The Sankor Lens thread

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I've never seen that Sankor 21mm before, could you please show us some image samples?

BTW I'm still using that Sankor 2.8/35 despite owning several much more expensive and technially better 35s, the Sankor has it's charms, the rendering is just so nice, just avoid shooting it wide open unless you like diffuse glow that masks sharpness.

A couple of recent IR shots:

benadamx · Joined: 25 Feb 2019 Posts: 329

to further muddy the waters a bit, a spiratone 105mm that's almost certainly a sankor, and a sankyo kohki that isn't

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iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That doesn't muddy the waters, the one with an E after the serial number is a Sankor, the other one is a Komura. Different companies.

benadamx · Joined: 25 Feb 2019 Posts: 329

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Well, you and I are in agreement at least!

I have the Komura 135 to match your lens, looks exactly the same in barrel styling, very different to any Sankor lens, of which I have owned many and still have a few.

Phalbert · Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 359 Location: Namibia

There is a 400mm with the odd speed of 5,9. It has 16 blades. I find it sharp enough @ f8 but CA is always present. Compared to my Pentax A, it is bigger, heavier, but focal length is a bit more (I suspect the pentax must be a bit less than 400) I notice illumination is the same WO for both lenses. Again I suspect the Pentax might not be a true 5,6. I'll try to post pics.

tristian · Joined: 04 Jan 2021 Posts: 1

Hi, am new as a poster to this forum; I just wanted to add my finds to this thread as I've found it helpful.

I'm in Australia and these are the Sankor-made lenses I have at the moment:

Astronar 105mm f/2.4 (49mm filter)
This appears to be a rebrand of the Accura Supertel Tc 105mm f/2.4-22 (zebra). It's a preset lens with a T-mount. I find it to have fantastic contrast and colour reproduction. Came with its (original?) Astron-branded rotating hood.

Zelar 135mm f/3.2 (52mm filter)
I've found very little mention of the Zelar brand anywhere. I bought it because I was intrigued by the f/3.2 aperture. It's sharp, with haloing at f/3.2 and f/4. Great colour/flare resistance even without a hood. Colours are on the bluish side. I've seen a similar lens branded as an Accura Supertel. Seems to be a non-T-mount version of Unitel/Tokunon 135mm f3.2 but with only 6 aperture blades (rather than 16).

Seimar MC Auto 200mm f/3.5 (62mm filter)
Picked this up at the weekend. I haven't looked closely at the pics yet. It seems very good; if it's lacking compared to the others that's partly my shaky hands dealing with a big heavy lens, I think. I haven't found other brands under which this lens is sold. [EDIT: it's also an Accura Diamatic YS] Very nice green coatings on this one.

I take it the "italic" Sankors are later models?

Anyone come across a Zelar before?

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Oldhand · Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 11:12 am Post subject: Re: Astronar/Zelar/Seimar

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

When purchasing the Kyoei Acall 135mm 3.5 (profiled in another thread) I was sent into the Sankor rabbit hole. I was searching ebay Sankor and noticed an uncanny resemblance between the Kowa projection lenses and the Sankor projection lenses. Anybody know of a connection there?

cyberjunkie · Posted: Fri May 14, 2021 6:39 pm Post subject:

There is nothing in common between Sankor and Sankyo Kohki (Komura) lenses, while some early Komura lenses are with all evidence Kyoei (Acall) made. Interestingly, it seems that the Kyoei clones are neither very old nor late Sankyo Kohki models. They seem to come from a time that's more or less intermediate between the oldest Komura models and the late versions released before the switch to "Komura Ltd" brand name.
It's yet another clue of the great level of collaboration/interdependence between Japanese optical firms.
Btw, the Komura 105mm, portrayed together with a T-mount Sankor-made 105mm, seems to be one of the Acall clones. I can't see very well from the picture, it seems to be a clone of a Super Acall I own... but I can't be fully sure.

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

The 105mm is really nice... Always loved mine!
Never seen it labeled as Astronar before, thx for sharing...

SilverPrintMan · Joined: 16 Oct 2018 Posts: 13 Location: Essex

Hi guys, I've read this thread with interest, in particular who made the lenses as I have been trying to find out information about a little 35mm rangefinder that I have.

The top plate is Kino branded, the front panel is KMC branded, and the lens is marked Kinegon.

We all know Kino Precision didn't make camera's, KMC which is linked to Komura as far as I know didn't either. Kinegon lens references such as Tele Kinegon seem to lead to Sankyo.

However the camera is identical to the Taron VR which is Nippon Kossoki, was someone having a joke with this one!

carloM42 · Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

I have this Auto-Sankor 28mm f/3.5 preset lens:
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I still have to test it, I haven't already fixed the pin to change the aperture. I don't want to super-glue it but the screws are so small that my usual screwdrivers are not working. It has a near reach of about 20cm (not macro but closer than most of the other wide angle lenses I have). I haven't found much info at all about this lens.

carloM42 · Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

Just two test shot. Not the best pictures, backlight is too strong. I cannot judge the colors. Both were taken wide open @3.5. It seems to me that, at least in the center, it is quite sharp (see the crop). I will post more after I will fix the pin. It's a pity that it has some strong vignetting on FF, not the best for landscape, but it is still possible to crop a little.
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carloM42 · Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

I fixed the pin but I am truly disappointed by the results: at infinity it seems that I cannot focus the lens. Ok, I tested it hand held and with a Canon 5D but still there must be something wrong. This is the sharpest out of 3 photos:
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Compare it to this photo taken with a Auto Reflexogon 28mm f/2.8 (which is not a stellar lens!) in the same conditions (sorry for the dust on my sensor, too much lens switching lately).
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D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2494

The lens probably doesn't reach infinity or goes past it. This is almost impossible to see through a optical viewfinder. You need live view en zoom in magnification for critical focus with legacy glass, the wider the lens the more difficult it gets.

carloM42 · Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

Perhaps I could try to unscrew the lens from the adapter a bit and see if anything changes for better or worse. Not really practical however Smile

.It's a pity since I have more than 20 m42 lenses and only this one seems to have this problem. But my other 28mm are not really sharp (not better than the auto Reflexogon). Are wide lenses more susceptible to flange distance errors?

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2494

I guess they are. Wide angle lenses are much more sensitive to minute differences in distance. Put one on a small extension tube ant compare that with a 135mm on the same tube. A much greater effect on how close you can focus. Try to shoot a scene with a a lot of foreground. A road running into the distance e.g. If closer by stuff is in focus, then it doesn't reach infinity. If everything is out of focus then it overshoots infinity

carloM42 · Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

I tested it on a Pentax K01 (APS-C sensor) with live view and Focus Peaking with magnification (and stabilizer too). I got similar results:
#1 Auto Sankor 28 mm @f/8

#2 Compare to Reflexogon 28mm @f/8

This last adapter is a Pentax original. I noticed that when it is fully screwed in the aperture scale is not centered as it should be. The Sankor is in mint condition perhaps for a reason Smile

emptypixels · Joined: 09 Aug 2022 Posts: 3

55 · Expire: 2022-06-15

Phalbert · Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 359 Location: Namibia

Never seen such thing before. 🤔 I'd send it back to the manufacturer. 🤭

55 · Expire: 2022-06-15

cyberjunkie · Posted: Tue May 16, 2023 12:08 am Post subject: Other Sankor lenses

I had a certain number of vintage lenses trapped abroad in a house I had rented before Covid.
For a number of reasons I could not go back earlier, but finally I could go.... and now I got back to the EU with my suitcase (and cabin luggage!) filled with lenses Smile

Among them some Sankor-made objectives...
I had used the 2.5/105mm lenses for portraits, with great results. Now I want to try the others, that were purchased more recently just because of the great performance shown by their shorter brothers.
I left behind one of the two 105mm's. It's too good a lens, in my humble opinion, to have both in the same place.
I feel glad that the next time I go I will find it in my "travel photography bag", along with some other lenses that couldn't find room in my luggage.

Here is the YS version of the 105mm f/2.5. I removed the YS (auto M42) socket you can see in the second picture and exchanged it for a T-mount PK ring. With modern digital cameras auto lenses are of no use, unless they have electric contacts too...
I did the same thing to almost all the other native T-mount lenses. Now they have dumb PK bayonets instead of the M42 screw mounts.

Here are two ugly pics of the Accura Diamatic YS 1:2.5 f=105mm I didn't bring with me. Sorry for the quality, it's from the original eBay page Sad

With the two 105mm I own I took some beautiful portraits, and now they are among my favourite. I love the optical signature, sharp enough but very smooth, with a very pleasing bokeh.
Here is the Pentax K-1 I used to shoot the portraits, see how tiny the Spiratone Tc 1:2.5 f=105mm looks on a massive FF DSLR.

and here is one of the many portraits I took. I chose this one even if the face is slightly OOF because it shows how smooth is the transition from in focus to out of focus (the finger and part of the garments are more than sharp enough, while the face, a little OOF, looks almost pictorial). You can open the picture in another tab, and check all the tags on Flickr (I try to use LensTagger as much as possible to remind myself of the lens I used and of the shooting data). You can also view two other photos taken with the same lens, shoulder to should with this one. Many others are shown on the first page of my Flickr photostream, if you scroll down a little.
Maybe I'm too overexcited, but I really love how this lens renders. I guess some of you would disagree.

Chinese New Year, child in costume by spaulein, on Flickr

Here are the other Sankors I just brought home.

Tokunon 1:3.2 f=135mm

Family portraits of Spiratone Tc 1:2.5 f?105mm, Accura Supertel Tc 1:2.8 f=135mm later serial, Accura Supertel Tc 1:2.8 f=135mm earlier serial.
The two 135mm lenses have very different weight, and slightly different length and front element size. The one on the right, with earlier serial is shorter and heavier.

If any of you has tried any of these lenses, I'd be grateful if you chime in and report about your own experience.
I haven't opened any of these lenses, apart from the YS one, that needed some fungus cleaning. Unfortunately I don't remember at all the number of elements. Maybe I didn't even touch the optics behind the diaphragm...
Now I don't have a strong electric torch at hand. If anybody is interested I could try to guess the number of elements/groups from the reflections.
My wild guess is that the 135mm with earlier serial has some kind of Ernostar design, like some early Komuras, while the latter one could have a standard 4G/4E optical layout.
Regarding the two 105mm, they look different but I don't believe they have a different optical scheme. I don't have the Accura YS here, I believe it has more or less the same weight of the Spiratone, while the Tokunon 3.2/135mm is much lighter. Given that the Tokunon is not a triplet (it shows at least seven reflections), I believe it's a common 4G/4E tele design, and the two 105mm might be some kind of Ernostar or even it's successor, the Sonnar. I'm super curious to know if anybody has any info about the optical designs.

P.S.
After I saw the pics I took with the phone, I decided that I got to dust the glasses Rolling Eyes

Ciao
Paolo

cyberjunkie · Posted: Tue May 23, 2023 6:49 pm Post subject: Mayfair Sankor F:3.5 135mm

I found another Sankor-made lens in an odd place. It will go in the same cupboard as all the others...
This lens is really tiny, and when I tested it taking pictures of other lenses, it proved to be decently sharp. I had no way to test the OOF rendering or the way it works as a portrait lens. I don't think it's such a great portrait lens, though.

Mayfair Sankor F:3.5 135mm