Yellowed TAKUMAR

[marshm-3]

I have a yellowed 50mm f1:4 SUPER TAKUMAR. Will the effect be the same or similar on black & white film as a yellow filter?

 

[480sparky]

Technically, yes. But my concern would be any variations in the yellowing.

 

[jcdeboever]

I had one and I left it out in the sunlight for a spell and it got clear again. Rendering was a little better from what I could tell. Yellow filters are cheap.

 

[marshm-3]

I had known the cheap cost of yellow filters having purchased a few for my MAMIYA C33 lenses. I was however not certain how the yellowing would render black and white if at all. I will take the advice and set it in a sunny window for a few days. One further question, the lens that I have is a 50mm 1.4 SUPER TAKUMAR 7 element, does the coating appear not full yellow rather on the amber side? I may be confused as to appearance.

 

[petrochemist]

I had known the cheap cost of yellow filters having purchased a few for my MAMIYA C33 lenses. I was however not certain how the yellowing would render black and white if at all. I will take the advice and set it in a sunny window for a few days. One further question, the lens that I have is a 50mm 1.4 SUPER TAKUMAR 7 element, does the coating appear not full yellow rather on the amber side? I may be confused as to appearance.

That would be normal for a lens that's yellowed like this. I tend to consider the colour to be a mix of yellow & warming filters.

 

[dxqcanada]

Sounds like thoriated glass.

 

[nparsons13]

I had known the cheap cost of yellow filters having purchased a few for my MAMIYA C33 lenses. I was however not certain how the yellowing would render black and white if at all. I will take the advice and set it in a sunny window for a few days. One further question, the lens that I have is a 50mm 1.4 SUPER TAKUMAR 7 element, does the coating appear not full yellow rather on the amber side? I may be confused as to appearance.

I haven't tried it, but I've heard some folks say they use a yellowed lens to shoot b&w and don't need a yellow filter. But unless the yellowing is very dark it seems to me it probably won't have as much effect on b&w photos as a yellow filter. The color is more a smoky yellow, like tobacco smoke film. Anyway, if you set the lens in sunlight on a windowsill, put a layer of aluminum foil under it--to reflect the sun's rays back into it and protect your windowsill from possible sun damage. If the sunlight is especially strong, wrap the back and sides of the lens in foil to keep it from overheating and spreading helicoid grease where it shouldn't go. The cheap IKEA LED lamps will also do the job with less heat. Finally, the thorium that causes the yellowing is not a coating; it is a discoloring of the thoriated glass that makes up the rear three elements of the lens (see Radioactive Pentax Takumar lenses.). Coating coloration looks quite different from thorium discoloration (refer to the cited article again for photos).

 

[Pixeldawg1]

I have a yellowed 50mm f1:4 SUPER TAKUMAR. Will the effect be the same or similar on black & white film as a yellow filter?

If it is an SMC lens, the yellowing is supposed to be there. It is a coating that Pentax applied to make the colors more accurate. I used a Pentax LX as a working photojournalist and never noticed any difference between it and the Nikons I used afterward. Should be fine for black and white.

Mark