Vintage Lens Review | Super MC Takumar 35mm F2

A concise review after use with mirrorless cameras (sample images provided)

RREAD ME: Discover why I highly recommend these vintage lenses for your collection! This review series focuses not on technical specs, but on the lens’ unique character, quirks, and my personal experiences with each.

A review of the sister lens to this lens can be found here: Takumar 35mm F3.5

Impressions: I was expecting this to be a wider, less visually impressive counterpart to the famous Takumar 50mm F1.4 (review here), but was pleasantly surprised.

I would still say the 50mm Takumar is the must have for full frame shooters, but the 35mm F2 has to be a hidden gem for crop sensor cameras and their photographers. Giving you the 50mm equivalent, with easy manual focus, and sharp images even at F2, the 35mm is a forgiving but performing 35mm dream lens.

It’s not a crazy bokeh monster like a Helios or Zeiss, but it’s now my favorite vintage lens and it lives on my Leica CL.

Size/Weight: Width is about equal to the F3.5 version (that’s to say not large at all, using a 49mm front filter thread). Length is notably longer, maybe 30% longer than the F3.5 version. Weight is about the same as a 50mm Takumar, again, not…