Super-Takumar 135/3.5
After using the 35/3.5 for a while (a day or two) I was hooked, so I’ve started looking around for more M42 lenses. I just got a 135/3.5 Super Takumar and some extension tubes from Collectible Cameras. I decided to order a lens they described as a “9-” because the 35/3.5 from Adorama was an “E+” and I wanted to see if there’d be much difference between “really good” and “not as good.” Optically and functionally, the 135/3.5 is flawless, except maybe the focus feels less smooth than the 35/3.5. I guess I can figure out how to lubricate it if it’s a problem. The 135/3.5 does have a few wear marks on the metal that I don’t care about.
Two photos with the new lens and the longest tube:
Update: Here’s a shot of the LDS temple that shows how sharp the 135/3.5 is, even with my mediocre focusing skills:
January 9th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I have some old Super Takumars used with an Ashai Pentax Spotmatic that’s 40 yo…they are the original screw mount lenses. Do the M42 adapters work with these, or only with the next gen bayonet mounts?
January 9th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Most or all of your M42 screw mount Takumars should work with any of the small-sensor Canon digital SLRs - Rebel, Rebel XT, 10d, etc. Pentax and Olympus dSLRs apparently also work, although the Olympus adapters I’ve seen are very expensive. On Canon dSLRs with larger sensors, the mirror may hit the rear element of some lenses, which would obviously suck.
I’ve had mixed results with adapters - the one I got from Adorama works perfectly but is an ugly silver color, but the pretty one I got from eBay is too thin so it goes beyond infinity (blurry distant objects when at infinity). Fortunately, Canon adapters are cheap so it’s no big deal to try a few.