----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Sanderson" Subject: RE: What series lens do I have?
Thanks Jens, it's incomplete but Boz's page has the rest for those who want to go real deep. I almost just referred to that page but I know for me it was (and sometimes still is!) TOO detailed to get a simple answer.
For those who want to look at this great site, it's here: http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/
Quoted from Mike Johnston:
I think I'll answer this, since it also caused me a good deal of confusion
at first. Here's a brief history of the basic 35mm Asahi Pentax lens names.
There are a number of specialty lenses with different designations that I've
omitted for the sake of clarity.
1952: Takumar lenses. Allegedly named after a man named Takuma Kajiwara, who
was either a Japanese painter [Comen], or "a Japanese photographer who lived
in New York in the 1950's [sic]...a personal friend of George Eastman, the
founder of Eastman Kodak Co. It's reported Mr. Kajiwara designed the early
Takumar lenses" [Jonkman]. These were M42 screwmount lenses. The M42
screwmount was a German invention that came to be known as "Pentax
screwmount" because Asahi made the most popular camera line to use it. It is
distinct from the Leica screwmount, which Marc James Small dubbed "LTM"
(Leica Thread Mount). Many enlarger lenses still use Leica screwmount, and
recent years have seen the first new Leica screwmount lenses in decades,
made by Cosina under the Voigtlaender name. There are no current-production
M42 screwmount lenses that I know of.
1958: a series of semi-automatic lenses called "Auto-Takumar." M42 screwmount.
1963: The "Super-Takumar" line. M42 screwmount.
1971: The "Super-Multi-Coated Takumar" line. M42 screwmount. Introduced with
the Spotmatic SPII. These lenses had early multicoating nearly identical to
Zeiss T* coating, and linkages for open-aperture metering with the Spotmatic
F. Early versions had metal knurled focusing rings and the words
"Super-Multi-Coated" spelled out on the front of the lens. Later versions
switched to a rubberized focusing rings and were marked "SMC Takumar."
Note that both "Super-Multi-Coated Takumar" and "SMC Takumar" lenses are
often both indiscriminately called "SMCT" and "SMC Takumar." People should
really be specific and either spell out the name of the earlier lenses or
else abbreviate it "S.-M.-C. Takumar" to distinguish earlier from later
versions.
1975: Pentax switched from M42 screwmount to the "K" bayonet mount. The
Pentax screwmount had been universal, with many manufacturers making lenses
that would fit any M42 camera; Pentax attempted to do the same with the K
mount, leaving the patent open to anyone who wanted to use it--and bucking
the trend towards proprietary bayonet mounts. Consequently, a number of
smaller manufacturers also used the Pentax K-mount. Despite this, it never
really achieved universal status.
The early Pentax K-mount lenses are called "SMC Pentax" lenses and are
briefly referred to as "K" lenses. Many carried over from the last of the
M42 lenses and are very fine lenses optically and mechanically. They were
contemporaneous with the first three Pentax K-mount cameras, called the KX,
KM, and K2.
1977: A lens line introduced for the compact M bodies. They are smaller than
the SMC Pentax lenses and are generally neither quite as good optically nor
quite as nicely built, although they are mostly still of very fine quality
and very well-made. They are marked "SMC Pentax-M," abbreviated "SMCP-M" and
referred to briefly as "M" lenses.
Although they are K-mount lenses, they are NOT "K" lenses, an appellation
which refers to the SMC Pentax line.
1983: A line of lenses usable with program mode, marked "SMC Pentax-A,"
abbreviated "SMCP-A" and referred to as "A" lenses. Although they are
generally slightly better than the M lenses optically, they are generally
not quite as well made. They are the first Pentax lenses that more or less
lacked the legendary smooth focusing feel of the Super Takumars.
1987: F lenses. The first autofocus line. Compatible with the K-mount.
1991: FA lenses. The current autofocus line, also compatible with the K-mount.
1997 (? someone correct me if I'm wrong): The Limited lenses. Designed for
an autofocus rangefinder that was shelved. FA lenses with metal barrels sold
as premium, deluxe autofocus lenses with metal barrels, they are in fact NOT
"limited," but are regular stock items. There are now three, all with
unusual focal lengths: the 43mm, the 77mm, and the 31mm.
So, to recap, it looks like this:
M42 screwmount lens series: ================== 1952: Takumars 1958: Auto-Takumars 1963: Super-Takumars 1971: Super-Multi-Coated Takumars, later ones marked SMC Takumar
K-mount lens series: ============ 1975: SMC Pentax lenses, also called K lenses 1977: M lens line 1983: A lens line
Autofocus lens series: ============= 1987: F autofocus lenses 1991: FA autofocus lenses 1997(?): Limited (FA) lenses
Hope that's all clear. If I've made any mistakes in this, please, folks,
don't be shy about setting me straight (like I need to say that <g>).
--Mike
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