So, after spending maybe-a-little-too-much time on eBay I’ve got 3 wide-angle M42 screw-mount lenses to choose from. I didn’t intend to get two 28mm lenses, but I bid on a couple of lenses where the descriptions were vague and the photos were out of focus – lucky I didn’t end up with a couple of paperweights I guess. Here they are together with the 35/3.5 Super Takumar I already had, for size comparison:
The diminutive 35/3.5 Super Takumar is on the right. In addition to being smaller, it’s a bit lighter than the others – nice for walking around. On the Rebel XT 35mm feels like 35 x 1.6 = 56mm due to the camera’s small sensor, a little longer than a 50mm ‘normal’ lens. The front element is recessed a bit, possibly making it flare-resistant without a hood. Here’s a sample photo from Boston:
The photo could probably benefit from a levels adjust, but it appears pretty sharp and the colors look good.
In the middle is a 28/3.5 Super Takumar from eBay. It’s a little bigger and quite a bit heavier, but still smallish on the Rebel XT. It’s just as fast (or slow) as the 35/3.5. On the Rebel XT and other 1.6-crop sensor cameras, a 28mm lens feels like about 45mm, so it’s still not really a wide angle lens, more like a wider normal lens. The front element is not recessed so a hood is a good idea to avoid stray rays. I didn’t get the vintage hood via eBay, but the rubber one I got seems easier to live with than that giant, square monstrosity. Here’s a sample photo from San Francisco:
It seems saturated but neutral, and relatively sharp.
On the left is a mystery so far. It’s a 28/2.8 and the manufacturer is apparently “D.O.”, which I’ve never heard of. It looks a lot like the Sears or JC Penny lenses I’ve seen around (here’s an example, probably older than mine), so it was probably made by some Japanese manufacturer. It’s a lot heavier than the others and quite a bit bigger too. On the Rebel XT it feels heavy but in terms of size fits well – it’s about the same size as the Canon 50/1.8. It’s got a rubbery focus grip instead of the ridged metal of the Takumars. In terms of fit and finish it feels just as good as the Takumars. The aperture dial runs opposite to the Takumars, which I thought might be confusing for stop-down metering but isn’t really. The lens isn’t recessed, so it should have the same flare issues without a hood as the 28/3.5. It uses 58mm filters, which are costlier than the 49mm ones the Super Takumars use. Here’s an example photo from West Virginia:
There’s no real difference from the 28/3.5 Super Takumar as far as I can tell. The only reason I’d choose one over the other would be convenience. A lot of Super Takumars have the same 49mm filter ring as these, making it possible to share filters, hoods, and lens caps. It’s nice to be able to use the same set of filters on all the lenses in your bag.
