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Soligor ... sharper than a tooth (lenses circa early 1970s)
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2025 2:01 pm
Post subject: Soligor ... sharper than a tooth (lenses circa early 1970s)
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2025 2:01 pm
Post subject: Soligor ... sharper than a tooth (lenses circa early 1970s)
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The Automatic 135mm f/2.8 and Preset 135mm f/1.5 & 135mm f/1.8 lenses each have a claimed closest focus distance of 1.2m / 4 feet. As far as I know, Japanese 135mm lenses from that era rarely have a close focus distance that short. I can't disprove those figures, but I'd guess 1.8m / 6 feet would be more likely.


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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 10:21 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 10:21 am
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Like 1 Like 1 Like 1


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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 8:05 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 8:05 pm
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Like 1 Like 1 Thank you!


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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 10:36 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 10:36 pm
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kds315* wrote:
. . .

visualopsins wrote:
. . .


Thank you, sirs, for working to keep this wonderful site operating.


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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2025 11:23 am
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2025 11:23 am
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Tanks a lot!! I knew Soligor had a pretty extensive line-up back in the days,
but I wasn't aware it was that extensive! I certainly appreciate very much the
lens sections as well - though at least the optical computation of the 2.8/25 Soligor
shown above seem pretty spurious. That's probably intentional: Its real lens section
was - to put it mildly - reminding me strongly of the famous Zeiss Distagon 2.8/25mm ...

S


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Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2025 11:17 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2025 11:17 am
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stevemark wrote:
. . .


You're welcome! I'm a lens literature geek, and this Soligor brochure is one of my favorites.


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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2025 12:43 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2025 12:43 am
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That 135mm f/1.5 ... what a monster o.o

Found some pictures of it, and the markings do seem to go down to 1.2m ...

https://www.m42lens.com/m42-lens-database/107-soligor_135mm_f1522


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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2025 8:09 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2025 8:09 am
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I just noticed that the Soligor 3.5/80-200 mm shown here and the Konica AR 3.5/80-200 do have the same lens section (optical computation) indeed.
So Soligor made the Konica AR 3.5/80-200mm?? Or vice versa??

I really would not have expected that!!

Anyone knows more about it?

S


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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 1:50 am
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 1:50 am
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stevemark wrote:
Tanks a lot!! I knew Soligor had a pretty extensive line-up back in the days,
but I wasn't aware it was that extensive! I certainly appreciate very much the
lens sections as well - though at least the optical computation of the 2.8/25 Soligor
shown above seem pretty spurious. That's probably intentional: Its real lens section
was - to put it mildly - reminding me strongly of the famous Zeiss Distagon 2.8/25mm ...

S


There were two different Soligor 25/2.8 lenses, one was the same lens as the Miranda 25mm, the other was made (I believe) by Itoh Kogaku and also appears badged as Kalimar for their Auto-T range of lenses.

Some details from an earlier time I posted (in 2020) the lenses (which I no longer own):

Alun Thomas wrote:
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These are two lenses I believe to be the same optically and from the same manufacturer - Kalimar Auto-T 25/2.8 and Soligor 25/2.8
I think the lenses are an Itoh design, based on the colours used for the focus scale on Auto-T lenses. Also, based on observation, Soligor lenses with a serial code having a leading '3' in this period I have noticed also appear to be Itoh products, or at least have the very distinctive yellow/green colouring on the focus scale which seems to have been a design they used extensively on their products, at least early on. For instance, both the Soligor 85/1.5 and 85/1.8 have the distinctive Itoh design, and also have the '3' serial. Later on, Soligor required manufacturers to supply lenses with a common look, which was the 'chrome eared' look notable during that period for Soligor, however the '3' serail is still in evidence for this lens. This serial system appears between the early serial system with letters i.e. 'H6' coded serials, and then later serial system which featured a manufacturer number followed by the year of manufacture. The numeral '3' was used for Sun Optical products in the later serial system.


Compared to the Miranda version, this lens was not particularly good, a typical third party early wide lens design.

Last edited by Alun Thomas on Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:24 am; edited 1 time in total


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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:08 am
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:08 am
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stevemark wrote:
I just noticed that the Soligor 3.5/80-200 mm shown here and the Konica AR 3.5/80-200 do have the same lens section (optical computation) indeed.
So Soligor made the Konica AR 3.5/80-200mm?? Or vice versa??

I really would not have expected that!!

Anyone knows more about it?

S


It seems somehow an incorrect diagram has made it into the brochure (possibly). Soligor would often print the lens diagram on the box, and this is the one they printed on the box for that lens:

(picture from ebay)



It does correspond to the 12/8 element/group that they wrote in the brochure, so is possibly more likely to be the actual diagram. The lens in question has a '7' prefix, generally thought to denote Sun Optical manufacture, or one of the companies comprising that alliance/group.


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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:15 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2025 2:15 pm
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Also interesting to note that, like many other third-party lens suppliers, Soligor clearly thought it uneconomic to try and compete with the main camera manufacturers' own standard (~50mm) prime FL lenses (which probably often came as a kit lens with the camera).


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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2026 11:17 am
Post subject: Soligor CD 80-200mm f/3.5
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2026 11:17 am
Post subject: Soligor CD 80-200mm f/3.5
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Alun Thomas wrote:

It seems somehow an incorrect diagram has made it into the brochure (possibly). Soligor would often print the lens diagram on the box . . .


It does correspond to the 12/8 element/group that they wrote in the brochure, so is possibly more likely to be the actual diagram. The lens in question has a '7' prefix, generally thought to denote Sun Optical manufacture, or one of the companies comprising that alliance/group.



Several weeks ago, I partially disassembled my copy of that CD 80-200 f/3.5 to try to clean some haze. My lens appears to match the diagram on the box in Alun's post rather than the diagram from the brochure.


Here's my lens:

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And some sample shots from my lens taken at 200mm with an extension tube. Composites of the full images and then crops:

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#3
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