Auto Takumar 55mm f2.2 Wow better than I expected

[Zeeke]

Received today an unnecessary and expensive purchases from ebay ....But boy I do not regret it.
This Auto Takumar 55mm seems to be what I was hoping S.M.C or SMC Takumar 55mm to be.
Sharp in center from the maximum aperture (weak edges) and attractive bokeh.
The white balance is everywhere on my A99 with this lens so I'll probably shoot raw with this one.
Some boring test pictures from my garden,all at maximum aperture, some slightly cropped and then reduced and no other editing.

[Zeeke]

The pictures isn't sharp after uploading,I resize them 1100*733 and now I see that 1600*1200 is recommended,,,,,,

[eddieitman]

Yes i own one of these, and it is a spectacular lens, i also have the 28mm Autotakumar and both are something special, it has that magic render i love. yours demonstrate here very well

[Lloydy]

2.2 is sloooooowwww....but, does it matter? I don't think it does when you get great pictures like yours. In low light it makes a difference, but modern digital cameras are good at ISO's way higher that were even dreamt of when these lenses were made. You get super thin depth of field with a faster lens, but other than artistic pictures, do we need super thin DoF?
Go with what you've got is my idea of using a lens, I think you've done just that. Lovely pictures.

[kuuan]

nice! please enjoy this gem!

eddieitmann and me have sung praises of this lens often enough, though that mostly has been overheard ,)
( though it was the f2 version, which optically is the same lens )
see: http://forum.mflenses.com/auto-takumar-55mm-f2-first-shots-t21335.html
and: http://forum.mflenses.com/takumar-55mm-f2-2-10-blade-1960s-oil-bokeh-t47574.html

[Oldhand]

[mo]

It's a great small lens,I love it and look out for a spare in the right price range

[fwcetus]

I like the third pic best.

I hope you enjoy your new lens...

[Zeeke]

Thanks for commenting!
I think that this will be a favorite up there with Helios 44 and Chinon 55mm
I bought a Pancolar but returned it because it didn't do it for me.(I have owned several Pancolars before)
Bought this Autotakumar for a little less money and I think this lens has more personality than the Pancolar.
It's a slow lens but other lenses have to be stopped down to att least f2.4 (except Rollei planar 50 maybe) to get the sharpness and clarity this one have wide open.
The negatives is that the lens is only center sharp att large apertures like the Pentacon 50 and while it's a beautiful lens it's so small that it's make my a99 look ugly......

[CBokeh]

How many aperture blades on yours?

[Zeeke]

[Zeeke]

The lens has a 10 blade aperture and its the silver aperture ring one.Its smaller than the Super or SMC Takumar 55.