Komura 135mm f/3.5

[RichC]

I'm after a cheap 135mm lens (Leica thread or bayonet) for close-up shots like this:

"Still Life"
"Mnemosyne"

I bought a Jupiter-11: nice lens except that the close-focus distance is an immense 2.5 metres - which made its purchase pointless!

Komura 135mm lenses go for little money: does anyone know how close they focus? Any other suggestions? I'm looking for 1.5 metres or less.

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Rich, my Komura 135 2.8 goes to about 1.4m, has a flat flange so it won't hang up on fsu's (unlike the Nikons and Canons). It was so cheap that I had a lot of fun tearing it apart and relubing it, it's now finger tippable (it's a front element-rotating design), and actually quite usable indoors. It seems to be just as hit or miss on my r-d1 as my other 135's though, so it tends to stay at home. I'm going to get my j9 cla'd to handle this r-d1 stuff I think, and regretfully save 135 for film.

 

[mjflory]

Steve, what do you mean by "finger tippable" --- that you can rotate the lens with one finger? Maybe I should see if I could match your cleaning & lubing skills, as mine (S/N 2240444, little brother to yours) is somewhat stiff.

Those are pretty shots, by the way... lovely colors!

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Steve, what do you mean by "finger tippable" --- that you can rotate the lens with one finger? Maybe I should see if I could match your cleaning & lubing skills, as mine (S/N 2240444, little brother to yours) is somewhat stiff.

Those are pretty shots, by the way... lovely colors!

Thanks! Yeah, that's what I was trying to say, sorry. The big element may seem scary to focus, but it can be made pretty smooth. I had a little time, so I thoroughly scrubbed the helicals with a wire brush. In retrospect, I probably should have taken photos of the process. 😱

 

[mjflory]

I had a little time, so I thoroughly scrubbed the helicals with a wire brush. In retrospect, I probably should have taken photos of the process. 😱

Thanks, Steve... Maybe I should try this. I'm surprised about the wire brush, though. I'd have thought it would roughen the surface and make it less smooth, but clearly it smoothed things for you.

I just bought mine recently here on RFF. I already had the Canon 135 but I soon discovered the incompatibility with some rangefinders. The Komura seems happy on all of them. It seems to be a very nice, underappreciated lens, and the close focus is another plus.

 

[BillBingham2]

Rich,

I too have a Komura 135/2.8 and love it. Do not use it a lot, up close it works fine on my M4-P or M6c and it's fine with a Bessa T. Be careful about using it on a Bess Rx, they do not have the EBL to do close up wide open.

B2 (;->

 

[peter_n]

Komura glass can be very good. I think they OEM'd for Nikon for a while. I recently bought a Komura 2X Leica M teleconverter and the glass in it looks perfect. It works fine with my 135mm (= 270mm 😀) but the focus at infinity is off, so off to DAG it goes. But this thing and a tripod are looking good for when you really need to compress planes in a landscape. 🙂

 

[RichC]

my Komura 135 2.8 goes to about 1.4m...

Thanks Steve - exactly what I wanted to hear! (Anyone the European side of the pond want a relubed Jupiter-11 with perfect glass!?)

I'm not worried about focusing such a long lens (= 200 mm on my Epson R-D1) as it'll be stuck on a tripod at f/16 for my still lifes (lives!?). (According to the notes on my website, a 135 mm lens is fine above f/6.7 on the R-D1.)