Sven asked about his S-M-C Takumar 35/2.0 producing a
yellow color tint on the *istD.
I've got a Super Tak 35/2.0 (model 2) with the same problem.
Apparently it is pretty common for the glass in that lens
to go yellow with age in the S/T and S-M-C versions.
J.C. O'Connell suggested that the cure is to expose it to ultraviolet
light which will clear the yellowing. I put mine under a blacklight
at about 4 range for the life of the blacklight bulb (several weeks)
and that DID help. The sun, of course, puts out pretty strong
UV light so if you've got a sunny window that might be faster.
J.C. also says that the older Super Takumar 35/2.0 (67mm filter version,
much bigger lens) doesn't get this problem, and indeed my copy of
this older 35 does not. I also find the older lens a bit sharper at
the corners too, at the expense of no SMC and a lens the size of an
85/1.8. Thanks to J.C. for his advice!
It is almost certainly NOT the *istD and would show up on film too.
You might be able to compensate on film by putting a cooling light
blue color correction on film. You should be able to compensate with
the *istD by setting the color balance to something like incandenscent
(something lower than 5500 K anyway) so that it expects the yellow shift
that the lens produces. Photoshop might be able to compensate too--I've
got my curves automated to the point where I don't have to color balance
much anymore.
DJE
