Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!

SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Soligor Serial Numbers Beginning H
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 11:26 pm    Post subject: Soligor Serial Numbers Beginning H Reply with quote

I've acquired a couple of Soligor lenses with serial numbers starting with H, and I recall somewhere seeing that there's a forum user who's been collecting these; I think I remember seeing that in their forum signature. I'm curious what is known about these lenses.

Mine are a 135mm f2.8 № H669567 and 35mm f2.8 № H675162, both M42 mount, both all-metal with scalloped "hill and valley" knurling. Focus is a bit stiff, but otherwise they are apparently in decent shape; the aperture is a bit sluggish on the 135mm. I'm not an expert on coatings, but they look single-coated to me.

In addition to these two lenses, what do forum members know about Soligors with 'H' serial numbers in general? Looking forward to learning more, if more is known!



PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Many "H" serial Soligors were Komine made
There is a table here for your information:
https://www.apotelyt.com/camera-kit/soligor-catalog

Cheers
Tom


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is Walter's list: http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-12-8-f28mm-eighteen-versions-t30866,start,113.html (list may be updated later in same thread)
And ManualFocus-G's: http://forum.mflenses.com/the-big-soligor-thread-t33736.html


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 4:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Both look Tokina to me, especially the 35mm, looking very much like Lentar which is Tokina.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The H prefix for lenses doesn't seem to be useful for telling the lens designing company, my best guess is it was the code of one or more sub-contracting companies. I have a number of H coded lenses, and have owned more in the past but sold them. I'll post a few in here with my best guess for the manufacturer or design company.


#1


#2


This Aetna 135mm F/4 lens is a DKL fit for Retina SLR cameras. My opinion is that it is an Itoh Kogaku made/designed lens, that is based on seeing copies on ebay under the Itoh / Higon branding. I have a second copy which is slightly different, but no photos to hand, the second copy underscores the Itoh association more strongly than this copy.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This H6 Kaligar 135mm F/2.8 is also an Itoh Kogaku lens, this opinion is based on the Yellow/Green focus scale and the large red diamond styling of the preset aperture rings. Many very similar lenses also identifiable as Itoh lenses were sold with 'R' prefix serials too, and for a period Soligor lenses made by Itoh had a '3' prefix.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


I'm not 100% sure who the design company for this 'H4' Lentar 105mm F/2.8 is. Possibly Tokina.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


The designer of this 'H6' Lentar Automount 90-230mm F/4.5 lens is definitely known as Tokina.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


Likewise for this 'H6' Lentar 28mm F/2.8, the design company is clearly Tokina, this lens was sold by a multitude of rebadging entities in various exterior stylings.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


#3


This Soligor 'H6' lens is one I've always considered to be a Tokina lens, mainly based on the shape of the rear element block, which is identical to other 28mm lenses which I can clearly identify as Tokina lenses.. I could be incorrect on that though.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This 'H6' Vemar 200mm F/4.8 lens is another DKL for Retina third party lens, similar to the Aetna 135mm I already posted. I believe it to also be an Itoh Kogaku Lens.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This 'H3' Palinar 100mm F/4 is generally considered to be a Tokina lens, I have seen it branded Tokina on ebay.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This 'H8' Galaxy 135mm F/3.5 lens is also identifiable as Itoh Kogaku, although the focus scale colours are not yellow/green this time, the other design elements are still present.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


Here's a second 'H6' Lentar / Tokina 28mm F/2.8 just to show another external styling for the same lens.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This 'H6' Soligor 200mm F/3.5 lens is easily identifiable as a Tokina.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


This 'H7' lens is labelled Sun Optical, but I am fairly certain is a Tokina lens. Although Sun were a lens manufacturer, it appears they often sold other manufacturers lenses under their own label too.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe it's a Tokina thing for brand labelled lenses, since their first customer was Hanimex, they used a H before the serial number?


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


Yet another Lentar, this 'H8' 28mm preset lens is similar but not the same as the Soligor posted earlier. As with that one, maybe Tokina, but not 100% certain.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

#1


#2


Yet another Lentar 'H6' lens, this one definitely a Tokina lens. All of these pics are from lenses I've tried out then sold on.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D1N0 wrote:
Maybe it's a Tokina thing for brand labelled lenses, since their first customer was Hanimex, they used a H before the serial number?


Only some of the lenses out of those I've posted are Tokina lenses, the balance seem to be made by Itoh Kogaku. I have a few more lenses not posted yet I will photograph tomorrow, the balance of them is once more Tokina and Itoh.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting, I didn’t expect other brands to be swept into the plot, but it makes sense now that I see the lenses. I appreciate the photos, thoughts on the manufacturer, and the evidence for your deductions!


PostPosted: Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I finally got time to take a few pictures of the rest of my 'H' serial lenses. As per before, they seem to be either identifiable as Tokina or Itoh Kogaku. Having said that, all of the information could have differeing interpretations applied to it.

Firstly, Tokina, or thought to be:

#2


#3


An 'H6" Vemar 35mm F/2.8, very similar to many other lenses identified as Tokina.

#4


#5


An 'H6" Lentar 135mm F/2.8 from the same production line.

#6


#7


Another 'H6' Lentar, this time a preset.

#8


#9


A pair of Soligor 180mm F/3.5 lenses, one and 'H4' and the other an 'H5'

#10


#11


Finally, an 'H5' 90-230mm F/4.5 Lentar lens. The automount version posted earlier was 'H6"


PostPosted: Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, now the ones I believe to be Itoh Kogaku manufactured/designed.


#1


#2


First a pair of 100-200mm F/5.6 zoom lenses. They are possibly not identical internally, I haven't checked that yet. One an 'H3' and one an 'H6'. They both have the tripled focus ring knurling that was a design 'tell' for an Itoh lens, as well as the Yellow/Green lettering on the focus scale.

#3


#4


Another Aetna Coligon DKL 135mm F/4 lens, unlike the previous one, this one also has the triple knurling for the focus grip, the only one I've seen like this in my ebay lurking. The one posted earlier was an 'H7', this one is 'H5'

#5


#6


Another 'H6' 135mm F/2.8, the only difference between this one and the one posted earlier is that this one only has feet on the distance scale, no meters.

#7


#8


A pair of Kaligar medium format lenses for the Fujita 66 SLR. This is where it gets slightly strange. In the second picture I also added the 150mm F/4 lens. It has the same Yellow/Green focus scale letttering.

#9


But it still has the 'FT' prefix which was used by Fujita for their own lenses. Only the last series of the 150mm F/4 lens looked like this, the earlier ones had much different styling.


PostPosted: Sun Jun 26, 2022 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally a few pics of some Kominar lenses, which are what occupies 'H6' in the prefix guide online.
#1


#2


#3


#4


There aren't that many third party lenses in the wild that have Kominar or Komine written on them to really have much to compare against, just this single series of T2 preset lenses. I've never really seen any rebadged lenses that you could see some resemblance to these lenses in, in terms of styling, font, focus marker or any of the other way used to determine lens maker. Unfortunately the styling is somewhat generic, not exactly the same as other lenses, but no single thing that sets them apart as many other manufacturers had. For instance Fujita put the 'FT' prefix on it's own lenses. Early Kyoei SLR lenses were styled radically unlike anything else before or since. Kawakami/Kawanon lenses were indentifiable by the infinity distance marker alway being green. Itoh lenses had the Green/Yellow focus scale, the large red diamonds on the preset aperture, and sometimes the triple knurled focus grip. Komine lenses in that period fall into that sizeable group that aren't so different from anything else as to be readily identifiable, in my opinion.

That doesn't mean they didn't make lenses for rebadging entities, it just means they looked nothing like their own products. They did make lenses for Walz, Mamiya and Ricoh fixed lens cameras, as well as interchangeable lenses for Fuji AX mount SLR cameras, and are known as the maker of '28' prefix lenses for Vivitar, who sold a large amount of their products.


PostPosted: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am not so sure Kominar and Komine are the same. Komine is a pretty common word/name in Japan. I can't find anything about Nittoh Kogaku producing great amount of lenses in the seventies and eighties.

In another thread you can find this image

http://forum.mflenses.com/looking-for-any-info-on-komine-t42604.html

Komine Seisakujyo. Seisakujyo seems to be a synonym for Kogaku. Those Kominars are probably from the sixties being presets. Nittoh Kogaku still exists but there in no mention of Komine or Vivitar in their history brief: https://www.nittohkogaku.co.jp/en/company/history.html There is a mention of a lens production facility in Kitaazumi District (which is near Nagano) but Komine seems to have been a Tokyo outfit as mentioned here: https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/tell-me-about-komine.456767/ (commenter CraigD)