Takumar, Asahi 2/58mm | Analogue camera

The Takumar 58 mm f/2,

It is a rare and historically important standard lens introduced in 1957 for the M42 screw mount, designed to accompany the original Asahi Pentax (AP) SLR. It was one of the first fast lenses offered by Asahi Optical Co., and the only Takumar to use a Sonnar-type optical formula, a design more commonly associated with Zeiss. Produced for only about a year, it was quickly superseded by the more conventional 55 mm double-Gauss designs, which makes surviving copies highly collectible today.

The lens features a 6-element arrangement and a preset aperture with 10 blades, stopping down to f/22. It can focus as close as 60 cm, offers a 0.12× magnification ratio, and uses a 46 mm filter thread. The lens weighs about 160 g, measures roughly 55 × 33 mm, and includes a preset double-ring mechanism — one ring to adjust the aperture, the other to open and close it for metering and focusing. The construction is all-metal, with a chrome and black finish, and the engraved name reads as “Takumar 1:2 f=58mm”. There is no internal focusing, no automatic aperture coupling, and no infrared index. A rare all-black variant also exists.

In use, the Takumar 58 mm f/2 is celebrated for its creamy, painterly bokeh, its soft contrast, and its distinctive rendering that gives images a subtle 3D feel. Although not razor-sharp in clinical terms, it rewards careful focusing and excels in portrait and artistic photography.

It is a rare, collectible gem. It is gorgeous and in very good cosmetic condition.