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Filmmaker’s lens: Super Takumar 50mm on Canon DSLR

16 Feb

www.videotestground.com This video examines the great Asahi Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens, focusing on how to use this lens for video on Canon DSLRs. I discuss some of the properties of the Super Takumar and the ways to mount the lens to a Canon DSLR such as 7D, 60D or t3i 600D. I also talk about mounting filters to the lens using the step up ring adapter. Super Tak is an exceptional, fast, inexpensive filmmaking lens which has been successfully used on a number of DSLR productions. Due to its low cost, the Super Tak has become a popular lens in many Canon EOS DSLR shooters’ kits. The lens excels at creating pleasing shallow depth of field, with characteristic bokeh effect. Super Tak is an excellent portrait lens, especially on 1.6x crop factor cameras such as 60D or t3i. Given the crop factor, the lens behaves like an 80mm (equivalent on 35mm camera), which looks amazing on close-ups of people. Super Tak is a very fast lens, exceptionally suited to low-light work. The lens opens to F1.4, while remaining amazingly sharp. I’ve compared the Super Takumar with Canon 50mm EF 1.8 lens, and the Super Tak wins hands down. The build quality of the Super Tak is ‘old-school’ solid, compared to Canon’s flimsy lens. I love the feel of Super Takumar’s focusing ring. I also love to have the f-stop ring on the lens. I do a bit of macro work with the Super Tak (with extension tubes), and the beauty of the all-manual lens is that I can control the aperture on the lens (I can’t control it
Video Rating: 5 / 5

 
 

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  1. kenneth mendez

    February 16, 2013 at 9:43 am

    is this lens radioactive???

     
  2. AFVMasters

    February 16, 2013 at 9:48 am

    Try the 55mm takumar its cheaper.

     
  3. Matt Bell

    February 16, 2013 at 9:58 am

    I have a T3i too! 😀
    Should I try and get the SMC Takumar? Instead of this one? I read somewhere that it has more layers of coating so that helps something? Plus it doesn’t get as yellow? Will sunlight UV kill the yellow color? It gives a nice affect but if I don’t want that 24/7. Please help?
    I went to your Site and Facebook /twitter you haven’t been on there lol
    Email me at lpfan_2 (at sign) yahoo dot com

     
  4. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 10:30 am

    Thanks. Old lenses do not have auto focusing motors, so AF confirm terminals are useless. It may be useful if you are trying to adapt a modern lens to a camera body of a different manufacturer. I almost never use auto focus, so I have no use for it in either way.

     
  5. gumdrops27

    February 16, 2013 at 11:23 am

    You can find adapters with AF confirm for $5 on ebay too. Oh and you have a cool accent haha.

     
  6. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 11:36 am

    This lens had 49mm filter diameter. If you already have good quality filters for lenses with larger diameter, just buy a “step up ring adapter” from 49mm to whatever diameter filter you have.

     
  7. E1iskater

    February 16, 2013 at 11:59 am

    What size ND /UV filter should I buy for this lens?

     
  8. Ian McPhee

    February 16, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    Awesome! I shall pick one up presently. Looking forward to seeing what it’s capable of.

     
  9. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    It’s true. Some glass elements in these lenses are slightly radioactive. Unless you keep the lens glass directly pressed against your eye for about a year at a time, it shouldn’t be a problem. A lot of food we eat has radioactive potassium-40 and radium-226 in it. Flying by airplane exposes you to about 10 mrem of cosmic radiation, roughly the same as a chest X-ray.

     
  10. Ian McPhee

    February 16, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    Is it true some of these Takumar lenses are actually radioactive? Is it safe?

     
  11. E1iskater

    February 16, 2013 at 2:22 pm

    where did you find it for $5 lol?

     
  12. JHuntPhotography

    February 16, 2013 at 3:14 pm

    Great information!

     
  13. officialspaceefrain

    February 16, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    sell it to me… honey.

     
  14. microdac

    February 16, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    Excellent information. Thank you very much!

     
  15. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    Great job! Use the power wisely. I’ve put mine to some serious use, even on a couple of commercial shoots for close ups of people’s faces. It’s a great lens.

     
  16. Xander Shabe

    February 16, 2013 at 5:04 pm

    Picked up one of these babies for $5 :’D

     
  17. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    Yes, that is true. Takumars are well known to be radioactive lenses. Many other photographic items are slightly radioactive, such as some brushes used to clean lenses etc.

     
  18. Hunter Lee

    February 16, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    I took a Geiger counter to mine and it is radioactive! I found out this is because of a thorium coating coating used on the glass. Overall this radioactivity gives your pictures a yellow tint… still like to use the lens!

     
  19. v r

    February 16, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    Cool — there is a nice way to use that old lens — convert it to a Macro lens! Thanks for the tip.

     
  20. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 7:18 pm

    I use Canon EF 28 – 135mm as the all around lens. This lens is relatively inexpensive, and of ok quality (it’s a very basic lens, nothing spectacular). The problem with that lens is that it lacks the wide angle range (it’s designed for a full-frame sensor camera, and 28mm is not very wide on 1.6x crop factor camera). I get away with using it because I also have a Tokina ATX-Pro 11-16mm as the wide angle lens. 

     
  21. byronkwoo

    February 16, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    What do you recommend for an all around lens?

     
  22. RICHY MARK NORMAN

    February 16, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    Hi there,that lens you would be talking about has the canon F.D mount..adapters are also available …they are canonF.D to EOS. adapters.If you want to use your lens with an adapter it will still be suitable with macro.You will not though be able to use your lens with every day photography such as portraits as since this adapter pushes the lens further from the cameras sensor your depth of field view will be out.For macro it will be fine as the adapter will work like a mini extender…cheers

     
  23. RICHY MARK NORMAN

    February 16, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    Very well described….thank you for posting cheers..

     
  24. videotestground

    February 16, 2013 at 10:07 pm

    If it’s a very old Canon lens, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Canon changed the mount system in the 90s (maybe late 80s?), and only EOS lenses fit EOS bodies. Older Canon mount lenses won’t work. Older Nikon lenses or Pentax lenses generally work fine on EOS bodies with an adapter. It has to do with the depth of the rear mount.

     
  25. TheSoviish

    February 16, 2013 at 10:26 pm

    i have a canon a-1 very old lens, and i was wondering if that macro that that i have for my canon a-1 will fit on a 60d or a eos dslr in general