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Shutterbug2
Tinkerer
Username: Shutterbug2
Post Number: 20
Registered: 10-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 06, 2008 - 08:44 pm: | 
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topcor is probably superior to soligor or exaktar lens but their more in my price range right now. would like to stay around even slower 55mm lens rather than 135mm but they seem to be cheaper and more abundant. soligor,s lens like vivitar have been around for long time so they cant, be to bad. anyone,s view welcome. James |
Turnergande
Tinkerer
Username: Turnergande
Post Number: 39
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 12:05 pm: |
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Soligor & Vivitar sold many lenses in many mounts but I don't recall seeing them in RE mount, at least in the 50 - 55mm focal length range (??) unless it was specifically a Miranda or Vivitar (Cosina) camera body. The Topcor 58mm f1.8 lens in RE mount seem plentiful enough on eBay and the prices should be very affordable. Personally I'd not pay more than $30 - $35 for a nice one. The 58mm f1.4 Topcor is an even more prestigious lens but much pricier, quite a handful & heavy. I should think most any Topcor RE lens will more than likely be superior mechanically & if not optically to an equivalent Vivitar or Soligor. Certainly some Soligor & Vivitar lenses are quite decent performers. My opinion: if one can afford a nice Topcon Super D or Beseler D-1 body, I'd guess a Topcor lens should be quite affordable too. The prices on 135mm f3.5 Topcor are also pretty reasonable on eBay but that does not seem to be a favored focal length for many users; it's also a rather slow & bulky lens. The 100mm f2.8 Topcor is more compact but pricey ($100+?). I bought a 35mm f2.8 Topcor for $40 so maybe that's an affordable alternative as well. If Soligor or Vivitar made 28mm or 100mm lenses in RE mount then those might be worth considering based on comparable selling costs. Then there might be various adaptable mount lenses to consider by Tamron, Vivitar and others. I'd just stay clear of the older preset T mounts as that's not a very convenient way to use normal focal length lenses especially in a professional grade Topcon camera. Note: although Topcon uses the Exakta mount, it is my understanding that lenses specifically made for Exakta often will not work properly or conveniently on the Topcon. |
Turnergande
Tinkerer
Username: Turnergande
Post Number: 40
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 08:28 pm: |
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I searched Internet to include eBay current & completed listings for off brand Topcon RE lenses. I saw a few wide angle Carenar branded lenses on eBay for Topcon RE. I'm guessing they are rebadged Cosina? Some may actually be made in Japan although I have also seen a 135mm Carenar made in Korea (M42 mount). Carenar / Carena were no doubt importer brand names (Europe?). Anyway the prices seemed to be very affordable for 28mm & 35mm. Not really sure if they are optically very competent lenses? Seems wide angle lenses are a better option than 135mm for most photo taking situations? |
Shutterbug2
Tinkerer
Username: Shutterbug2
Post Number: 21
Registered: 10-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 10:16 pm: |
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Thanks for your input gary. i,ve got 2 places to keep going back to locally that might eventually come up with lens for super d. the carenar wide angel lens on ebay might not be to bad. seller says there made from an old repetable optical co. from the look of boxes there NOS. i,ve only got 30.00 invested in super d so i,m not going to get hurt if i settle for a lesser grade of lens to try out super d for now. plus it came with 2x and 3x auto converters. i saw topcon cm re lens on KEH website . what does cm stand for plus what does (49) in parenthesis mean. i know uv lens wont fit super d i know that much. James |
Turnergande
Tinkerer
Username: Turnergande
Post Number: 41
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 11:43 pm: |
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James,
5 cm = 50mm. CM = centimeter MM = millimeter. Lenses typically use one or the other focal length measure. Rarely will you see a focal length indicated as an inch increment. In the older days probably more lenses had cm. Some lens makers alternated those units of measure on similar lenses (e.g. Soligor / Miranda) but most newer lenses are found in mm. The (49) might well be the screw in filter diameter (49mm). Good luck in your lens selection. If you decide you might want an affordable authentic Topcor RE lens you can also contact me off line. I'll be happy to offer additional suggestions. garyandelenaturner at msn dot com |
John_shriver
Tinkerer
Username: John_shriver
Post Number: 22
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 07:51 pm: |
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There's no third-party normal lenses for Topcons, at least not meter-coupled. A non-meter-coupled Zeiss Tessar 50/3.5 would be an excellent lens, but similar to the Topcor 58/1.8 in performance.
The best interchangeable mount made that fits the Super D has to be the Tamron Adaptall one. Only thing "wrong" with it is the aperture ring turns the wrong way, opposite of the way the meter needle moves. But there a few fixed focal length lenses from Tamron that I would expect to be better than the Topcors, or cheaper including the right mount.
The one Tamron I'd plug is the 300/5.6 model 54B, which has extraordinary close-focusing capabilities, and is razor sharp.
Of course, if you want modern zooms, the Tamron lenses are the way to go.
There is a Vivitar/Soligor (well, Tokina really) T4 interchangeable mount for Topcon. I've got one mount, but never seen a lens to match it that would offer me anything interesting.
If you don't want meter coupling, there's the zillions of T2 mount lenses.
Also, Komura made a quality set of third-party lenses with both their Unidapter and Uni-Auto interchangeable mounts. (Former is for preset lenses, later has auto-diaphragm on Topcon, but no meter-coupling.) There are some interesting Komura lenses, like a 100/1.8 and a 200/3.5.
There were also four rare "high speed" Komura lenses (85/1.4, 105/2.0, 135/2.0, and 135/2.4), but they used special interchangeable mounts, which are very scarce in Topcon/Exakta.
Well, the Topcon 200/5.6 is such a slow lens, and not all that sharp, so perhaps a Tamron, Vivitar, Soligor, or Komura 200/3.5 lens is a better choice at that focal length. Tamron's certainly the best of those, but not common. |
John_shriver
Tinkerer
Username: John_shriver
Post Number: 23
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 07:53 pm: |
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The Carenar lenses are the same lenses as the "badged in" RE Topcor lenses that Topcon offered wit h the "badged in" RE200 and RE300 cameras. They're not Cosina, some other contract maufacturer in Japan. Both the lenses ard cameras probably started as K-mounts, and were reworked. In the end, the last Topcon camera was the RM300, which was K-mount! |
John_shriver
Tinkerer
Username: John_shriver
Post Number: 33
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 - 08:10 pm: |
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The contract manufacturer of the "RE Topcor" lenses (not the RE. Auto-Topcor lenses) was Cima Kogaku. They were eventually sold as Cimko MT, as well as Exaktar, Quantaray (one of many suppliers for them), Photax Paragon PMC, etc. Cima Kogaku had a patent on a method for making lenses that could accept a wide variety of mounts.
In testing, the 200/3.3 RE Topcor lens is repsectable. |
Garyanddaisy
Tinkerer
Username: Garyanddaisy
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 03:23 pm: |
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Topcor UV, GN and other Topcor lens were made in the same place as the Nikon lenses. Same workers, same engineers. Wonder why they're pricey? Wonder why they're some of the best lenses ever? Wonder why the Topcon was made for microscope use?
Early Vivitars were made by Zuiko! The earliest Vivitar (Zuiko) 400mm 4.5 is one of the best 400mm ever! Try to find one for sale today.
Remember, Vivitar was only a distributer, NOT a manufacturer. There are custom shops in Japan who can make any adaptor for any body for any lens. AND THEY WORK. And they're pricey. I've mounted Topcor 58mm 1.4 & 50mm 1.4 on my OM-2n with one of those adaptors. Can you say PERFECT?
With Topcon's dual-rail bellows setup, you cannot use the Topcor 58mm 1.4 as the edges of the photo will be "messy." The 58mm 1.8 is PERFECT.
Go to Topcon/Topcor sites in Japan for ALL answers. They still use these super cameras today. Use Google translation software. |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 676
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 05:25 pm: |
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Gary,
Do you have reliable documentary evidence for your first sentence, or are you just reiterating one of the many web myths? |
Mikel
Tinkerer
Username: Mikel
Post Number: 174
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 09:48 pm: |
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I agree with Glenn.
Tokyo Kogaku and Nippon Kogaku were distinctly different companies. They both did work for the Japanese military in the 1930's and 40's but their post-war lenses are of very different design and construction which would indicate different sources. |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 678
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 07, 2009 - 05:17 pm: |
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Michael,
Glad there is somebody else who understands the history of of the pre WW11 Japanese optical industry.
Topcon/Topcor products do not need mythical justifications for their quality. I was around when these products were released onto the amateur market and they, like superior products from other manufacturers, have stood the test of time. |
Clegg96
Tinkerer
Username: Clegg96
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 26, 2010 - 10:39 pm: |
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I am just getting into the video camera business and I need some help I have some questions about what lens can go on the vivitar DVR 810 HD camera i was wondering if a baby death lens or a death lens(fisheye) can go on the vivitar 810 so if you have any information thank you but please can you help me |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 812
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - 05:55 pm: |
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Sorry the simple answer is no! If the manufacture made adapter lenses for this camera they will be listed in the camera literature, I suggest you have a read up.
As for the 'death lens' - perhaps your local mortician can help on that one. In this little community we only repair and use classic equipment that uses silver halide as a recording media, not silicon chips. |
