Hi-Q 135mm f/3.5

pixelbart · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:28 pm Post subject: Hi-Q 135mm f/3.5

I just bought a Hi-Q 135mm f/3.5 lens at a local second hand store for EUR 2.50, but I can't find anything about it on the Internet, except someone on Flickr who has a 35mm lens of this brand. It's an m42 lens with manual aperture:

Does anyone know more about this lens?

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Interesting !

"Hi-Q" is doubtless a throwaway trade name given by the merchant, whoever that was. This doesn't offer much of a clue for the manufacturer.

The style and form of the lens, however, do seem suggestive of the source.

I don't know who the manufacturer is, but I believe it is the same as whoever made the first T2 preset lenses sold under the Vivitar brand in the 1960's, as some of these included that interesting second aperture scale meant for use with a 2X teleconverter, and the style of the preset aperture ring and infra-red focus mark is also the same. Vivitars had a different style of knurling on the focus barrel as that was part of their product style, but for a manufacturer that is easy to change, as is the finish.

This lens is probably from the late 1960's I would guess, based on the Vivitar connection.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Good looking lens! Congrats! I never heard any info from this brand.
Looks to me a preset Komura.

pixelbart · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject:

They guy on Flickr with a Hi-Q lens has a INA Hi-Q lens, so I went googling for INA and found this lens:

on this site:
http://www.ciar-roisin.net/presources/Reviews/Lenses/m13535i.html

I guess that this is the same lens, although the focus ring is quite different (but the rest is nearly identical to my lens). Next step is finding the manufacturer (and the optical design) Smile

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Possibly a different manufacturer on the second Hi-Q sample.

The structure of the second is very different from the first, as the fixed point of the lens (with the DOF scale) is in front of the focus barrel, while of the first it is behind, which means the helical/focus mount design is radically different.

The front of the lens is also very different, as the diaphragm controls are considerably further from the front element than in the first sample, which implies a different optical design.

Its not at all strange to have the same brand on lenses from multiple manufacturers. This was the rule among the merchants of the day, not the exception. The merchants (including big ones like Allied Impex(Soligor) and Ponder&Best(Vivitar) would even sell several manufacturers lenses at the same time.

This is my Vivitar -

Its a 180mm, but the structure is the same as your first Hi-Q. The aperture rings are the same, as is the very distinctive teleconverter aperture scale. The DOF scale is also the same, and the same style of IR focus mark. The straight knurling of the focus barrel was part of the Vivitar trademark.

pixelbart · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject:

I've discovered that Ohnar made super-8 film lenses under the INA Hi-Q brand:

http://www.kolumbus.fi/puistot/h.htm
(search for "MZ 200")

Ohnar was the OEM manufacturer for Hanimex cameras:
http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Category:Ohnar

Which makes me wonder... Hi-Q = INA = Ohnar = a manufacturer, not just a brand. Did they make this lens themselves? Why? Because they wanted to expand their business into the photo lens business? Was this a supposed OEM lens that they never managed to sell and did they dump their prototype series under their Hi-Q brand? But why are there two designs of the same lens?

This INA Hi-Q 35mm lens also looks very different, in the comments people suggest that the design with fake leather looks more German than Japanese, so maybe it was also a (supposed) OEM lens, but for who? Or did they make that lens for the Photokina to impress German companies looking for OEM lenses?

Interesting stuff Smile

pixelbart · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject:

Razster · Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 101

If I recall they make Binoculars. I have seen them before at a local store here in the States. - Which were made in Japan.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

INA/Hi-Q may still be just the distributors trademark.

And it is also possible that the camera maker was not the lens maker, though it may have sold lenses under its trademark. Some of these situations could get very complex.

Example -

Ricoh purchased lenses from Tomioka and Tokina and sold them under its trademark, and also sold its cameras (which Ricoh made) and lenses (which it didn't make) to Sears, which put its own name on the lot.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

The focus barrel/ring is one of the easiest thing to change. The knurling can be made in many styles without changing the basic mechanics of the lens. For example, Tokina did its early automatic lenses with at least four different styles of knurling for its many clients, among them the Vivitar and Mamiya straight lines, scalloped for Soligor and Lentar, some rubberized for Sears, some even leatherette - etc.

The screws on the focusing barrel/ring are common among many manufacturers, even my 1950's Zeiss. My Vivitar 180 also has screws on the focusing ring. If you are talking about the very back, that is a common T2 mount.

The front of the lens - if that is the name ring, that was also made according to the clients specifications, their lettering style, logo, whatever they wanted.

The part that strikes me as most unusual and distinctive is the 2X teleconverter aperture scale. You really don't often see that.

Other details like the DOF scale, IR mark, lettering on the aperture rings, etc. are on parts that are best left standardized and interchangable prior to the finishing (painting, etc.) stage, which is why these are often good indicators of the manufacturer, as these would remain the same even if the finish of the lens is changed. The manufacturer has an interest in using as many common parts as possible. One good (though not dispositive) indicator of a Komine-made preset range, for instance, is the O<-.->C (open-close) symbols on the aperture ring.

pixelbart · Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:47 am Post subject:

Strange. I've never had a T2 mount lens before. Razz

. But this is indeed a T2 lens, so the rear ring isn't a mystery anymore Razz

While looking a bit closer, I don't really know which of the two lenses (the INA Hi-Q or your Vivitar) is more similar to my lens. I don't think a rare brand like Hi-Q could have distributed two lenses with the same specs and failed to sell any of both of them, so I still think that it's the same lens in another package.

The teleconverter scale is interesting indeed. Is there any proof of a teleconverter hype somewhere in the late '60s and early '70s? The second aperture scale could be a result of that. Maybe they even shipped these lenses with a tele converter, or they sold them as an accessory but included the TC-scale to push customers to also buy the teleconverter to have a 'more complete' lens...

I didn't find a lot of extra information. The only thing I found was this Prinzgalaxy 135mm f/3.5 lens:

http://www.pbase.com/niblue/prinz_galaxy_135_f35

Same kind of design, two diaphragm rings but no TC scale, same font on the front ring...

I did some tests and found out that it's a pretty sharp lens, almost as good as my Jupiter-11A and certainly sharper than my Petri and Kenlock 135mm f/2.8 lenses. So I'm getting more and more convinced that this lens is made by a respected manufacturer (or is a clone of a pre-war lens, like my Jupiter-11A). But why were they sold under the "Hi-Q" brand which was only used on (some) Super8 film cameras? What had Ohnar (if they were the owner of the "Hi-Q" brand) to do with this whole thing?

Maybe Ohnar, just like Petri, were once a manufacturer, went bankrupt and started a new business as a merchant to exploit their registered brands. Maybe this lens is part of that (failed) attempt?

Or they went bankrupt because they lost their contract with Hanimex and dumped their remaining stock under some of their own brands... There's only one known Ohnar-branded Super 8 camera (link) while the rest is all branded as Hanimex (link)...

I'm confused. And I should do something useful with my day, or what's left of it Razz