Since there is a lot of experience on this list, I thought I would ask for opinions on the original 8 element Super Takumar 50mm f1.4. There are various stories (and or theories) on this lens and I'm not sure what to believe. Some say that this was a Pentax loss-leader and designed to equal or better the Zeiss Planar. They eventually changed to a 7 element design that was "good enough" and saved money. Others say that the 7 element design was an improvement over the 8 and that with coatings improvements the later ones are the best of the bunch.
Does anybody know which story is the true one (and is there an authoritative source)? Also, if anyone has done any comparisons and feels strongly about the early design (good or bad) I'd love to hear experiences. -- "Photography is a Bastard left by Science on the Doorstep of Art" - Peter Galassi -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
