Avenon, Komura, Kobalux LTM Komura lenses ?

[BillBingham2]

I've had several Komura lenses over the years and found them to be well worth the money. The most interesting was the 135/2.8 that was in LTM and coupled. It was a stretch for the rangefinder on the Bessa T up close wide open. I have a feeling that Pres K (of CV fame) must have a lot in common the folks picking what lenses to build back in the 60's.

B2 (;->

 

[Al Kaplan]

Komura made good lenses but it was the beginning of "The SLR Revolution" and people looking for a non-Leitz LTM lens at that time probably bought Nikon. They already had the reputation and closed out their line of LTM optics at give away prices. Why buy an "off brand" Komura 36/1.8 when $89.50 would buy you a Nikkor 35/1.8?

Komura's honesty probably worked against them too. It might well have been a 36mm lens but any other company would have just called it a 35mm and made people happy. How many Dual-Range Summicrons would Leitz have sold if they'd listed it as a 51.9mm f/2? ...but that was what it was. All the amateurs would be running around wanting to know how they could possibly use that with the 50mm frame line in their M3.

 

[hannexx]

props for 35/2.8

props for 35/2.8

my very first RF lens was a komura 35/2.8. after using the ultron 35/1.7 and liking the speed and the sharpness, i actually went back to the komura occasionally. it's a little more unpredictable, but sometimes there is a real luminance to it. here is an example:

http://ppodd.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/carrot-shredder/

 

[Nandita]

Komura 210 f6.3

Komura 210 f6.3

I have a very good Komura large format lens as well. 210mm f6.3 - my favorite portrait lens, actually. It performs very well for the focal length. The only one better in that length I've seen is the big Rodenstock.

Hi I am looking to buy a 4X5 camera and one of the lenses available with a cambo is a Komura 210 f6.3. How is your experience with it? Could I possibly see some work with it amongst your uploaded work?

 

[ZorkiKat]

My Sankyo Kohki Komura 2,8/105mm arrived.

It's really BIG. As large as a typical 105 made for SLR cameras...my Pentax 105, Nikon E100, Isco 100mm, and Kaleinar 100mm look smaller by comparison.

Goes well with a bulky RF like the Zorki-4. It will effectively conceal a Barnack type if mounted on one.

Initial tests show that this lens does good. Snappy and crisp details. Have yet to shoot something significant with it...

 

[rogue_designer]

Hi I am looking to buy a 4X5 camera and one of the lenses available with a cambo is a Komura 210 f6.3. How is your experience with it? Could I possibly see some work with it amongst your uploaded work?

Hey there. Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I don't have many from that lens uploaded, it seems. It really is a very nice lens. Especially for portraits (i find).

 

[raid]

My Sankyo Kohki Komura 2,8/105mm arrived.

It's really BIG. As large as a typical 105 made for SLR cameras...my Pentax 105, Nikon E100, Isco 100mm, and Kaleinar 100mm look smaller by comparison.

[image deleted]
Goes well with a bulky RF like the Zorki-4. It will effectively conceal a Barnack type if mounted on one.

Initial tests show that this lens does good. Snappy and crisp details. Have yet to shoot something significant with it...

This lens may be a copy of the popular Nikkor 105 2.5 Sonnar. It has to be a good one.

 

[shadowfox]

For the sake of completeness, I am waiting for two Komuranon enlarger lenses. The seller told me that they are as good as the Nikkor-EL.

I hope he is right 😉

 

[raid]

For the sake of completeness, I am waiting for two Komuranon enlarger lenses. The seller told me that they are as good as the Nikkor-EL.

I hope he is right 😉

Did you get the $25 pair at .... ?

 

[ZorkiKat]

This lens may be a copy of the popular Nikkor 105 2.5 Sonnar. It has to be a good one.

Interesting....

It does produce very un-Nikon blurs (aka bokeh). Nice and subtle, unlike the typical cross-hatches made by many of the Nikkors.

And the Komura 105 seems to be light for a Sonnar or a Nikkor for that matter. The old 105 Nikkors I used before were really heavy.

 

[raid]

There are other Komura tele lenses in that range, so maybe the 100mm/2 lens is the one that supposedly is a Sonnar.

 

[raid]

The 105 Nikkor is an awesome lens in all its disguises and labels.

 

[Sonnar2]

No Sonnar, no Gaussian either. An extended triplet, kindof Ernostar. Different from all Nikkor 105/2.5's.

Komura made lots of Ernostar type lenses, even quite fast ones. I still miss the diagram of the 100/1.8

 

[raid]

By the way, here is a link for a recent RFF thread on my results with the donor Komura 35mm lens.

http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68198

 

[john341]

I had a Komura ltm 28mm f3.5 (I think) which I bought new years ago. Sent it back to Sankyo who made it because the first results were dreadful - apparently incorrectly assembled. Upon its return I tried it and the colour rendition was ok but definition fairly poor. Sold it last year with finder in case for $50!

 

[David Murphy]

Yes the Acall is a solid lens. Some of them are banded by Komura, others Telesar, and this design may have originated with the company that made the Honor LTM camera in the fifties (see the write-up at Pacific Rim Camera). Komura also sold a 35/3.5 which was not physically similar to the Acall, a pretty lens, but I think the "Acall-like" Komura 35/3.5 was the sharpest.

It's very small and beautifully made too. The original Acall kits included a lens, finder, and hood all in a smart little blue zip-up case with gold-leaf type lettering on the outside. Whoever engineered this thing had a keen sense of what an interchangeable lens rangefinder lens should be all about.

 

[tooffy]

Raid,

Most of my experience with Komura lenses is with their LTM's. I have used the Komura 85mm f1.4 in Minolta SR mount, and I found it to be very good, even wide open. In Exakta mount, I once borrowed a Komura 135mm f2.3 (yes, 2.3) that I used on Topcons. That lens too was quite good, but very big, not convenient (it had a preset aperture), and not as good as the RE-Topcor 135mm f3.5; so, I gave it back. So, based on my small experience with Komura SLR lenses and my larger experience with their LTM fair, I generally expect all Komura lenses to perform well, including your new one.

Your lens is pretty fast for an early 1960's lens, but Komura seems to have been pretty successful in their higher-end designs. I would not be surprised if your lens suffers from distortion wide open, as many older wide angle SLR lenses do.

I have an old Komura catalog from 1963 that contains your lens. It is retrofocus, of course, with 7 elements in 5 groups. According to the catalog, the lens came with a screw-in hood. Komura indeed had a pretty advanced stable of lenses at the time (not to mention their medium- and large-format lenses); that catalog lists the 85mm f1.4 and a 135mm f2.0 for SLR's, along some of the fancy-pants LTM lenses I described earlier.

Cheers and Happy New Year,

David

Hi David,
I just got a Komura 80mmf1.8 LTM. Do you have any information about it in your catalog? Thanks.

 

[dberger]

Hi David,
I just got a Komura 80mmf1.8 LTM. Do you have any information about it in your catalog? Thanks.

I am in the middle of a move, so my catalog/brochure stuff is boxed up somewhere. If I recall correctly, however, the Komura 80/1.8 has an Ernostar-type design, with 5 elements (i.e., not a Sonnar). It is a very good lens, so enjoy it well. (Here is a link to a current discussion on fast medium teles.)

Cheers,

David

 

[ferider]

I probably got the same catalogue as you, David. Unfortunately it does not include the 80/1.8 (catalogue is from 64, 80/1.8 is newer ?). The following Komura lenses are confirmed classic Ernostars:

105/2.8
105/2.5
105/2
135/2.8

Since the original Ernostar was an 80/1.8 as well, I am assumining the Komura 80/1.8 to be of the same design.

Roland.

 

[tooffy]

I probably got the same catalogue as you, David. Unfortunately it does not include the 80/1.8 (catalogue is from 64, 80/1.8 is newer ?). The following Komura lenses are confirmed classic Ernostars:

105/2.8
105/2.5
105/2
135/2.8

Since the original Ernostar was an 80/1.8 as well, I am assumining the Komura 80/1.8 to be of the same design.

Roland.

I am in the middle of a move, so my catalog/brochure stuff is boxed up somewhere. If I recall correctly, however, the Komura 80/1.8 has an Ernostar-type design, with 5 elements (i.e., not a Sonnar). It is a very good lens, so enjoy it well. (Here is a link to a current discussion on fast medium teles.)

Cheers,

David

Thanks, David & Roland🙂