RE: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
I worked for Honeywell when they were the importer for both Pentax and Rollei. While I worked in a totally different part of the company I did enjoy the employee pricing. jm From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List pdml@pdml.net To: 'Pentax-Discuss Mail List' pdml@pdml.net Subject: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 13:04:42 -0500 Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
J. C. O'Connell wrote: Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
On 14/02/07, mike wilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? Most 20mm lenses were pretty ordinary at that stage in lens development so I guess they made spec ;-) -- Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~distudio//publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
Digital Image Studio wrote: On 14/02/07, mike wilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? Most 20mm lenses were pretty ordinary at that stage in lens development so I guess they made spec ;-) Precisely. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
They tested lenses against their design specifications. Not the designs themselves... mike wilson wrote: J. C. O'Connell wrote: Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- -- The more I know of men, the more I like my dog. -- Anne Louise Germaine de Stael -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
At least all the bow wows were the same bow wows. :) I am sure every lens had different design and test specifications. The problem with the bow wow 20mm was mostly geometry which is by optical design, not assembly tolerances. I bet they most likely were only doing resolution tests, not geometry tests anyway. Dont forget either that when the 20mm super tak was introduced, it was the widest rectilinear lens they had ever made and they probably thought it was acceptable for the extreme focal length it offered...Not to me it isnt, but at least thats the only bow wow they really ever made in M42 super/ smc takumar series. Even their early zooms were better than that. jco -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mike wilson Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 5:03 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? J. C. O'Connell wrote: Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
yes, but so were zoom lenses when pentax introduced their first zooms but Pentax first zooms are excellent and dont bark. I still say they screwed up on that first 20mm. jco -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mike wilson Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 5:22 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? Digital Image Studio wrote: On 14/02/07, mike wilson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How did the 20mm(?) (alleged) Bow-wow get through that? Most 20mm lenses were pretty ordinary at that stage in lens development so I guess they made spec ;-) Precisely. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
Hey JCO, if you love Taks so much, would you be at all interested in buying the ones I listed for sale last weekend? The fish-eye, at least, appears to be pretty rare. John -- http://www.neovenator.com http://www.cafepress.com/neovenatorphoto - Original Message - From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Pentax-Discuss Mail List' pdml@pdml.net Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 10:04 AM Subject: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
RE: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good?
hey, guess you missed my earilier posts stating I already have an entire set of the super multi coated takumars. I think I finished collecting those about 5 years ago. Thanks for the heads-up though. jco -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of John Celio Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 12:38 AM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? Hey JCO, if you love Taks so much, would you be at all interested in buying the ones I listed for sale last weekend? The fish-eye, at least, appears to be pretty rare. John -- http://www.neovenator.com http://www.cafepress.com/neovenatorphoto - Original Message - From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Pentax-Discuss Mail List' pdml@pdml.net Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 10:04 AM Subject: Why Pentax Takumar Screw lenses were/are all so good? Nobody came up with the answer to my quiz why the Pentax Takumar Screw mount lenses were/are all so good? Answer : They were 200% optical bench tested before being sold in USA. Thats right, 200%. Every single final assembled Takumar Lens was optically bench tested at the Asahi factory in Japan before being imported into the USA by Honeywell. THEN, once Honeywell got them, Every single lens was optically bench tested AGAIN by Honeywell before being put for sale in USA. This is why ( along with the superb build quality ) there is such consistant high optical quality for these lenses as the dogs were all rejected in the process. I doubt that many lenses today are subjected to such high quality control. I am sure expensive ones still are, but not the entire lens series. It would be way too costly in today's market I would especially when the build quality of many lenses ( especially budget models ) would create more rejects. This brings up another thought, wouldnt it have been cool to work in that test dept and have a company discount to purchase the lenses? I mean, if a given lens had to meet say, 75 lp/mm to pass test, and they typically ran say, 80 to 85 lp/mm, what would be cool would be to sit aside and buy the occasional 90 to 95 lp/mm lens that might have squeaked thru once in a while. Employees get to buy the gems so to speak! I wonder if this actually occured, or maybe Pentax or Honeywell permitted it? That would interesting to find out. jco -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
