RetroCamera » 135mm

Lens for sale: Asahi Preset Takumar 135mm/3.5 M42 (model 1957)

Mattias — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:37:05 +0000

I’m selling my Asahi Preset Takumar 135mm/3.5, model from 1957 with alu-parts.
It is very pretty and nice to photograph with, but I’m almost afraid to take it in case I would damage it, because it is in very good condition – as you can tell from the images. I guess you can see it is not new, but it is not far from it. Since I need the money I’ve decided to only keep the lenses I really use to photograph with.
Lens cap (at least the front is original) and hard case is included.
Price: $85 or £55 or €65 or 600 SEK.
Add shipping from Sweden (example about $20 to US, probably cheaper to EU) to the price.

Pictures of the lens:

Preset Takumar 135mm, 5 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Preset Takumar 135mm, 4 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Preset Takumar 135mm, 6 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Preset Takumar 135mm, 3 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Preset Takumar 135mm, 2 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Preset Takumar 135mm, 1 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Pictues with the lens:

IMG_1401 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Flower with Preset Takumar 135mm by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Flower backlight with Preset Takumar 135mm by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

Spring-flowers with bokeh from 135mm Preset Takumar by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

IMG_1399 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

IMG_1449 by Mattias Wirf, on Flickr

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A little package

Mattias — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:01:00 +0000

Springtime. Inspiration sets in. And for a little extra boost of inspiration – some “new” (or very old ;) ) lenses. I bought two lenses from Daniel, the old preset Asahi Takumar 135mm/3.5 in mint condition and a preset Asahi Takumar 105mm/2.8. He even sent a long an extra Pentax-camera.

At the moment I can’t test the lenses very much since I have a work deadline today and a bad caugh that wants me to stay inside :( But I wanted to show you the beauty 135mm:

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Whooper swans with Super-Takumar 135mm

Mattias — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:56:57 +0000

Yesterday I bicycled round lake Tysslingen and made this image of whooper swans with Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 M42-lens on Canon EOS 350D. The swans here are an attraction for wildlifephotographers every year, and they were lined up at the fence with their big tele AF-lenses… all getting the same image I guess, of the same birds and with the same weird look on their faces when they looked upon my little Takumar ;)

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What makes a good picture?

Mattias — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:25:45 +0000

I wonder how you look upon this question, “What makes a good picture?”. I believe it is when the artist manage to communicate a feeling.

This image of grass, I wanted to relay the sence off standing in a field with waving straws, the freedom. One might even start thinking about what happened to the straws not standing up any more: Crop field circle by aliens? Animals having a feast? Winds?

But the image is very simple. I have tried to cut out what I wanted to show and no distractions. That’s why I sometimes have a hard time with photographers who want the biggest effect out of everything, to use the most extreme angle or perspective or color just because they can not because the image needs it. It’s also why I have a hard time with photographers only concerned by technical qualities – they bore me to death. But that’s just me.

This field was made with the 60′s M42-lens aus Jena Sonnar 135mm/3.5 zebra on Canon EOS 350D.

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Woodland strawberry with Super-Takumar 135

Mattias — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:02:18 +0000

A Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) in the national park, shot with Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 m42-lens on Canon EOS 350D. Left alone, the other berries picked.

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Fixing a Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 from wobbling hood

Mattias — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:33:37 +0000

I had some problem with the front cover and hood on my Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 m42-lens. The front “hull” or what you might call it, wobbled… including the filterthreads and the hood. Didn’t affect the imageproperties of the lens (the glass didn’t move) but annoying to use.

This turned out to be easy…

Unscrew the ring where the lensname is printed. That’s just a ring screwed down in the filterthreads. Take a round object with smaller diameter then the 49mm filterthreads, cover it with a rubberglove or something that’s soft but has friction. Press down and unscrew the name-ring.
The front hull of the lens is atteched with three small screws. Tighten the small screws you see down between the hull and the lenses glass.
Reattach the name-ring. Done!

Here some pictures I took while doing this:

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Review of Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 M42-lens

Mattias — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:12:21 +0000

My friend Daniel insisted I should have one of these, so I went and bought one from UK on ebay. Can you have enough of normal or short tele primes? ;) I started collecting Takumar lenses, so of course I needed the 135mm. Lets see if it’s any good…

Super Takumar 135mm/3.5, angleview

The purchase
As usual with these old manual lenses it wasn’t that much hat I payed, £8.50 + shipping £9.00. Later on I also got a hood from ebay, it need an original hood – makes a lot of difference. The hood was £7.95 + shipping £3. So if you buy a lens like this, get a hood too. Since I bought from a good seller in UK, there was no problem with shipping or the purchase. Avarage price on Pentaxforums.com is set to $38.

Super Takumar 135mm/3.5, mount

The lens
The Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 is a M42-lens, short telephoto prime. The production year I can find at the moment is 1966, but I guess it was made for several years. Construction is of metal and it feels very well built, like most of the Asahi-lenses from the 60′s.

I love the shape and the long focusring with a great grip. It has a switch for Auto/Manual and a small aperturepin – guessing that is for the Pentaxcameras. I haven’t tried it on my Spotmatic-camera, just on DSLR. The Auto/Manual-switch can be used to stopp the lens down/open it while focusing.

Super Takumar 135mm/3.5, front

Results
My copy is sharp and has good very soft bokeh. Reading the opinions of others on the internet makes me think that there are quality difference in copies. Could also be an error behind the camera though, you never know for sure reading articles or posts on forums if it’s just a crap photographer ;) But as I said, I like the bokeh and sharpness. If you get the right depth of field this can be magic.

Super Takumar 135mm/3.5, side

It is very easy to focus with, smooth and easy to see – which is great for a manual lens with f 3.5, slow manual lenses can often be hard to focus in a small viewfinder like my EOS 350D. The chromatic aberration is not that bad. It can be very sharp – wideopen it’s ok but stopped down even better.

I have this 135mm and a (Carl Zeiss) aus Jena Sonnar 135mm/3.5 in the Zebra version and have a hard time choosing. The Super-Takumar weighs a whole lot less comparing to the aus Jena, and is more tender built. I guess it’s mood of the day that decides which to go with. No doubt the buildquality in the Takumar is superior. I find it amazing how a 60′s lens can be in such good shape as ALL the Super-Takumar 135mm I’ve seen. The Pentax-people take care of their gear.

Images

Wood Cranesbill (Geranium sylvaticum)

Bohemian waxwings

Bohemian waxwing, 100% crop

Portrait

Midsommarblomster

Ice

Autumn road

Pros

Easy to focus
Sharp
Good bokeh
Nice colours
Good construction
Cheap (well… depends of your luck of course)
Easy to find

Cons

Definately needs a hood, preferably original of course!
Contrast can be a bit lower then other Takumars in some circumstances, but that can be good thing.

Reading

Reviews on Pentax-forums
Review on MFlenses
PBase
Jens Jacob at Flickr

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Pidgins with Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5

Mattias — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:15:09 +0000

In a trip to Granbergsdal with friends I made the images of pidgins with the Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5. The black and white was converted in Photoshop and the little grain came from a layer with scanned T-Max 400 imported in photoshop and put on this digital image.

Pidgins on rooftop

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Takumar photographs in the night

Mattias — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:16:09 +0000

A couple of takumar-lenses used in the darkness of the night in this photographs. The first with Asahi Opt.Co. Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 and the second Auto-Takumar 85mm/1.8, both on Canon EOS 350D.

Parkinglot shot with Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5

House shot with Auto-Takumar 85mm/1.8

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Bohemian waxwings with Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5

Mattias — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:54:34 +0000

Some shots of Bohemian waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus), all made with Asahi Opt.Co. Super-Takumar 135mm/3.5 m42 on Canon EOS 350D, and then cropped.

100% Crop

100% crop, Bohemian waxwing with bokeh

50% crop

50% crop, Bohemian waxwing sharp

50% crop

50% crop, Bohemian waxwing

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