There is no cure for my Takumar LBA love

[markus maurer]

<p>Hi Pentaxians<br>

this is really the last addition to my lens collection for a very long time, but after I saw the bokeh and the 3D look of some photos from "Colorado CJ" at http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/Takumar-200mm-F3.5.html I could not resist and again, the Takumar 200mm F3.5 came in perfect condition with hood, case and tripod collar for $66 into my caring and loving hands :-) It's windy and cold outside today so photo samples probably have to wait until the weekend...</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>This lens deserves and needs better and more light but I used a rain break to take some photos in the wildpark, all fully open at aperture F3.5 and very (too) low shutter speeds (1/50-1/100 max) for such a lens.</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>-2-</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>-3-</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>-4-</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>-5-</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>and finally through the window at the bakery</p><div></div>

[hinman]

<p>@Marcus, I will keep you in good company. It is a slippery slope and in our own defense, there is always a logical and justifiable reason in the purchase decision. For that takumar 200mm f/3.5, I will buy it in a heartbeat with the condition and price that you mention. I have been down that slippery path and I am likely still in that path as I always get tempted with interesting gear -- be it old or new, small or large.</p>

<p>What is important to keep you sane is go out and use them to your satisfaction and enjoyment in years to come. And don't fret it when the weather or other odd situations dampen your usage and likings. And if I have to share a lesson learned -- don't rush to sell your other gear. It takes time to find the one that you really like. When the guilty feeling and pleasure rise up together after the new gear purchase, I tend to be blinded sighted in selling some lesser used gear. And only when the dust settle that I later find what I truly like and miss.</p>

<p>I have a special liking on the 135mm and 200mm focal length. I remembered a discussion a while ago from Michael E. that the 200mm collapses the view right in front of you. And I found it truly amazing and odd at times that the 135mm and 200mm both serve me well in some of the landscape pictures. Instead of looking for that wide angle lens, the longer focal length help me in finding things beautiful in a distance. And the bokeh is softer in that focal length. In some of the portraits that I did with 135mm and 200mm, the subject stand out more with softer backdrop that is hard to get with other lenses. It is also more difficult to use but extremely rewarding.</p>

<p>Call me a chicken when it comes to street photography! I miss Javier, past member of photo.net and his <a href="http://jgredline.blogspot.com/">Street Vision</a>, I actually prefer the longer focal length to take pictures of strangers in a distance. And the 135mm or 200mm serve me well with a shy minded thinking and keep me away from intruding others with street photography.</p>

<p>Happy New Year to you and the few others who don't post as often.....</p>

[michellemandat]

<p>I have a similar lens a Ricoh 200mm f3,5 which is also very good. It needs to stop at f5,6 to be excellent.</p><div></div>

[JDMvW]

<p>I always used a 70-210mm zoom for this sort of focal length, but I have got some of the Spiratone (probably Tamron or Sigma origin) preset T-mount lenses that I have picked up more recently. They are pretty good, amazingly so, considering their original prices.</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>The Deer shot gives a first indication of the bokeh and 3D for me and I will use this lens again on a sunny day this weekend to see it's full potential. Hin, I like 85-105mm for the Swiss mountains a lot, I mostly take only a macro lens and a 24mm with me. I cover most events with a combination of 24/50mm and would use that in the streets as well, I need to connect to people for good shots and don't like shooting from a distance. I sell mostly double or even triple entries that I got with some packages at auctions. I will sell most of my Tamron SP lenses with the exception of the 300mm since I have fine Pentax manual and AF macro lenses in the 100mm and 50mm range and some of the Pentax-A-primes like the 50mm F1.7 are good quality and therefore easy to sell :-) Michel, your Ricoh looks impressive as well.</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>JDM, handling this full metal, well balanced prime lens is such a joy despite its weight that I will gladly give away all my zooms in that range and I got some of the very best.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Those look quite a bit larger than Pentax-M 200/4, considering only 1/3 stop difference. I wonder how output compares.</p>

<p>The bokeh on #5 is 'interesting', not to say it's a flaw or that other lenses would have rendered it in a more pleasing fashion.</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>It is MUCH larger than the M/A and even K version and 800 grams but well balanced at least on the K20D with attached grip. I like no 1. for it's rendering a lot and lots of twigs and trees in the background seem to be a hard bokeh challenge. The build quality is so much better than any other 200mm I know of, comparable to the even heavier and larger Tamron SP 80-200mm F2.8</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>I got mediocre results with my M and A copy but very good ones with the K version. and I do like the IQ of my A 70-210mm F4 a lot despite it's zoom creep an unbalanced handling.</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>But I am way to biased to be a fair tester and not that much interested in tech talk anyway, some very good lenses and other equipment just leave me cold but the Takumars never do and something like a 85mm F1.8 is prime heaven for me.</p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Thanks Hin for the shout out.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The Deer shot gives a first indication of the bokeh and 3D for me</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Markus, I thought the same prior to reading your above comment. That's really impressive for a lens that must be around 50 years old. I really like the pastel-like tones to all these shots. It's beautiful and a real marker for Takumars.</p>

<p>ME</p>

[peter_russell4]

<p>Probably can't have enough presets :)</p>

[don_myers1]

<p>Marcus;<br>

Thanks for the inspiration; I have had a Takumar 300mm f4.0 lens for over 10 years but have almost never used it! (It was incredibly difficult to remove the screw mount from my camera (ME Super), and without a good pack it was hard to lug around.)<br>

I broke it out and dusted it off and behold! It fit nicely on my K-5 and the screw mount removed easily. So now with a new pack I might get out and try a few pictures.<br>

Don<br>

P.S. Unfortunately my lens came with a pretty large price tag; $200. OUCH!</p><div></div>

[markus maurer]

<p>Thanks Don. I would really love to see a few samples from your 300mm F4 here. I will soon do a series with my Tamron SP 300mm F2.8 on the monopod but not handheld, I get tired too soon that way.</p>