Asahi Pentax Takumar 85mm 1.8

by bollywoodmovie · Published January 19, 2014 · Updated June 21, 2019

The Asahi Pentax Takumar 85mm 1.8 Super-Multi-Coated is a fast portraiture lens that offers great sharpness, a good bokeh paired with above average build quality. As all the other Takumar lenses it has great ergonomics and is a joy to shoot. Its’ main competitor is certainly the Carl Zeiss 1.8 80mm Pancolar.

Recommendation

PROs:

- - - excellent bookeh
    - very sharp, also in the corners
    - fast lens
    - solid metal construction
    - superb ergonomics
    - infinity focus works on Canon DSLR

The 85mm Takumar is a classic portraiture lens that offers both stunningly sharp images and a superb bokeh. It is probably the best Takumar lens along with the 1.4 50mm Takumar.

It is very sharp even when shot wide open. At f1.8 it can handle most available light shots. Its’ bokeh is really amazing.

The focusing is very precise. The all metal and glass construction really sets standards in terms of build quality. It is a joy to shoot with. Personally I prefer the 1.8 85mm Takumar over the Carl Zeiss Jena 1.8 80mm.

CONs:

- - - expensive
    - hard to find
    - heavy all metal construction

85mm Takumar is regarded as the best lens in the Takumar line up and as one of the best lenses in its’ focal length range. As such it has become very collectable and it is not available for a bargain price. Lenses using the Pentax-K mount tend to be a bit cheaper.

As the Takumar 85mm is a solid all metal construction it is also a bit heavy. This does not make it very suitable to shoot on compact cameras such as micro 4/3 systems.