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The big Soligor thread!
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PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lloydy wrote:
I'd say the 450 is the same series as the 400.

sorry lloydy I don't follow. Anyway there are at least 3 versions (see updated post above): T-xxxxxx (tamron); Hxxxxxx (?tokina); 27xxxxx (? sun).


PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The moon taken with Soligor 400/6.3 and Helios 3x teleconverter.



PostPosted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:50 pm    Post subject: 2xxxxxx soligors Reply with quote

By coincidence, both opportunistically purchased soligors arrived today, and both are classic style chrome eared t-mount 2xxxxx serials. Does that indicate Sun?

35mm f2.8


300mm f5.5


PostPosted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your serial numbers on both lenses begin with 2 which I believe indicate they are Sun made. Very Happy

They should do well for you.

Regards,

Gavin


PostPosted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got my 1st Soligor, and it's the MC 300mm f/4.5.

From what I can gather about this model, it's sourced from Cimko due to the 'diamond arrow'. EDIT: I believe it's actually made by Sun Optics.

f/4.5 isn't usable, lacking sharpness. The next stop on the ring is f/8! (Maybe they should have labeled this a 300mm f/8!)
Here's where results are sharp, and good to f/13.
Pleasantly surprised how light it is, and how good the image is once stopped down. No aberrations, or heavy fringing detected.
It has a pretty deep built-in lens hood. Only detraction is it has no tripod collar.


Last edited by WNG555 on Thu Sep 17, 2015 2:34 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Soligor C/D 35-105mm f3.5 macro

all @f3.5






PostPosted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:35 pm    Post subject: soligor (tamron) 350mm f5.6 Reply with quote

I wasn't impressed with a chrome eared 9xxxx one, but this T-xxxxx tamron made one is good!



f8, samsung NX20.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Someone has loved that lens in the past, looks well used but not abused. I think I'm begining to prefer lenses that look like that as opposed to mint.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bychance wrote:
Someone has loved that lens in the past, looks well used but not abused. I think I'm begining to prefer lenses that look like that as opposed to mint.

+100 ! Smile

I have some looking like that and they're all very good.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Tamron made Soligors are in general good lenses. I have the 250mm f/4.5 which I love Like 1 small


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:49 pm    Post subject: The Soligor Dualfocals Reply with quote

Preparing to throw away my collection of 1980s "Darkroom Photography" magazines, I found in the issue for December 1981 (volume 3, number 8) a full page advertisement headed "The Soligor Dualfocals" with a subheading "two lenses in one...for the price of one", advertising a 28+35 f/5.5/5.8 and an 85+135 f/4 lens.

I was struck by that advertisement, as I don't remember seeing advertisements for Soligor Dualfocals anywhere else. Googling soligor dualfocals advertisement gives no joy. I am aware that there were earlier twin-focal-length lenses, such as the successful Tamron Twin-Tele, as discussed here at http://forum.mflenses.com/tamron-twin-tele-135mm-great-fun-small-package-t33955.html and elsewhere.

Having read these discussions:-
http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-c-d-28-35mm-dualfocal-lens-t59738.html
http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-c-d-dualfocal-3-5-28-and-3-8-35-sold-t69714.html
http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-dualfocal-85mm-135mm-t35156.html
it would seem that those Soligor lenses were poor value even at their low price, were not produced for long, and are not worth seeking out except as curiosities!

By the way, my interest in Soligor lenses started when I was thinking about buying a Miranda SLR; I later bought a Miranda F with a Soligor 50mm f/1.9 lens. (It seemed to me to give a plastic image, full of detail edge to edge, that I considered very different from that of the Taron Unique CRF I'd used before, and the Olympus 35RC and OM-1 I replaced them with.)


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Chris

I've just realised my photos were missing from my post re the Soligor dual focus lens. I have reinserted them.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This 400mm f6.3 has a galaxy nameplate but I am 99% sure I have seen it as a soligor too. That ribbed focus ring is pure soligor.



It's distinctive because the focus is at the mount end, and also the operation of the focus is just extension of the lens from the camera. Most other 400mm f6.3's are varying the separation of the two optical groups.
I shall see what sort of pics it takes.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that's an Ittoh made lens. I had the 135 and 200mm versions. The 135 was not bad, a Sonnar copy; the 200 was a dog that I took apart to use the aperture in a project.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Itoh ? Mmmmm interesting suggestion. Diamonds, pentax direction focus and opposite to normal rotation of the aperture rings all indicative. There is a previous thread:

http://forum.mflenses.com/itohkogaku-higon-135-3-5-preset-samples-t19061.html

diyarcade on flickr suggests:

I think Soligor lenses were made by 3 companies :
- T code Tamron
- Y code Komura
- R code Itoh

However this has Hxxxx serial

And I have now found a reference to an Itoh Higon Kogaku 400mm f6.3, looks the same.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the 400mm, under another name, as well as a 300/5.6 and a 500mm/8 and I also think they are Itoh.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Soligor lenses were made by many more than that -

Tokina, Kiron, Nittoh/Komine, Nissin/Sankor, Kyoei, Kawakami/Kawanon, Cosina, Fujita, Sun, and more besides.

They were in the lens rebranding business for @30 years, so there is a lot out there.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 5:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A lot of the Soligors are seen as Hanimex or Optomax too. Certainly most of the Auto series of the mid 60s which were mostly Tokinas and had H serials are commonly seen as Hanimex. These 60s Tokinas are usually decent performers and very well made.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My first set of pics suggests this Itoh 400mm is a rather average performer. Interesting and distinctive lens though.


PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been quite happy with a Soligor Wide Auto 21mm f/3.8 by Tokina. Equipped with T4 mount.
Still quite affordable for this focal length.

Excellent resolution, center is very sharp, and color is rich and warm. Low to nil aberrations.
72mm filter diameter....could benefit from a hood to control flaring. But overall, it handles that well too. (last shot)

Build is very good, and works well for landscapes as well. A great lens buy.

DSC03072_Soligor 21mm f3.8 T4 by wNG 555, on Flickr
DSC03071c_Soligor 21mm f3.8 T4 by wNG 555, on Flickr
sOLE bACI 5 by wNG 555, on Flickr


Last edited by WNG555 on Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:14 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:42 pm    Post subject: Soligor 400mm f5.6 's Reply with quote

i think I've got the 400mm f6.3's sussed, but I don't know anything about the f5.6's. There appears to be two varieties:

38xxxx serials


77xxxx serial


Any info?


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Soligor 400mm f5.6 's Reply with quote

marcusBMG wrote:
i think I've got the 400mm f6.3's sussed, but I don't know anything about the f5.6's. There appears to be two varieties:

38xxxx serials


77xxxx serial


Any info?



I saw one the same as the bottom lens at the camera fair yesterday, also with Olympus OM mount and it had a H 7****** serial number which indicates a Tokina, and a bargain for £20

The top one has the semi gloss black finish of the CD lens range, at least all my CD lenses have that finish, and they all seem to be Tokina's as well. The 3****** number on that lens is attributed to SUN, and it does have the look of a big old SUN zoom that I've got somewhere.

My 400 5.6 is a Kino / Kiron 'chrome eared' model with a 97***** number.


PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The reason I doubt the tokina attribution is because they don't look like either of the tokina own nameplate f5.6's: tokina sd 400mm, tokina rmc 400mm


PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 6:02 pm    Post subject: Soligor 135mm f1.8 Reply with quote

Soligor 135mm f1.8

SNXT6581

SNXT6577

Sample: @1.8 on Fuji X-T1

Soligor 135_1-8_SNXT6815

Soligor 135_1-8_SNXT6807


PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:52 pm    Post subject: T4 to TX convert Reply with quote

So this is how to convert your T4 mount soligor to use a TX PK mount:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/311306-converting-t4-lenses-tx-k-mount-adapter.html