Finally Got A Telephoto Lens

"Raphael Orlove" (orlove) 09/03/2015 at 13:58 • Filed to: Ugh shut up about cameras already, stop spending money on old crap, photography

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It is very fun to get used to.

Got myself a Takumar 300mm f4 around the corner at Adorama for a bit over a hundred bucks. It was listed as damaged, but the thing looks absolutely brand new all around. I think they had it marked down because the carrying case it came with has a futzy latch.

I’ve gotten to shoot on it at two tracks so far and it’s still taking some getting used to, but it’s real fun, and I finally feel like my lens kit is complete. I’ve got everything from 16mm up to 300 now on M42 screw mounts, and I’ve got an 8mm fisheye for my Canon, too.

Looking forward to messing with this thing more.

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CB > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:00

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Nice!

Also, just want to say that I really enjoyed your piece on the plague today.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:08

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More importantly, it looks like you’ve got yourself a W154 there. Toto and Lewis going to let you drive it?

Textured Soy Protein > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:08

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But is it a Super Takumar, or a Super Multi-Coated Takumar?

(Either way, watch out for purple fringing. Simple enough to correct in Photoshop.)

Raphael Orlove > CB 09/03/2015 at 14:09

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thanks man! I don’t even know how long I’ve been working on it. We got art for it all the way back in the first week of March. I was probably writing and researching back in February.

Manic Otti > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:14

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Woah. That’s very telephoto-y.

KylesPerGallon > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:16

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i think the important thing is knowing how to use it. But seeing that shot it looks like you’re already up to speed.

I rented the lenses I had and only got a couple shots I really liked.

cazzyodo > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:21

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Nice, man. I need to get myself a macro lens...I’m an absolute sucker for some close up detail shots.

Anima > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:35

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Nice! Getting a 70-300 Tamron lens for days at the track was one of the best choices I’ve made.

It’s still surprising me sometimes what you can get out of a cheap lens and a d3100.

mitology > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:42

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awesome shot dude, will we be seeing any more of these?

RWS Motorsport > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 14:44

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Happy days, welcome to the club :) no more will you have to be up close to bedroom windows race tracks to get a good shot.

plus that length can shoot through fences quite easily provided your nice and close to the fence.

Enjoy!

Adventures with Cars > Anima 09/03/2015 at 14:45

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I have the Tamron 70-300 mm too and you’re absolutely right: it does a fantastic job at the track.

Anima > Adventures with Cars 09/03/2015 at 15:08

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Yeah, little fuzzy above 270-280mm but damn.. for a 160 bucks, what more can you ask for.

Le Monstre > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 09/03/2015 at 15:10

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This particular car is from the Collier Collection. I believe this will be attending the Lime Rock Historics this Labor Day Weekend.

Raphael Orlove > Textured Soy Protein 09/03/2015 at 15:31

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I believe it is the later Super-Multi-Coated version. It’s got the auto switch on the side.

Raphael Orlove > mitology 09/03/2015 at 15:35

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I think so!

NoahthePorscheGuy > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 15:49

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Awesome. I’ve got a Cannon 100-400 telephoto zoom that is the absolute best. If your ever in Cali for something at Laguna stop by SLO and i’ll let you borrow it.

Textured Soy Protein > Raphael Orlove 09/03/2015 at 16:14

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It’ll say so on the front. ;)

Raphael Orlove > Textured Soy Protein 09/03/2015 at 17:09

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oh duh. I’ll check when I’m home.

BobintheMtns > Anima 09/03/2015 at 22:13

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Did you take the red daytona photo?

Anima > BobintheMtns 09/04/2015 at 10:24

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Yeah, at Zandvoort earlier this year.

Raphael Orlove > Textured Soy Protein 09/04/2015 at 17:12

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just a super takumar, not the multi coated, as it turns out

Textured Soy Protein > Raphael Orlove 09/04/2015 at 17:29

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I wouldn’t worry too much about it, the Super Takumar still has some lens coatings, just not the later Pentax SMC coating. Otherwise they’re the same optical formula. The only other difference is the mechanical coupling from the aperture ring to the camera’s light meter, but that only matters if you’re using it on a screw-mount body. If you’re using it with an adapter on a digital body I doubt that makes any sort of difference.

Both versions are sometimes prone to fringing. Looking at the shot you posted above, if you look for fringing you can see some purple fringing on the car’s tires, and the hood louvers. There’s some green fringing on that concrete barrier and that out-of-focus white line off in the distance. None of it is particularly offensive, and the SMC version still suffers from the same issue.

If you shoot raw, the RAW conversion in Photoshop gives you a check-box for “remove chromatic aberration” which should fix these issues automatically. I can’t remember what exact screen this button is on because I’m at work and my computer with Photoshop on it is at home.

BobintheMtns > Anima 09/04/2015 at 22:27

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That’s a great shot..

Anima > BobintheMtns 09/05/2015 at 13:46

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Thank you!

Here are some more from that day.

If you want even more shots, click the Zandvoort tag. There are some more photodumps out there from other times at the track.