A private site not affliliated or supported commercially. © David Rounsevell 2014 - Copying is for research or personal use at your own risk.
Graphics use with credits is permitted. Contacting the author by comment or message under any Blog page or search User "Droo" in Pentax forums.
All errors are mine.
Graphics use with credits is permitted. Contacting the author by comment or message under any Blog page or search User "Droo" in Pentax forums.
All errors are mine.
Takumar Field Guide (M42) / Takumarフィールドガイド(M42)
Takumar screw-mount enthusiasts.
HOW to use this site:
For fast general information go to Takumar Field Guide and check the 2024 Frequencies or Summaries on the lens group pages.
Alternatively, go to Takumarology (under Collection) for a quick tour of the range. A new Blog commenced in July 2020.
Earlier blog pages were removed and archived elsewhere. Refer to Acknowledgements for reflections on those issues
Otherwise take your time and dig into details. Most recent data is on the Lens pages but may be up to 12 months old.
Violet coloured Bold SN are from my own collection.
SCOPE
Takumar photographic lenses (M42x1mm thread) were made by 朝日(Asahi) Optical Company Ltd. in Japan from 1957-1977.
They are native to 朝日(Asahi) Pentax SLR film cameras, notably the Spotmatic, exported globally and sold in large numbers both domestically and abroad and very familiar to photographers around the world. Information about Takumars marketed only in Japan and their spare prototype legacy provides a wider historical context.
(The earlier Kogaku-Takumar lenses (M37x1mm) native to Asahiflex cameras made by this company from 1952-1956 are not included.)
From 1969 6x7 format Takumar and 67 Pentax lenses shared the same SN sequence with M42 Takumars. They have a P67 Field Guide which includes names "Takumar" and "Pentax".
PROGRESS
Takumar Field Guide :
For fast general information go to Takumar Field Guide and check the 2024 Frequencies or Summaries on the lens group pages.
Alternatively, go to Takumarology (under Collection) for a quick tour of the range. A new Blog commenced in July 2020.
Earlier blog pages were removed and archived elsewhere. Refer to Acknowledgements for reflections on those issues
Otherwise take your time and dig into details. Most recent data is on the Lens pages but may be up to 12 months old.
- A site for researchers in Japanese language is http://home.a00.itscom.net/shisan12/index.html
- Pentax lens designers names can be researched at the excellent Through The Viewfinder .
- A modern article on the evolution the M42 mount is posted on Pentax Forums atwww.pentaxforums.com/articles/photo-articles/the-evolution-of-the-pentax-m42-mount.html
Violet coloured Bold SN are from my own collection.
SCOPE
Takumar photographic lenses (M42x1mm thread) were made by 朝日(Asahi) Optical Company Ltd. in Japan from 1957-1977.
They are native to 朝日(Asahi) Pentax SLR film cameras, notably the Spotmatic, exported globally and sold in large numbers both domestically and abroad and very familiar to photographers around the world. Information about Takumars marketed only in Japan and their spare prototype legacy provides a wider historical context.
(The earlier Kogaku-Takumar lenses (M37x1mm) native to Asahiflex cameras made by this company from 1952-1956 are not included.)
From 1969 6x7 format Takumar and 67 Pentax lenses shared the same SN sequence with M42 Takumars. They have a P67 Field Guide which includes names "Takumar" and "Pentax".
PROGRESS
Takumar Field Guide :
- Numerical results (Summary and Batch data) for M42 lenses are progressively updated. 2024 frequencies for all are complete.
- Summary and Batch data for 6x7 format lenses are being added. After 1969 6x7 format Takumar and 67 Pentax lenses shared the same SN sequence with M42 Takumars.
- Takumarology contains quirky bits and overviews of interest to collectors.
BACKGROUND
- Takumar is the name Asahi Optical gave its lenses in 1952, initially, those made for its own SLR and early rangefinder (M37x1mm) cameras.
- It honours Takuma Kajiwara (梶原啄磨 Kajiwara Takuma), a Japanese-born portrait painter who lived in USA, whose brother Kumao Kajiware founded Asahi Optical.
- "Takumar" branded M42 screw mount lenses were used on 35mm and 6x7 Pentax cameras until 1977 when they were fitted with a bayonet K-mount, more suited to electronic couplings.
- K-mount lenses were branded "SMC Pentax" but "Takumar" re-appeared, briefly, on K-mount lenses for the final time several years later.
"Takumar Field Guide" will help you study and identify Takumar lenses and their legacy and may be useful to researchers and photographers generally.
Research for this site is ongoing. The collection of lenses and serial numbers* began in 2010.
*You are invited to inquire, comment, or share information, including serial numbers. I respond to all correspondence. Thank you.
Research for this site is ongoing. The collection of lenses and serial numbers* began in 2010.
*You are invited to inquire, comment, or share information, including serial numbers. I respond to all correspondence. Thank you.