First shot with the old MF 50mm 1.4

[cptrios]

Well, I didn't think this would exactly go well in "People"...but here's my first shot with the M42 mount SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 mounted on my XSi. Taken at ISO 400, 1/200, flash bounced with a Lightscoop, lens wide open (!) at f1.4. Second picture is a 100% crop...look at that hangnail! (The lens in the shot, by the way, is the Super Tak 135mm 3.5) Not counting the fact that it's riduculously sharp, I just love the organic feel of the shots this lens produces.

[neumanns]

Nice lens (both of them) i want to try them one day.

This pic just seems to have more DOF than I would have expected for having been shot at I.4 but then again I have never shot anything that fast...But I always imagined the DOF wide open would be a challange.

[cptrios]

Actually this may have been taken at 2.0 now that I look at it. I try to mark down my f-stops in order for test shots (they obviously don't come through in the exifs) but I may have missed a beat there. But yes, 1.4 is VERY thin close up.

This lens is AWESOME but until about f4, the center is sharp but corners suffer a pretty good amount of softness. Between 3.5 and 8, it's just about the sharpest lens I've used.

[vroom_skies]

I have the lens your holding in the first picture.
I love that lens, plus the build quality is some of the best out there imo.
On my K10D, it produces some of my favorite shots.

Bob

[cptrios]

Yeah, all those old Takumars have amazing build quality. That 135 weighs more than my XSi and the kit lens combined!

[sadatk]

I'm actually thinking of picking up some older MF lens. The Takumars have caught my eye since they seem to be so cheap--which do you prefer to use?

The 135 seems nice but I'm not sure how much use it would get when I already have a 70-200.

[cptrios]

I'm actually thinking of picking up some older MF lens. The Takumars have caught my eye since they seem to be so cheap--which do you prefer to use?

The 135 seems nice but I'm not sure how much use it would get when I already have a 70-200.

The 50 1.4 (SMC version is best) is the first you should pick up. I've heard that the SMC 105mm 2.8 is also fantastic, as well as the 35mm 2, but they're not cheap. The 135 you can get for about 30 bucks, and it's a great lens...good to have even though you've got the 70-200, because it's much smaller. I use it mostly for panos.

I also have a 200 f4 SMC, about which I had heard fantastic things, but I've yet to be particularly impressed. No IS + no AF does not equal fun at 200mm.

The Takumars are built like heavy artillery, and even the not-particularly-sharp ones take great pictures. Check out these two of my poor father, with the 135. I think they're both at f4, but I don't remember. Bounced flash, and obviously some PP. They're both sharper than they look, but I had to turn the JPEG compression up a lot to fit POTN's 150k limit.