SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5 M42 Lens

When I first started using manual focus lenses on my digital SRL, this was one of the first few lenses that I bought. Over the years, I have owned, then sold at least four of these lenses of various flavours, but it always comes back in my lens collection. It's like a lover who, doesn't matter how many times you break up with, always in your mind, and never forgotten.

There are good reasons why this lens is so lovable and hard to forget. Let me be frank, although it's a very good lens overall, it's not particularly excellent in any one aspect, except, perhaps, flare resistance. It's a lens that won't stir my emotions, but when I don't have it, the lack of its presences is always felt. It is, an almost perfect all around lens, from the affordability standpoint.

No one will NOT mention the craftsmanship when talking about Takumar lenses. These lenses are some of the best made lenses you can buy, without forking out a small fortune. The petite size, silky smooth focusing mechanism, excellent optical performance, and the exceptionally good flare resistance are trade marks of the SMC Takuamr lenses. If you have never owned a manual focus lens, you really should buy the most beat-up looking Takumar lens, and hold it in your hand, and you will realize what a well made lens is supposed to be like.

This SMC 28mm f3.5 lens share the same traits as the SMC versions of the 24mm f3.5 and the 35mm f3.5. All of the three lenses perform similarly. My current copy of the 28mm 3.5 is sharp across the frame at around f8. Very little to fault this lens, except maybe the smallish maximum aperture of f3.5, but alas, you can't have small and larger aperture at the same time.

When mated with its original rectangular metal hood, damn, it looks gorgeous too!


Full blossom at Osgoode Hall - Canon 5D & SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5. Embiggen.


Stairs -- Canon 5D & SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5.