Posts Tagged ‘m42’
Portrait of a magic lens
Portrait of a magic lens, Super-Takumar 85mm/1.9, on my old Spotmatic-camera. Asahi made great things – and still do perhaps, but I’ve only tested their old stuff :)
First days with Super-Takumar 85mm/1.9
I’ve traded to get the lens Super-Takumar 85mm/1.9. I knew I would like it since it’s earlier version Auto-Takumar 85mm/1.8 was in my posession until this spring and I loved it’s bokeh and sharpness.
This lens is similar in performence but on the outside it looks very different – slimmer, the aperture setting has been moved to the back like the other Super-Takumars. I’ve haven’t really had time to test it but want to share some initial photos with you, so please check out my Flickr-set “Super-Takumar 85mm/1.9″.
Swedish nature shot with old Asahi-lenses
For me this is a typical piece of swedish nature shot with old Asahi-lenses (Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5 and S-M-C Takumar 55mm/1.8), and an extension-ring. Lingonberries, heather and mushroom. Late summer/early autumn. The Takumar lenses are so nice for closeups, good sharpness and good bokeh. Slim and light, which is really good when you crawl in the woods ;)
And you need to crawl to get good closups. It’s most often not fun looking at pictures taken with the ground as background.
If you click on the images, you go to the Flickr-page – just click the browsers backbutton to get back here.
What makes a good picture?
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.
Stuck on flowers
This time of year the flower is a motif easy to get stuck on. There are so many, so nice with bokeh. We miss them during the winter in Sweden. Then comes the autumn and a lot of images show autumn leafs ;) Well, here are some more flowers I portraied in the City park in Örebro. They are made with Helios 44-3 and S-M-C Takumar 55mm/1.8 lenses and Canon EOS 350D (and a M42->EOS adapter of course). Guess which is which?
Roses after repair of Helios 44-3
The focusring on my Helios 44-3 was loose, but is now repaired. Richard told me how to fix the problem, there are screws in the side of the ring but they are so small that I had missed them! Tightened and I took the lens to town with me… to the city park which is full with roses. Here are the result. I feel a bit new to the lens now since I haven’t used it in a while.

















