So it’s ‘What If I…’ Wednesday yet again, and as promised here is part two of my first challenge last week; ‘What if I tried my old vintage lenses on my Fujifilm X-T3?’
So this week we’re looking at the Pentax Asahi SMC TAKUMAR 50mm f1.4 , M42 mount lens (of course with my lens adapter for the X-T3!)
“WHAT IF I TRIED MY OLD VINTAGE LENSES ON MY FUJIFILM X-T3?” – PART 2
Pentax Asahi SMC TAKUMAR 50mm F1.4 M42 mount
Another beast from the East, this time it’s this Pentax beauty from Japan! I can’t tell you how much I love this lens, I pretty much shot my whole trip to Bali in black and white with this lens! To show this gem at its finest, I put it to work in the garden just like I did my with my Russian Helios. But this time I decided to take it to my neighbours garden next door. It’s both an oasis and wonderland!
Above left: This gorgeous white pom-pom flower of a plant was utterly enchanting! Above Right: Getting in close for the smaller details and getting some bokeh action in the background as well
My neighbours’ garden is like a homage to the colour green with accents of white and some dashes of pink. Every green you can imagine, with so many varying textures made for quite the botanical tapestry. Varying heights, sizes of blooms, stems and leaves all give this garden a depth that is utterly beguiling. There was one particular white dream of a plant that stood out amongst the gallery of green. With its long and flexible limbs, it bowed graciously back and forth in the southerly wind that kissed the plants around the open courtyard. Adorned with flowers the size of bees encircling their stems in seemingly fleecy spheres, this angelic plant is utterly enchanting and I’m determined to find out what it is! (Ps. If anyone knows, please let me know!)
The original plan was to photograph the water lily that I had noticed yesterday in the pond, but upon my return this morning, it had most definitely closed up shop until the full sun shone upon it again. Alas, the lily pads alone were enough and a good subject to test out the apertures of my vintage Pentax lens.
Above left: Yet another plant of which I don’t know the name, but look at that flower head! Above right: The heavenly array of lily pad greens that blanket the surface of the pond.
A quick mosie around to the side of the house brought me to the vegetable garden. It’s quite boggling. Green beans, chillies, Lebanese Eggplants (Aubergines), cherry tomatoes, zucchinis, herbs, the list goes on. I think we’ve had nearly three punnets worth of cherry tomatoes this week, so it was a pleasure to find that there was bevvy of this baby-sized eggplants ripe for the picking!
I fell in love with their dark and broody plum-coloured skins, and how they shone in the mid-morning sun. It really wasn’t long before I was salivating at the thought of how to cook them… Japanese ‘yakitori’ style on the grill with some toasted sesame seeds…
Sorry, I get carried away when I think of Japanese food, can you blame me? I didn’t think so, hehe.
I really did like using this lens, and with a wide aperture of F1.4, manual focusing provided another little challenge. In comparison to the Russian Helios, it was a little harder to use and in terms of being able to compose a shot and focus quickly, I would choose the Helios first over the Pentax. That said though, I could really notice the difference between the Pentax’s F1.4 and the Helios’ F2. In the future, I think I’ll use the Pentax a bit more with a tripod, for more of kind of ‘nature portrait’.
I’m really glad I challenged myself to use these vintage lenses again. I think it really reminded me of the importance of composing a shot correctly and setting everything up yourself. It took me back to when I first got into photography over 20 years ago, and I was only using manual settings and shooting film (of course!).
What’s your favourite vintage lens? Let me know!
