Chinon (& Rollei) lenses for Alpa

[paulhofseth]

I tried in vain to post snaps of some Chinon -Alpa lenses on "The camera collector" website, but did not succeed in finding the button for upoloading. Hence pictures here. One will note that they have M42 mounts. Some had the Alpa snap-on filter mounts and lids, others have ordinary threads. For comparison I have also included the Rollei-Singapore-made 35mm.

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[casualcollector]

Interesting brochure. Thanks for posting it, and the lenses.

I post images on "The Camera Collector" regularly. They do not host images on the forum site. My images are uploaded to a third party site (PhotoBucket) and linked to the forum thread. I do the same here.

[themoleman342]

I know a few of the lenses were optically re-labeled BBAR Tamrons. I've specifically had the chinon and tamron versions of the 24, 28, and the 40-105 (the tamron says 38-100) and they look identical. I would think a few other selections like the 135, 200, 85-210, and 80-250 are tamrons as well but I have yet to see them side-by-side.

The build quality is fantastic for this chinon series. One of the best I've encountered. The big mystery is the 1.7/50 Macro. Great lens. Can't really nail down a manufacturer. The early Chinon labeled 1.7/55mms were tomioka and the later 1.7/50s in K mount were Cosinas, I think. Both look to be different designs from the Macro.

[sceptic]

The 135 2.8 in picture #3 looks quite like my "expert" 135 2.8 (Canon FD mount), which I´ve never been able to figure out the manufacturer of:




Expert was the name of a Swedish chain of electronics stores, whose logo I´ve seen on a lenscap for a Vivitar lens, so perhaps my lens is an OEM made Chinon or Tamron. Any ideas?

[Oldhand]

Thank you for posting these.
They are a name that sits in the back of my memory, but I haven't seen one in the flesh so to speak.
What is the IQ like for these lenses - (presumably it is very good, or you wouldn't have collected them).
Is it in the same ballpark as Takumar or Canon?
Interested in your opinion
Cheers
OH

[paulhofseth]

I got into using the Alpa because it seemed solid, and its short flange distance permitted using other lenses than those very expensive ones that they tested and blessed.

Afte a while, Pignons lost out to the competition and the entire system, both the old small bayonet version, and the Alnea larger bayonet, came cheaply onto the flea markets, and on dealer sales, so I collected it.

I used the Angenieux, Switars and Kinoptics, but after finding that one of the last Japanese efforts was not in the same league, I just left the Chinons in storage. If I ever get time for comparisons, I will post some .

Today, of course, the entire Alpa system is back in vogue among the more discerning, and the Chinon products might see a revival.

p.

[Lloydy]

I bought this Chinon 300 / 5.6 on a chance, it cost less than £10 and is in excellent condition so I had it. I'm glad I did, it's not the fastes lens in its class - the Tair is 4.5 for a start. But this beautifully made lens is less than half the weight of the Tair, 1.53g compared to 0.63g, and the Chinon is 85mm shorter. All that is nothing if the lens is poor, especially as the Tair has a great reputation. But I would rate the Chinon as a very close competitor in sharpness, but it wins hands down because you can hand hold the Chinon where the Tair needs scaffolding



This is a very under rated lens in my opinion, and I'm pleased to see there are other well thought of lenses in the same range.

[fermy]

The aperture scale, black lacquer finish and focus grip pattern seen on 135 and 200mm remind me Soligor CD series that was made mostly by Tokina.

[Lloydy]

[iangreenhalgh1]

I had a Soligor 70-150 that had the same finish with the diamond grips. It was a surprisingly good lens, I think it was made by Tamron.

[paulhofseth]

"........diamond grips are the same. The Chinon is obviously mainly plastic as opposed to the CD's metal, but I think there is a lot to link the two......."

I had time today to check the mount material; the Chinon made, Alpa labelled lenses have metal mounts. I also took a look at the last mount made for Kern Switar 50 when there were optical cells but not any longer Swiss mounts available. It is very similar.

p.

[themoleman342]

They may have opted to make the larger lenses with more plastic to cut down on weight. The primes and zoom I had were all metal except for the A/M switch.

[Pancolart]

[paulhofseth]

ask Lloydy, whom I quoted.

p.