The Super Takumar 135mm lens, manufactured by Asahi Optical Company (Pentax), is the latest addition in my kit. This prime lens has a good quality build, great results and a low price tag on markets such as Amazon. With a 135mm focal length and an aperture as wide as f2.5, it is an ideal quick lens for both street photography and wildlife. While the Super Takumar 135mm provides an aperture as wide as f2.5, the forced manual focus can make it quite tricky to use for the new user. Closing the aperture down a step to f4.0 – while slightly slower – will make the lens much easier to handle and will provide more consistent in-focus results. Those bokeh fanatics out there will also be delighted at the smooth blurring that this Super Takumar 135mm has at a range of wide apertures. See below for a selection of photos shot in the f2.5 to f4 range. 
The physical build of the Super Takumar 135mm lens is also quite nice, consisting of a heavier metal casing rather than a plastic one which is used on many of todays lenses. The ability to manually change the aperture with the ring slider is also a nice step back to the pre-DSLR days. Compatibility with modern DSLR cameras: The Super Takumar 135mm lens comes in 2 different mounts being the M42 and Bayonet. Both mount types are compatible with Canon and Nikon camera bodies, however they will require a lens mount adapter which can be found for as cheap as $10. Note: the bayonet mount type lens will not be directly compatible with full frame sensor camera bodies from Canon, however the lens can be made compatible by trimming the Bayonet mount clip (this wil not effect the performance of the lens).
