August 15 is world Pentax day, where Pentax users around the world photographs on the same day. The result is shown of at Pentaxforums.com, if you want to participate.

Some of the Takumar M42-lenses I owned/own. Works great on my Canon EOS, of course :) And they are also very pretty.

These beautiful flowers Aquilegia vulgaris grow in a place near my home (yes, I live in a nice place). They come in different shades of blue to white. In swedish they are called Akleja, according to Wikipedia en english name is European Columbine. The image is made with my lens Asahi Super-Takumar 28mm/3.5, an M42 lens attached to my Canon EOS 350D. I also used an M42 extensionring from Chinon. I kind of like the result.

Brian on Epic Edit has made a post about his photography wishlist and challenged the readers to make their own. So here is mine as a post instead of a comment ;)

1. S-M-C Takumar 300mm/4 or other long tele prime
   I had one but sold it. Would really like to shoot images of birds and wildlife. Actually I would be ok with a modern one here. But I would need…
   
2. A new tripod
   Hade on but had to sell it :/ Arggh.
3. A Takumar-version of 85mm/1.8
   Had one but had to sell it. I love the Auto-Takumar 85mm/1.8
   
4. A good Yashica Electro 35 GSN
   I like the Electro, but the one I own is smashed (by previous owner).
5. Pentax K20D or Canon EOS 50D
   My EOS 350D is ok… I can live with it. But gosh now it would feel nice to upgrade. I like Pentax but I need to keep using my Contax/Yashica-lenses so I guess Canon is the way to go.
6. A 120mm-format TLR or SLR
   I have a Agfa Isolette V, but I would really like a Yashica-Mat or Mamiya or something larger and a with a focus of some kind.
   

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

One of the nicest lenses in my Asahi collection. It’s a common lens, but veeeeery nice. Buy one! ;)
If you want more about Takumar lenses it’s a good idea to register on www.takumar.org or www.pentaxforums.com.

Spotmatic and S-M-C Takumar 55mm/1.8

Interesting bokeh of my Asahi Opt.Co. Super-Takumar 105mm/2.8 M42 on Canon EOS 350D:

Autumn leaf hanging on...

I was listening on David Bowie singing “My Death” while editing this image, I thought the feeling was appropiate to this leaf that’s near death ;)

[flash http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rIzE3j84kKU w=425 h=344]

Just want to show off my new S-M-C Takumar 300mm/4 :) This is not the best image, but I think it shows the size of the lens. Eventhough the hood is not extracted. I photographed the whole Pentax-collection tonight so more (and better) pictures will be published.

Asahi S-M-C Takumar 300mm/4 on my Pentax Spotmatic.

Today I recieved the Pentax Super Takumar 28mm/3.5 I won on ebay (fast shipping!). I took it out for a first try.. here are some images. Observe, the bumblebee is a 100% crop! Review will come eventually.

Suflower

100% crop bumblebee

Mushrooms

Broken tree

There’s a lot of talk of Takumars and old Pentax-lenses. Old ones can go for quite a lot of money sometimes. So what’s so special about them? I got a 35mm (maybe not the most famous of the Pentax-lenses, but still…), lets find out how they work.

Pentax Super Takumar 35mm/3.5, an m42 lens.

The purchase
I purchased this lens from a friend on the net for 200 swedish kronor (about 20€). He keeps nagging about these Super Takumars, so I wanted to see what all the fuzz was about ;) He said the lens was worn, but it was just some external colour disappeared, everything else feels very good. Most of the time, the Pentax lenses go for some money both in Sweden and on ebay.

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