Vintage Lens Review: Super Takumar 105mm (F2.8) First Impressions

This one’s all about the contrasts, isn’t it? The dry, twiggy branches frame the scene like they’re marking off a territory where nothing much happens — and yet those pops of yellow leaves say otherwise. Against the blur of the blue sky and distant mountains, it’s almost like nature’s reminder that even in the harshest places, something still finds a way to stand out.

About a year ago I was gifted two Super Takumar lenses on Thanksgiving. The gifter was someone I barely knew, but used to shoot professionally with Nikon film and dslr cameras.

He could tell, when my eyes popped out of my skull, that I already knew the “lore” behind the 50mm F1.4 Super Takumar lens he first showed me. The 50mm in question has a sort of unique feature in that it is technically radioactive. The lenses have a thorium isotope in one of the internal glass elements, giving any highlights caused by sunlight a gorgeous gold glow and halo. These thorium lenses are fairly easy to identify because they appear to have a yellow internal element. While some of the more anal photogrpahers would find this to be a defect, I have loved the creative doors this opens.

There is simply not a better sunset or lowlight campfire vintage lens if you like warm tones. Don’t take my word for it though, two of my best friends (and fellow photographers) have purchased their own after trying my lens just once. The words “woah, okay, I get it, and I need it” usually follow after someone trying out the Super Takumar 50mm F1.4.

However, this article is NOT about 50mm, but instead the 105mm F2.8.

The above is just to say, I have a bias, andI love the Takumar lenses. I own a…