for you nice comments. I love this lens. It is not ultra-wide on the K10D, but perhaps even more useful for that. However, I have retrieved my Pentax MZ-3 from the mothballs in order to try it on film. I look forward to the results.

[trifox]

Yes -- perfect serie!! --

The shot with the cat -- very interesting!!

what a location did you visit ?


tf

[Farside]

A very good set of early-morning shots. Looks a bit tooo early for me, though.

[no-X]

3, 4 and 5 are really magical. Really good work

[koji]

Very nice shots, all of them. I like misty scene.

[LaHo]

Thank you for all your nice comments. Misty scenes are nearly always nice

[Sven]

Wonderful series.
The first one with the cat is really something special.

[adoi]

Hi there LaHo, nice to meet you...

I came across this forum while I was searching more info about the 4.5/20 Takumar lens. I really adore your pictures taken with it, the mist is just mysteriously beautiful. I know a seller who is offering me this lens in mint condition. Well, everybody could easily fall in love with die-cast lenses in mint condition...

Now, the problem is... I'm a pixel-peeper. I really like my pictures to be razor sharp. Currently I'm very satisfied with the 3.5/28 S-M-C Takumar that I have, its sharpness is stunning. If its not much of a problem, could you please attach a couple of pics taken with the 4.5/20 in their original size for me to pixel-peep? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance...

[Spotmatic]

I don't have this lens, but please be aware of the fact that it's not really well regarded for architecture, not even by Gerjan van Oosten (the author of the Ultimate Asahi Pentax Screwmount Guide) because of its moustache distortion. So if architecture is your main subject I would certainly look into the Flektogon 20mm f/4.

[adoi]

Well, to be frank, I'm not a professional photographer. I just love snapping pictures. I usually take pictures for documentation, and I'm dissapointed with the quality of my kit lens. So I turn to MF lenses because of their superior built quality, both the body and optic. But one thing for sure that I always crave is sharpness, maybe it's just me but I can go estatic if I can snap razor sharp pictures.

Moreover, the lens being offered by the seller is in mint condition, really-really mint condition, along with its front and back cap, original metal hood, and lastly, the original box too. I feel like I can't say no to that...

So, is it any good? Anymore cons other than the moustache distortion?

[Spotmatic]

No more cons other than many extreme wideangles are not that sharp when pixelpeeping. Most especially the older ones. At that time, the wideangle part was more important than the sharpness.

But that's just my humble opinion after looking at several of my extreme wideangle primes. None of them have the sharpness I think you require. But, as I said, I don't know this Takumar from my own experience. Hopefully others will chime in.

[LaHo]

I must agree with Spotmatic. I love this lens, but it is not noted for its sharpness - more for its colour. Mine isn't super sharp, and corners are weak even on APS-C format.
It can be very sharp in the centre though even almost wide open. It does have barrel distortion, but a bit less than the DA 16-45 or the DA* 16-50, which are some of the alternatives on Pentax DSLR. All in all I think it holds up well compared to the DA 16-45.

[adoi]

@LaHo: I can never thank you enough for your kindness to send me those pictures for me to pixelpeeping...

From those pictures, I can safely conclude that sharpness is rather weak. Like Spotmatic said, wide angle is the only thing that they after with this lens. My kit lens got better sharpness than the 4.5/20. However, the contrast and rich colour produced by the 4.5/20 is great.

Well, at least I'm not rushing to buy it right now... If I can press the price lower I'll probably take it. I would only buy lenses that give me good pictures, not lenses that end up in a dry box.

Spotmatic, any cheaper option other than the Flektogon? Prices on eBay are crazy on that lens....

[lumitorma]

Hello,
I would like to know if I can use my 3 Supertakumar 20, 35, 55 mm in a dslr Nikon D300 via an adapter. If it is possible where can I get that adapter?

Thanks in advance