Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4

Personal

Taken with a Nikon Z6 III and a Nikkor Z 50mm MC f/2.8

Here it is — the first full manual focus lens I have personally owned in my life! Although I have tried manual focusing while shooting before, it was mainly for video work — fun times! I relied on manual focus because the autofocus for video on the D750 was really sluggish. On top of that, there was no IBIS (in-body image stabilization), so I had to use a gimbal, which made my job even tougher! LOL. I managed to pull it off anyway, and the results turned out pretty good, even if it took lots of takes sometimes!

Fast forward to today, I inherited this legendary piece of glass from a family member who passed away. It came mounted on a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic film camera. Unfortunately, I accidentally damaged the rewind lever while trying to figure out how to use it. Shame on me 😦

I plan to have the Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic restored so I can use it one day, but for now, I couldn’t resist trying this lens on a mirrorless camera after stumbling upon an adapter on Amazon. It’s called an M42 to Z lens mount adapter. It costs about $23 with a 12% discount at the time of writing. If you are interested in the exact model I used, just comment below and I’ll send you the link.

I played around with this lens for a couple of days and, boy, I loved the results! To be honest, I struggled with manual focusing at first, mainly because of its wide f/1.4 aperture and, of course, my lack of skill when it comes to manually focusing for photography!

It has been a while since I had this kind of reaction to a lens. The last time I felt this way was when I used the Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 AF-D. Although that lens was made for film, it autofocuses really well on a DSLR and is tack sharp! Plus, the contrast it produces is something I have not seen anywhere else.

Anyhow, I’ll let you be the judge after seeing the photos I took and decide whether the results meet your standards, eh?

By the way, I think my copy is radioactive. It has that yellow/brown tint on the front element caused by the thorium coating breaking down over time. Also, as you’ll see below, the photos came out really warm! I had to compensate by dialling my white balance down to around 4141 Kelvin or even lower. I’ve also read somewhere that the thorium coating actually helps make the images look sharper. Nice!

All images were edited from Z6 III RAW files into JPEGs with only minimal adjustments — mainly Exposure, White Balance, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, and Brightness using Capture One. However, I did include one bonus photo where I applied some color grading. I just had to see whether this lens could be a good addition to bring along for a real shoot in the future 🙂

**“The Portrait Parfait” –** Nikon Z? paired with a Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S. Photo taken with Nikon Z6 III mounted with the legendary Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 by Asahi Optical Co.

Photo taken inside Max’s restaurant in Edmonton

Photo above and below is to test how the lens handled lines and seems to be controlled well although there is a slight tilt into it but not to the extremes like an ultra wide lens have.

Alright, I can’t wait to test this out on portraits! After all, it is a 50mm which is a good focal length for portraits.

Remember, I did tell you about the white balance shifts when using this lens? Well, below, the two images will show you how widely the color shifts vary from each other.

**Taken with a Tamron 14-30mm f/2.8 G2**

**Adjusted the White Balance here in post to match the rest of the photos**

And, now some photos of the actual lens itself. Notice the brown tint at the front element of the lens? Also, I found a serial number at the bottom of the Manual/Auto Aperture switch and from what I read, it is said that this too will tell if the lens is radioactive.

Finally, the photo in which I made some minor colour grading in post to compensate for some of those greenish shadows and super warm highlights…

I guess that’s it for today. I hope the sample images I took will help you learn more about the Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4.

I hope to see you in my next post!

Photography: Chris Carino of Creativity Photo© |Edmonton, AB|May 2026

All images/photos posted here are protected by copyright laws and may not be altered, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of the photographer/s and the company or in the case of third-party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel,

Revelstoke, British Columbia

Personal, Travel

Howdy, y’all!

It has been a very long time indeed since my last post… I honestly don’t know where to begin, but one thing’s for sure — I have lots to share!

Let’s start with our recent vacation in a small town called Revelstoke, in British Columbia.

The drive wasn’t too shabby. I do kind of miss the wide roads of Alberta, but nevertheless, it was scenic and amazing! The town itself was beautiful and far less crowded compared to other places. It might be a small town, but Revelstoke holds many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered!

Without further ado, I’ll let the photos show you the places we visited. I’ll also be featuring some of the food spots we checked out–from now on going forward– so stick around a little longer to see some of the delicious dishes I captured. Who knows, you might find yourself in this town one day, wondering where to eat, eh?

Anyway, I really appreciate your visit. Thanks for dropping by, and I hope to see you again in my next post (coming soon)!

Revelstoke, British Columbia, Photography, Travel

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Toyota Canada, Toyota CHR — The street leading to the Railway Museum, Revelstoke, British Columbia

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Alpine Inn and Suites, Revelstoke — Another view from a road stop at Mount Revelstoke National Park

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Giant Cedars Boardwalk — Giant Cedars Boardwalk

Alt Text: Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Giant Cedars Boardwalk — Trails in the Giant Cedars Boardwalk

Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Giant Cedars Boardwalk, Giant Cedars — One of the Giant Cedar tree at Giant Cedars Boardwalk, Revelstoke, British Columbia

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Giant Cedars Boardwalk, Giant Cedars — Giant Cedars Boardwalk, Revelstoke, British Columbia

Mount Revelstoke, Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia, Canada, Photography, Travel, Giant Cedars Boardwalk, Giant Cedars, Devil's Club — The Devil’s Club plant is quite abundant at this place.

Revelstoke Museum and Archives, British Columbia, Photography, Travel — We stopped by to see the Revelstoke Museum and Archives before we went to find a place to eat. 🙂

Revestoke, British Columbia, Food, Restaurant, Korean cuisine, Asian food — We stopped by at this restaurant just across the museum.

Seoul Street at Revelstoke, British Columbia, Restaurants in Revelstoke, Korean food, Asian cuisine, Food photography, travel BC — “I went with the ‘Jeyook’ — spicy marinated pork, stir-fried veggies, and rice all cozy in a bowl. A little sweet for some, maybe… but my taste buds were happy!”

Seoul Street at Revelstoke, British Columbia, Restaurants in Revelstoke, Korean food, Asian cuisine — “Z ordered the Bulgogi. I’m not sure if it was good… but she cleaned the plate! 😉

Seoul Street at Revelstoke, British Columbia, Restaurants in Revelstoke

The next day, we hit up the National Railway Museum. Maaan, this place is wild! It has the biggest collection of trains I’ve ever seen. So cool!

Revelstoke Railway Museum, Revelstoke British Columbia — Inside the Revelstoke Railway Museum

Right before we hit the road, we swung by this place called Ghost Town — hahaha, what a trip! A little spooky, sure, but also totally awesome. The preserved houses and buildings were something else, I tell ya! A must-visit if you’re ever in Revelstoke. Just be careful on the way there — the highway can get a bit tricky!

3 valley gap, Ghost town, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Photography, Travel

That’s it folks! Be sure to come back on my next post coming soon! 😊

Revelstoke, British Columbia, Photography, Street signs, — Street sign in Revelstoke, British Columbia

Photography: Chris Carino of Creativity Photo© |Edmonton, AB|September 2025

INTO THE STREETS

Personal

WHYTE AVENUE

VSCO FILM

Fuji 160

Fuji 400H

Fuji 800Z

Ilford HP5

Kodak Portra 160

Kodak Portra 400

Kodak Portra 800

Kodak Portra 800 HC

*All images/photos posted are protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Carino Photography or in the case of third-party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Boys Don’t Cry

Portraits

Sandra ♥ Lina

Shot together and in coordination with Edward Meneses photography

*All images/photos posted here are protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Carino Photography or in the case of third-party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Time flies!

Personal

Here it is!

She’s now 4 years, 6 months and 15 days old and in a few months time she’ll be in a regular school learning ABC’s! Can’t wait to see her joining her new-found friends at school and most of all to strengthen her faith to God.

I know, it’s gonna be a tough week for her and for me too when this time comes around. But, I hope she’ll be able to adjust fast enough and probably soon after that, she’ll start pushing me away whenever I’ll hug her before I drop her at school. Hu hu hu…

Al Riwaq Art Space: Alwan 338

Personal

After attending some important business matters, I was able to meet and join my friends from GPN to witness an art exhibit of some local talents here and abroad. It is located in one of the hippest and stylish dining destination in town— Block 338.

Coming up next, more posts from photowalks & events that took place… and of course, the whole set of “Izzie’s Diary” for the month of April 2012! So, please stay tuned! 🙂

— chriscarinophotography 2012 —

My Precious

Personal

I was blessed to have 3 days of holiday last week and so I thought of shooting and to give glory to HIM the greatest gift we have ever received… and that is, Izzie 🙂

She sure have grown fast from the toddler she used to be and in the weeks that would follow, I still couldn’t believe it that she would turn 4 already!!! Time flies!

–Day 1—

–Day 2—

i really think that she needs a much bigger bike than this :p

that’s Dora riding in Izzie’s scooter which she fondly calls it as “gooster” lol

––Day 3—

the mission, the ingredients and a pair of baker’s hand… All set!

and with a little dash of pixie dust! there we have it, a birthday cake! ^.^

some finishing touches here and there 🙂

and lastly, the candles!

I can’t express to you in words the feeling I’ve felt while we were singing to her a birthday song, while she smiles, claps and patiently waited for her to blow those candles!

awww! *sniffs

Thanks Ninang Katz for the birthday cake you’ve baked for our dearest Izzie. Yep, that’s a real birthday cake and was baked the night before this shoot took place.