A very bright sunny day session with a legacy Takumar-A 28mm f/2.8, from a series of budget-friendly manual focus lenses manufactured for Pentax K-mount SLR cameras between 1984 and 1988, mounted on an equally vintage Pentax APS-C digital SLR camera, Pentax K-m (K2000 in the US), released in 2008.
Takumar-A lenses, acknowledged with excellent build quality, sharp image rendering, and unique 'character', are a simplified version of older Takumar lenses with lighter build quality and less elaborate coatings, and carry the 'A' designation to indicate that they can be used in full aperture- and shutter-priority, program, and manual exposure modes on compatible cameras.
The 7-element in 7 group lens, featuring a 5-blade automatic diaphragm, shares the same optical formula as the SMC Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, except without the Super-Multi-Coating (SMC) option. The lens has a 49 mm filter thread, a minimum focus distance of 0.3 m, measures 63 × 37 mm, and weighs 180 grams.
On the Pentax K-m, the Takumar-A 28mm f/2.8 is equivalent to a 42mm prime on a 35mm full-frame camera, a focal length still considered as the "sweet-spot lens for photography," with images that offer natural perspective, minimal distortion, and high versatility for street, portrait, and travel. The lens enjoys a Sharpness rating of 8.5, an Aberrations rating of 8.8, a Bokeh rating of 7.8, a Handling rating of 8.8, and a Value rating of 9.8 on PentaxForums.
Despite lacking SMC, the Takumar‑A 28 mm f/2.8 controls flare and ghosting better than many older designs, with contrast holding up reasonably well even when shooting into the sun. Saturation and color are typically described as neutral‑to‑slightly warm, with a pleasant vintage look that doesn’t turn gaudy on modern sensors.
Though considered a budget option series, Takumar-A lenses are still comparable in performance to the others and should do well for manual focus users and enthusiasts who work both in manual and auto exposure modes. These lenses are compatible with modern digital Pentax DSLRs as well, and as they are often listed at lower prices, they are the non-SMC alternative with similar performance. The lenses were also sold as Cosmicar and Takumar Bayonet in some markets.
The Pentax K-m (K2000), on which the Takumar-A 28mm f/2.8 was mounted for this bright sunny day run, is a compact, entry-level 10.2-megapixel APS-C DSLR designed for beginners, and comes with features including an in-body Shake Reduction system, a 2.7-inch LCD, and a 3.5 fps continuous shooting rate. The camera is lauded for its small size, user-friendliness, and compatibility with numerous K-mount lenses, and runs on 4x AA batteries.
Compared to the K200D (2008), the camera on which the K-m (K2000) was based, the K-m is a smaller, lighter, and is the faster-shooting successor. While both share the same 10.2MP CCD sensor, the K-m (K2000) is not weather sealed, has no top LCD panel, and has no dedicated RAW button.
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