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Soligor 180 WL series - First lens in over a month
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:33 pm    Post subject: Soligor 180 WL series - First lens in over a month Reply with quote
It has been over a month since I bought a lens. That's how bad things have become. Today I finally broke down and bought this old Soligor in a Vemar (i.e., the wrong) case:

Click here to see on Ebay then click see original listing

The purchase was more out of desperation than anything else. I'm not even sure of what I bought and would appreciate your input regarding the following:

1. Is this a preset lens?

2. What the heck does "WL" connote? I could not find that anywhere.

3. Is this lens any good? I did find a couple of threads on other Soligor 180 lenses. They are not "WL" and they do not look like this lens.

Finally:

I saw the personalization. At least the seller did not try to hide it (too many sellers do just that). I hate personalization. But I bid anyway.

If it's a preset lens I'll still be happy. I like preset lenses in nice shape even more than I dislike personalization.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have one, in Soligor Miranda brand, in Miranda M44 screw mount. I have post on it here, can't get to it from my phone.
I had to go to some effort to temporarily adapt to DSLR.
I don't have a clue about the maker, its distinctive and different and unlike similar lenses I know of from the usual lot.
It is a preset, again a fairly distinctive arrangement with the aperture in the rear.
Not a bad lens, quite up to the standards of the day for this category.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is mine -
http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-miranda-3-5-180-kowa-t28102,highlight,%2B180+%2B3+%2B5.html


PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
I have one, in Soligor Miranda brand, in Miranda M44 screw mount. I have post on it here, can't get to it from my phone.
I had to go to some effort to temporarily adapt to DSLR.
I don't have a clue about the maker, its distinctive and different and unlike similar lenses I know of from the usual lot.
It is a preset, again a fairly distinctive arrangement with the aperture in the rear.
Not a bad lens, quite up to the standards of the day for this category.


Thank you so much, luisalegria! That's (mostly) good news. I'm very happy it's a preset.

It appears there might be some sort of adapter on the rear of the lens. My hope on the mount is that it might at least be T2, or even m42 with the adapter, since the subject lens is not Miranda.

But even if not:

My appreciation for and enjoyment of preset lenses in decent shape becomes stronger daily. And they are not growing on trees.

I will post regarding the mount once the lens arrives. The very kind seller contacted me (voluntarily) saying he would ship today. If so, I should receive the lens early this coming week.

Last edited by guardian on Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:25 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
This is mine -
http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-miranda-3-5-180-kowa-t28102,highlight,%2B180+%2B3+%2B5.html


Whoa, luisalegria!! You have caught me off guard with that thread. I did not pick it up prior to purchase. It's what I get for searching with Bing. I should have searched with the forum's own search function.

Regardless:

After reading your thread, I continue to have hope my lens will have either a T2 or M42 mount. However, this will become known with certainty only in the fullness of time.

I remain happy about the lens. Course if it turns out to be T2 or M42 I will be even more happy! Wink

Finally:

I guess the meaning of "WL" remains shrouded by the ever thickening mists which separate us from a quickly receding past. This is, after all, a characteristic of preset lenses in general. They are much more mysterious than mundane, newer, automatic lenses. Smile


PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The lens arrived today. Wanted to add a couple of notes for other forum members, should they ever run across this lens. First, probably a good idea to post a photo of the lens:



I was fortunate that the lens turned out to be m42. Confirming luisalegria's remark, this lens is not T2! So:

Is there any sort of adapter?

There is not an adapter per se. However, the rear-most portion of the lens, from the aperture index mark on back, is readily removable. You must loosen three small screws and it just pulls straight off. And the rear-most (glass) "element" of the lens is not a lens at all. It is merely a round, flat glass which protects the aperture from dust, dirt, etc.. The flat glass is contained within the rear-most portion of the lens.

So I would not label that rear-most portion of the lens an adapter, per se, not one that is popular and widely recognized. But it is likely the manufacturer of this lens made different versions of that rear-most portion to allow adaptation to different brands of camera bodies.

Aside from the mount, my impression of the lens overall is good/favorable, and I'm happy with the purchase. But this lens does not rank up there with the finest (in terms of fit, finish, and craftsmanship) I've ever encountered. It's an OK lens, but if it were not a preset lens I would not be inclined to bother with it.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Its M42, do you have a problem with adapting that ?
The only DSLRs that I know of that would have problems with M42 are Nikons.
Very cheap and simple adapters are available for all other mounts.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
Its M42, do you have a problem with adapting that ?
The only DSLRs that I know of that would have problems with M42 are Nikons.
Very cheap and simple adapters are available for all other mounts.


Naaa, I'm good. But if it had not been m42 I'd have been in some difficulty. And I didn't know, in advance of receiving the lens, that the thread was m42. There was no promise of this from the seller.

Point was to re-emphasize your (earlier) point about it not being T2. So many preset lenses are T2, after all. This lens is rather an oddball. And I still don't know what "WL" means. Smile


PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
No prob.
Mine was marked "Soligor Miranda" specifically, so it was my own risk re the mount.

There were plenty of presets with fixed mounts, all the 1950's and into the mid 60's. It took a few years for the t-mounts to take over.
And there are some preset lens makers that never did use t-mounts, like Komura.
And there are some lenses from known and prolific makers like Tokina that are in fact fixed mounts, or in this case, quite a few in the Tokina-only 47mm pseudo t-mount.

Its messy.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
No prob.

There were plenty of presets with fixed mounts, all the 1950's and into the mid 60's. It took a few years for the t-mounts to take over.
And there are some preset lens makers that never did use t-mounts, like Komura.
And there are some lenses from known and prolific makers like Tokina that are in fact fixed mounts, or in this case, quite a few in the Tokina-only 47mm pseudo t-mount.

Its messy.


Thanks, luisalegria, for these valuable cautions. They are especially important for preset fans who, like myself, are merely students of the genre.

BTW, while the subject lens is surely fairly old, as you suggest, I failed earlier to mention it appears to have rather nice coating, rich blue in colour. Whatever company made this lens was not operating entirely in the dark ages way back then.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 12:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Coated lenses were standard for everything by the early 1950's, even for the cheapest.

Blue coatings like that were typical of outfits like Meyer, from the 1950's, or the early Japanese third party outfits like Fujita. You will also find that on early Yashica TLR's, etc. Not a bit unusual.

This work was probably done on contract, so thats not an identifier.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks. Interestingly, I should receive a copy in a near future.
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