Soligor(Komine) 180/3.5

tkbslc · Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Posts: 194 Location: Utah, USA

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I just found one of theses lenses too. I found a poorly worded auction offering this 180mm f3.5 along with a Soligor 200mm f3.5 as well. Got them both for the starting price of 99 cents (+$16 shipping!) Unfortunately I do not have an SLR with me for a few days to test it out, but it looks very promising from the samples in this thread. My biggest surprise was the FIFTEEN aperture blades. I also like the smooth continuous preset aperture motion. It is like I have infinite aperture stops.

Sorry for the bad pics, but as I said, I don't have my SLR with me today.

Look at all those blades! Smile

The Soligor 200 3.5 seems pretty ordinary and looks brand new.

Edit: ODD my pictures work in a preview, but not in the final post
??

Farside · Expire: 2013-12-27

Aykman · Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Posts: 57

this message is outdated and deleted!

tkbslc · Joined: 02 Jul 2009 Posts: 194 Location: Utah, USA

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Hi tkbslc,

I am guessing its a Komine because I have seen a Kominar (house trademark of Komine brand, actual company was Nittoh Kogaku, still in existence) that was very very similar in design details. Many makers products were sold under the Soligor brand, even the early Tamron line.

"Soligor" was in the beginning a brand name used by Allied Impex Co., a US photo products distributor in New York, founded by a group of German Jewish refugees. I believe they began their company in the 1940's. In the 1950's they became large-scale importers of Japanese made lenses, and they purchased the Japanese Miranda camera company. By the 1960's Allied Impex, using the Soligor brand, was the biggest international distributor of Japanese lenses. Vivitar (a brand of Ponder&Best, another photo distributior) followed them into the lens business later, and took their market.

Allied Impex went bankrupt in the late 1970's, and the Soligor brand seems to have been picked up by their European branch in Germany, which reorganized themselves under the Soligor name.

This Soligor lens is from the 1960's, from an earlier generation than the Vivitar and Panagor-branded auto lenses you are referring to, which are from 5-15 years later. The design is typical of 1960's presets. They are all rip-offs of old German designs of course. Sometimes they are excellent rip-offs though, like this one. There are Komine lenses even in the 1970's that were excellent in all respects.

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

see my Tele-Kominar 135mm f3.5 for comparison:

ChrisBee · Joined: 30 Jan 2010 Posts: 2

Hi there

Sorry for again warming up this threat.

I took over an old Leica III and a couple of corresponding lenses, including a "dissimilar" Soligor 180 mm 1:3.5. And of course, I am now curious about the quality of this Soligor. Comparing with the pictures from kuuan, my Soligor looks very similar, see

(the lens is shown with its mount to the Leica camera [I dont know whats wrong but when publishing, I can't see my two pictures]). And that would be good news, following the discussion.

estudleon · Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 3754 Location: Argentina

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

ChrisBee · Joined: 30 Jan 2010 Posts: 2

Gerbermiester · Joined: 27 Nov 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Canada

Hello all,

I just picked up a Hanimex 180mm f3.5 Serial number serial no. H50905. It displays all the properties of the other Hanimex lenses displayed on the site.

I'd just like to ad that when I purchased this lens, it came with an Exacta KE mount adapter. This adapter had a plastic rear cap which reads 'Tokyo Kogaku Japan'. So, there you have it. Unless this lens somehow managed to end up with a Japanese made KE mount cap from another lens, it looks like it was made in the Tokyo Kogaku plant.

As an added note, I adapted the Hanimex lens to Pentax K mount. It was a destructive process mind you. After playing around with it hand held onto an old Pentax MG body I discovered that, pressed up right onto the body of the camera, the lens would focus past infinity. Minimum focus distance was ~4 meters. Awesome, eh? I then proceeded to commit MF lens heresy by JB welding the lens to the outside of a M42-Pentax K adapter. Embarassed

The result: a functional K mount Hanimex 180mm f3.5 lens that will focus to infinity... albeit one that will forever be Pentax K mount. Rolling Eyes

I'll post pics by this time next week.

casualcollector · Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:13 pm Post subject:

Tokyo Kogaku was the maker of Topcon brand cameras. Their "serious" cameras used a modified version of the Kine Exakta mount. Topcon rear caps will fit Exakta mount lenses. Can't tell without a photo but your lens was most likely made by Tokina or Nittoh (Komine).

Gerbermiester · Joined: 27 Nov 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Canada

Hmmm, Komura came up with something called a unidapter way back when which I believe was similar in concept to T mount. I've read that there was a threaded ring that could be adapted to fit other camera mounts. This might be barking up the wrong tree, but the adaptable 46mm diameter threaded rear mount on my hanimex 180mm f3.5 has made me curious.

It would make sense for this lens to be a Topcon, being that it came with a KE adapter and was made (probably) by Tokyo Kogaku. But Komura also produced lenses in KE mount and are a known 'rebrander'.

Does anyone know the rear diameter of a unidaptor mount would be? I've done some googling, but come up dry.

Gerbermiester · Joined: 27 Nov 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Canada

As promised, here are the pics of the Hanimex 180mm f3.5 Lens.

You can see that I've JB welded a pentax K mount to the rear end of this lens.

As I stated before, it will reach infinity, and a little past.

After taking this lens out for a shoot, I'm really impressed with the sharpness at f3.5. The lens does suffer from a little bit of Red CA, but nothing PP can't fix.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

Your lens is made by Tokyo Koki, aka Tokina.
I have the same lens in the Vemar brand, which was a US importers mark usually used for Tokina products.
This lens has also been seen in the "Tele-Tokina" Tokyo Koki house brand.
The 47mm screw was for a Tokina-only variant of the T-mount that they used for a time in the 1960's
I have several of these lenses with the unique Tokina mount system.
We have had some discussions on this topic about a year ago.

Tokina then switched to normal T-mount thread (42mm) to use the standard T-mounts.

Tokyo Kogaku aka Topcon never made a lens like this. It was common to use third party lenses on all makes of Camera, Topcon cameras would not have been different. Third party lenses would have had an Exakta mount for use on Topcons.

Komura did little rebranding except very early in the 1950's. All known Komura lenses on the 1960's were found under their own brand. Later in the 1970's they experimented with changing their own brand (Kyvyx), and I am not sure if some of their late period zoom lenses may have been rebranded by the end.

Komura Unidapter thread is M44x.75

This lens is not by Komura, it does not resemble any known Komura.

Gerbermiester · Joined: 27 Nov 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Canada

Nice. well that wraps up all the questions I had pretty snugly. Razz

Thanks for your detailed luisalegria, and thanks to everyone for their additions on the subject too.

atiratha · Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:03 pm Post subject:

Hi, just got my Soligor with T2 mount, very similar to the one above here, therefore Tokina, I'd say. I'm very impressed by the sharpness starting from f/4, I'm, however, much less impressed by the ungodly amount of CA wide open. Most atrocious CA is gone by F/4 but still quite pronounced. at F/5.6 it is already alright and the sharpness is more than impressive. The barrel is slightly wobbly though, so I hope after a little adjustment by someone more skilled by me, the tube might get solid and aligned again, thereby getting rid of some of the fringing.