Here are links to each section: 00:00 Introduction 02:21 A look at the lenses 10:00 The earliest lenses 12:29 Number of aperture blades 13:35 Coatings, contrasts and colours 16:03 Radioactive glass 18:07 Minimum focusing distance 18:40 Sharpness 22:03 Bokeh 25:13 Conclusions

Back in the day when I worked at a camera store in Toronto. I recommended these Pentax Camera's and lenses to everyone just getting into photography. For the money they are still hard to beat. Great cameras and lenses.

In 1990, I went to a camera shop in Norway. I had Canon EOS1000 in my mind. The shopkeeper recommended Pentax P30n. About 55s, I had already a dozen of 50ish lenses. Last summer in a user reviews about 55 1.8, a user said, if you don't have this lens, you are not a true Pentaxian. I was disappointed, with five Pentax bodies, and some 20 lenses, I am not a Pentaxian yet. So, I ran to Ebay, and found a Super Takumar 55 1.8 in good shape and reasonable price. It came from Japan, and it was clear that the lens had gone through CLA. Everything was perfect with the lens. I put it on my K1 MKII to test it, but it stayed there for several weeks. I like it more than my ST 50&1.4. It is a radio active lens and takes excellent pictures.

I'm new to vintage lenses and I've gotta say... you do such a thorough and in-depth look at all of these, it's like watching a documentary. Thank you kind sir -- this must have been a real pain to edit!

Simon thank you for your excellent series on vintage glass. You’re one of the few KZfaqrs out there whom I find myself revisiting. Some of your videos I watched several times and I have never found fault with your recommendations or your evaluations. KZfaq should give you a badge of honor!

There‘s nothing more satisfying than shooting with a good Takumar lens! Thank you for your extensive review :)

Last week I finally snagged the 8-element Super Takumar 50mm 1.4-I am so impressed! Thank you for introducing me to this whole new world of vintage lenses!

This collection of videos, in my opinion is a huge contribution to the heritage of photography. I am very glad to have access to a source of knowledge that is so well structured and that appears so reliable. I like the language a lot and I feel thankful towards the work and dedication that is beeing made to inform people about this beautiful part of photography.

Very nice to see this, it gives me a smile, the beautiful lenses from all viewpoints, great work - thank you very much.

Excellent video as always. I adore the painterly flower pictures the 55mm f2 have given me. The colors especially the reds and yellows are jaw dropping. The background become very smooth. The thought of all these qualities has me longing for the coming spring bloom. I also have a 50 f1.4 which for me has produced a less desirable busy bokeh. Cheers.

Thank to for all your great videoes on KZfaq and photos on Flickr. 🙏

Another excellent and informative video, delivered with such authority on the subject. So fascinating to learn the background history to the famous 55mm Takumar lenses. Like you, my first 35mm camera had a 55mm f1.8 lens. However, in this case it was the Pentax K-mount together with the KM camera. Just last year purchased an Auto-Takumar 55mm f2 and this is a surprisingly wonderful lens. Other similar lenses that I've purchased from this era have required a service, however not required for the Takumar and the smooth focus is a joy to behold. Good to know that only one lens model included Thorium. Always look forward to your next instalment.

I appreciate your well-researched presentations and thorough testing. Thanks for sharing your wealth of experience and knowledge.

Great video with excellent info and thoughtful perspective. You confirmed how I feel about several of these!

Glad to see a comprehensive review of the 55mm Takumar :) :) :)

Simon, I do love the careful methodology of your analyses. You begin with your own hypotheses, and observations which support them, and then run through tests of the hypotheses. Very scientific, but also interestingly done.

Excellent video! I own a Super-Takumar 55/1.8 myself and its one of my favourite lenses. Great to see more information abour the series, thank you.

Simon, I love these videos - it's exactly the type of nerdy-ness I enjoy in a gear review. I also appreciate all the example shots, as I think real-world results are much more impressive than the shots of still-life in the house.

Thank you for these videos. I really enjoy your in-depth look into the lenses coupled with a wealth of experience. I'm in my 40's and have only discovered the joys of photography this year and I have the excellent Pentax cameras to thank for learning the basics of manual photography. This year will be my first foray into film photogrtaphy and these manual primes are of more interest to me now than ever before.

Thanks for this! Your videos always make me want to walk around and find good light to work with. For me, I have the SMC 55 f2. Love it. It's small, but has the smoothest focus of any vintage lens I have. I also have the SMC 50 f1.4 - I like it too, but it's really only sharp around the very center. Not practical in many applications. Keep up the great work.

Thank you for this thoughtful, well-made and interesting review. I very much enjoy your videos, despite, or perhaps due to, their encouragement of my lens buying addiction!

I had no idea the lens I used in the '70s was radioactive! I am an old, long-time Pentax user and started with the Pentax Spotmatic F and the 55mm f1.8 was my first lens. This is a great review. Thank you!

One of the best lens videos on KZfaq 👏

Thanks for the video! It just happened, that yesterday I accidentally bought the radioactive Takumar and after awesome experience of using it today, this video popped up. Yes, I can confirm, that this is one of the best ~50mm lens from my 15+ collection that I ever used.

A most excellent presentation in every way. As an owner of a number of Takuma/ Pentax lenses I appreciate the care with which this video was prepared. So I am subscribed.

I also wanted to thank you, Simon, for putting these very thorough videos together. I like that you are objective when talking about each lens in each video, and that you merely highlight the pros and cons of each lens. I have the Super Takumar 55 1.8 and really love this lens as it goes with my 24 3.5, 35 2.0, 85 1.9 and 135 2.5 (6 element) lenses. I now have a complete set of Takumars that I will cherish for the rest of my life! The other thing I wanted to mention is that your comparison images for lenses are amazing! Every time I watch one of your videos and see some of your images I keep thinking of new perspectives to shoot from! Thank you for all of this! Cheers from British Columbia, Canada!

I enjoy the education on the old lens. Just pick up the SMC Takumar 1.4 50 Macro. for my digital camera. Also, picked up a Fotasy Helicod M42 to FE mount to attach to my camera. Now I just need some good weather to test it out. I always enjoy your videos.

For some reason, I feel more attracted to the radioactive lens

another excellent and informative video Simon, i have the 55mm ƒ1.8 super takumar, my very first vintage lens i got about a year ago, i had only gotten back into photography in the last two years the takumar 55mm is such a nice lens for all the reasons mentioned, maybe only over shadowed by the smoothness of your voice, with an addition of an extension tube its close up images are incredibly sharp, the camera i use is the M50 so there is the 1.6 crop of the field of view Thank you for the time and effort or should i say the time and pleasure of making these in depth videos on the various models of the similar lenses.

My Takumar 55 f2 is also one of my favorite lenses. It's so smooth and the quality is so good! I compared it to quite a few other lenses on my channel, but the Takumar is always the winner.

I’ve watched every video of your m42 videos and probably watched every Takumar video at least twice! Love your Flickr photos! I’m now a certified fanatic of Takumar lenses.

Very glad I went for the Auto 55 f2.2 Thanks

5 years ago I purchased a near mint Spotmatic SP that came with one of these Super-Multi-Coated lenses for around 55 USD. Sadly since buying it I've only shot 4 rolls of film and still haven't gotten around to having any of it developed but watching this was very informative and I appreciate all the details. Hopefully soon I can get those rolls of film developed to see what came out of it. Thanks again

Since my retirement 10 years ago I rediscovered my super takumar 1.8. I use it always in combination with a also 50 years old bellow for macro photography. The results are excellent ! Thank you for the very clear review of all these lenses.

I have a couple of these 55mm Takumars. Both with film and digital they are absolutely magic.

I started my Pentax journey with a Pentax MX and that was brilliant. I was just about to go off to university. The MX is still a very zen machine that is tiny but mighty. About five years later my friend who ran a photographic shop introduced me to the Spotmatic. What was great about that was that I could buy M42 lenses for next to nothing. The Takumars were available with cases and hoods for £15 to £25 and I was blown away by the images I was producing. The 55mm F1.8, the 35mm F2, the 28mm f3.5, the 24mm f3.5, the 85mm f1.8, the 135 f3.5 all absolutely superb. I had a few spotmatics and then I got an SV! I made so many great images especially on Ilford, Kodak and latterly Fuji black and white negative films. The lenses were absolutely stellar. Brilliant sharpness, tonal discrimination and edge acuity. I found a 200f4 and it too was a showstopper. I used a lot of that glass with an SV and a digital incident/spot meter by Sekonic and produced prints for publications and my exhibitions. I still use Takumars and various K-mount SMC Pentax lenses they make great digital images with 3D plasticity and superb rendering. I do consider the SMC Takumar 55mm and the Super Takumars to be completely valid on digital images. I have a 55mm SMC Pentax-K f1.8 and it has that Pixie-dust image rendering that makes images with 3D pop. I have a few 55mm m42 Takumars and they are tremendous lenses. There is so much to admire in what they do. Thanks for doing this review Simon, I still get excited by what Pentax glass can do. Opening an image in Lightroom reveals just how powerful the lenses are.

Your presentation and examination of Pentax gear is Scion’s to none Simon. I thoroughly enjoy listening to your assessments

I am impressed with your presentation and especially with your narration. Professional all around.

Thanks for all the great information and detail.

Superb. I understand you have invested lot of time and effort, which i appreciate so much. Very detailed one to date. Thank you.

Like always, great informative videos without the narcissistic self exposure that many other dudes present on their videos. Nothing wrong with that but I prefer straight on topic presentations. Been a subscriber for quite a while and definitely enjoy learning. On an other note, I luckily found a Super Takumar 55mm 1,8 on a flee market last sunday. The aperture is almost stuck and only turns w. brute force. The focus ring is hard to turn as well but I know some guy who can fix it. I'm very impressed by the image quality of this lens when paired w. my Fujifilm X-E4. Thanks bunches Simon. Keep up the great work.

Did a walkaround today with one of my all time favorite lenses on my Fujifilm X-T2, that being the 55mm Zebra Takumar, coincidentally coming across this video again upon my return. Love The Taks, especially the 55s, of which I have a copy of every m42 version, including the 58mm & earliest m37 mounts.

I love your content on the Pentax lenses. I love Pentax m42 lenses. They focus smooth, sharp, and feel great in the hand. Built well.

Currently laid up sick in bed, which was a plus as i came across your videos. Very informative and i learnt a few things i didn't know. Can't wait to get out there with a few Tak's in my kit.

Thanks for a detailed review. It was really interesting to see all of them compared. I made a review on 55 f2 Auto-Takumar, and I was pleasantly suprised that an f2 lens can give such a nice and creamy bokeh, but be sharp at the same time :)

The first camera that I bought for myself was the Pentax SV with the Super Takumar 55mm ƒ1.8 in 1964. I used this camera for many years until I went digital in 2007. Now I have the K-mount 55 ƒ1.8 on my K-1. Thanks for the very nice review of these lenses. l see your images on Flickr too.

Nice video! I've got the Super Multicoated Takumar 55mm f1.8 last September and I love it. Did some pictured during autumn vacation and it's just so good. Thanks for sharing the info about the other Takumars 55mm as well. The older look super cool, too!

Congratulations. Very, very comprehensive. Excellent mix of facts and feelings. 100% agree on all points raised. Recommendation? "Buy 'em all! They ain't made no more!" Use 'em all, and enjoy 'em all.

What a fantastic interesting video. Just wanted to say thanks for all your great work. Regards David

I have been shooting with the latest auto-Takumar 1.8 version. I am very impressed with it's sharpness and contrast.

Thanks for an interesting watch and informative data on these lens.

Bro your voice is as good as your reviews. Calming and just makes me feel relaxed. Great job!

I love this video, I watched it so many times. I bought the S-M-C 55mm 1.8.....and love it

WOW What a fantastic review of all these retro lenses from this go to guy.... AWESOME... AWESOME... AWESOME...

I got my Pentax Spotmatic for my 14th birthday with a 55mm f1.8 lens, to which I added 2 more Super Takumars, 28 and 135mm f3.5’s. Loved all of them, although I wish I had been able to afford the 200mm f4.0!

Thank you for the priceless and valuable content. Loved it.

My first quality camera was a Pentax Spotmatic II with the Super Multi Coating f 1.8 lens. I payed a little extra for a black body, I still have it and use it too along with a used version of the Spotmatic . I recently bought a later version of the lens with the rubber focus ring for attachment to a used Sony a7 I recently acquired. Back in the 70s the Pentax was up there with the best. This is by far the best Takumar review I have seen, thank you.

Thank you for your generosity in sharing so much information. With someone who uses an H3, I'm very happy to know more about my camera and lens. Thanks

Boy, that was something else! Thank you.

This is so awesome. Thank you!

this made me love my auto takumar 55 f2 more ❤️

I think I just asked about the best of these lens yesterday on another of your videos. And well you already covered it thank you !

Hey!- just a quick comment on how much i will enjoy watching this video later; my fondest beginner photographer involved the sublime 70-200mm F/4 zoom Takumar- Soft blur Bokeh with fantastical colour renditions. Worst thing i ever did was sell my 35 stuff and I plan on hunting down some of those old Pentax primes which this presentation will greatly enhance SO thanks !!! Anticipation strokes the flame of expectation which either flies or falls upon what YOUR word expresses- -no pressure !! Lol.

I have a few Takumars; and I will continue to buy them as they feel so good in the hand and produce such lovely images. I was interested to see your take on the black and white rendering because I noticed it by accident a couple of years ago and will continue to experiment with what it can do......very cool stuff. Thanks.

i bought my 28mm f3.5 50 years ago brand new. went through 3 succeeding versions of pentax bodies before changing to medium format. so the 28, along with the 50, sat on a shelf for all these years. bought an adapter 6 months ago and now fallen in love with the 28 once again , this time on my panasonic S5 full frame body. nice seeing your images taken in china. thank you. zen billings in canada.

Excellent and detailed .Im a Nikon die hard but im going for an adaptor to try some pentax gear.Thank you for this very informative video and one can only imagine all the effort in makeing of.

Fascinating review. I owned a few of tak & supertak

I just got my SMC 50mm f1.4 and it renders lovely, may have to try the 55mm also.

Very interesting job. Thanks a lot.

Fabulous video! 😊👍🏻

I've got the K-mount 1.8/55, and I love it to bits...

Thanks for a great video. The SMC Takumar 55mm f1.8 from 1972 was my first lens paired with my Spotmatic f. All acquired when I was 15. Unfortunately I sold it ... Regret that now so I have got a mint version of the K mount version...

Just got an old SMC 35mm with thoriated glass. Wonderful lens.

Thanks for extensive explanations...

Superb video. Thank you very much.

Bought my lovely old Pentax ME Super in 1981 for a photography degree course. It came with a 50mm f1.7 SMC lens. Got my degree with it and sold my degree show B&W pics to a magazine afterwards. It's a very sharp and small lens which I use on my Canon DSLR and Sony A7 bodies. You can still get ME Supers with these lenses on and adapters for PK to Canon or Sony etc. Another excellent Pentax lens is the 50mm f4 'macro' which is 1:2 so half life size at the macro end. Amazingly sharp and versatile lens.

The 55 is one of my favorite lenses for digital use. I got the 1960 auto takumar 1.8 for one dollar after pulling it out of a box of random rubbish at a camera store in California. Clean glass and fully functional.

Amazing info. and presentation:)

thank you for your reviews!

Got the super-multi-coated 55m 1,8 the other day as I was drawn by the focus ring! It looks almost identical to my K mount 55 1.8 of the same optical design, but the colours are a touch warmer even with auto white balance which seems to help with the greens on my Sony A7 mk1, and the operation of the lens is somewhat smoother and more satisfying. The aperture ring notably feels better.

Excellent watch as per usual Simon, lots of Tak bling, you have a lot to answer for Simon, my wife looks at my vintage kit and especially the flight case of neatly positioned Tak lenses from 20mm to 200mm and often asks what they all cost, I love being able to say ‘all together’ less than my single standard zoom on my camera 👌🤠

Fascinating video. Especially to learn that my yellowed Takumars might not be radioactive after all. Thanks. Edit: after a re-watch I have decided to buy your favourite one for that radioactive goodness. Bidding begun.

Information truly worth sharing. Thank you! I have been sorting through my Takumar lenses collected over the years and stuffed away. Now I am hauling them out. 2 are Super-Takumar 55/1.8 (sr: 3473295) and SMC Takumar (sn: 5604261). I think it's also time to start listing serial numbers of the Takumars we own should someone someday wish to start a database of such. While I own a couple of older Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic cameras (both in mint condition) I am not much of a film guy anymore. But I do shoot my Takumar lenses on my Sony A6600. Good stuff!

I'll take a Takumar over just about any bulky modern standard prime. They just feel absolutely beautiful, all the Takumar lenses I have still have perfectly smooth focussing without the need for regreasing. And the 55/1.8 in particular is super cheap.

I really appreciate your hard work and enthusiasm. You need to write a book and document all of this along with some pictures. I will be the first one to buy it. Happy to work on editing it with you in duringy free time:)

One thing to keep in mind is that (as you say) a lot of the high end Takumar lenses from that era had radioactive back elements. Not necessarily a problem, but something good to know when working with these old lenses. I own a couple of these lenses and the Geiger Counter goes crazy close to them. So you can use these lenses, but I wouldn't put them under my pillow for sleeping 😄

I really like my Super Mulit 55mm 1.8 Radioactive glass. It is my best Takumar lens. I use it frequently even though I have Sony GM glass as well.

Thank you for this great overview and comparison I boght the 72 SMC Takomar 1974 together with my Spotmatic F and used it a lot as I stayed at M42 until 2002 (using 2 ESII later too). I am not sure whether I had the SMC 50/1.4 for M42 too. Later I ran K-Mounts with a M50/1.4 some time...even to the digital SLR periode which starts for me in 2007 using the K10. Today on my digital K3 & K1 I usually use the DA55/1.8 (AF) and if I really want to have old 50/55mm glas today I got a Jena Tessar type 50/2.8 (not the same lens but the sysme iype I used from 72 until I switched to Pentax. On Film -if used - usually I use the 67.. and 55s there is a completely different story ;-)

I have the SMC 1.8 and I love it, especially for video.

Thank you for the review! I used to shoot fashion with SPII and ESII with Super--Multi-Coated and SMC Takumars. Both lenses are just fantastic! To be honest, If I looked at the images now I would't tell the difference. As to the radioactivity, please don't try to scare us: it is so insignificant, that doesn't fog the fastest film even if you leave it in the camera for weeks! I had another radioactive lens - a huge 7"/F2.5 Kodak Aero Ektar with almost brown glass. I shot jewellery and watches for Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines. The lens was taken from a WWII American bomber plane. It was the most beautifully drawing dreamy lens I have ever had. May be you are right: because of radioactivity?

I've got the 58 f2, the zebra, the auto takumar, and a super multi coated. I love the zebra and the 58mm. I'm all about the bokeh, and that sonnar is very interesting.

that was deep and very interesting. thank you

Thank you for this video. This video and others have truly helped me choosing M42 mount lenses to adapt to my Canon R7. Its been fun to adapt these 40 to 50 year old lenses to a very modern camera and have them work so well! I'm still waiting on most of the lenses I have bought to arrive, but the ones that have got here have performed so well! So smooth and solid and so different than modern lenses With this camera I have a mix or RF, EF and these M42 mount lenses. All so different! One of the best parts is the price of these M42's. Have you seen the prices of the New RF glass? Yikes! After watching this video I found a listing for three older lenses, a Pentax K mount Auto MC 28mm f2.8, a Super Multi-Coated Takumar and a Vivitar Komine 135mm f2.8 all for $35 plus shipping. The Super MC Takumar and the Vivitar 135 look to be in really nice condition. The K mount 28 is a bit unknown, but it could easily be in fine shape as well. And there is a K mount to EF adapter to be had. Anyhow, Thanks for all your great videos! You've been a wonderful help and inspiration!

I have my late uncles spotmatic sp2 and 55mm 1.8.. I think bought in much that basis!

Good series mate... I have the SMC 55 f/1.8 version. It's a great all around lens...

14:10 - I remember coming across the Pentax ads in the early 1970s in Time, Newsweek and Life magazines - they heavily promoted the anti-flare characteristics of the SMC lenses. I was about 10 or 11 at the time, way before my camera-buying days, but it did cause me to lust after the Spotmatic II for years afterwards.

I have a Pentax Super Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens that came along with a Pentax Spotmatic 35mm film SLR camera I bought a couple of years ago. The body and lens dates from 1969-1970 from what I can ascertain from the serial numbers. Images taken with that lens and camera very sharp with great contrast and excellent rich color rendition. Easily my best 'normal' focal length lens (and I have several Nikon 'normal' lenses..I'd put the Pentax up against those any time)

"Great vids from a collectors point of view! thanks for creating these informative video's I have just bought a pentax es2, a semi auto film camera that needs an smc lens to use the aperture priority, so I'm waiting for the smc 55mm f2 to turn up, look forward to playing around with it!👍

I have the Auto Takumar 55mm f1.8 (zebra). Its beautiful, especially if you consider how long its been around. One of the first lenses I bought when I started down this expensive path. Bought it more for how it looked , ended up loving the bokeh on it.

Another top quality video Thank you...Myself as of yet hasn't used any Pentax gear, looking to rectify that soon as my Yashica fetish subsides.