Other/Uncategorized Anyone with experience of Super Acall 135mm f3.5 lens

Other Screw mount bodies/lenses
peterm1

peterm1

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I recently bought a nicely made 135mm f3.5 lens in Australia and that lens was badged on the front element ring as a "Force" lens. I recognized from the image on the sale site, that it looked very like a Super Acall lens of the vintage and type depicted below (taken from the i'net). When I received it I could see that mine was in fact identical - other than the name. Right down to screw placement, distance scales (in ft and mtrs) including the word "inf" to signify infinity, something which itself is unusual instead of the more common infinity sign. From another photo somewhere else I saw the front ring of a Super Acall identical to the one below and saw that the serial number was only 50 off mine. It looks as if everything is identical other than the change of name - even down to the sequence of serial numbers used Which I guess makes sense if you wish to keep costs down - why bother changing serial number sequence. The lens itself is like the proverbial brick outhouse - all chromed brass and glass, very reminiscent of a baby version of Canon's LTM 135mm f3.5 in chrome but with black focus ring and aperture ring of course as shown. (It is a little smaller overall than Canon's, but build quality looks more or less identical).

I realized that these Super Acall lenses were sold under various names - for example I am pretty sure I recall seeing a Komura lens at some time and I think I also recall it as being awfully similar. But I have never heard of "Force" before - probably a retailer I imagine - someone who wanted some lenses to sell from his store under his own made up brand as part of a kit.

Has anyone any experience with the Super Acall version or any other variants and rebadged versions? I would be interest to know your thoughts. I would also be interested in knowing more about history of Super Acall if anyone can help in that department. (I know they had a smallish range of both LTM and SLR lenses all of which look pretty substantial and well made though I am not familiar with optical quality.

EDIT: Though it has to be said though that I have also seen other names used to sell this lens (One post at manual focus forum lists the following) - " Soligor, Berolina, Amanda De Luxe, Petri, Kuribayashi, Accura, Telesar, Komura, Cunor " ButI also just stumbled on the following link which explains why some Super Acall lenses may be badged as Komura (see link below).

The relevant text reads: "The Super-Acall 135mm f/3.5 is a portrait prime lens for 35 mm rangefinder cameras with the M39 Leica screw-mount (LSM).
Produced by Komura Lens Manufacturing; distributed by Kioei Optical Co."

http://allphotolenses.com/lenses/item/c_2706.html



39eea48da7d86df312a8078f4c937f42.jpg
 
While some posts claim it is a very average lens by comparison to say the Canon version, certainly the images depicted at the link below are nothing to sneeze at. See the thumbnails about halfway down. Note however this is clearly a later version of the same lens as I have which leaves open the possibility of optical upgrades. I believe however the coating is likely to be the same - coating on mine is a blue color typical of later coatings used during that period. Never the less the portraits are particularly nice though there is an abundance of "artistic" flare in some of them this is typical of lenses of that era when shot against the light. This is nothing new to a seasoned user of classic lenses.

http://radojuva.com/2015/05/acall-135-3-5-kyoei/

Image:

acall-135-mm-f-3-5-kyoei-sample-2.jpg
 
Anyone with experience of this lens? More to the point mine is a little stiff though still usable and I would be very interested in finding some instructions for disassembly and cleaning the helicals.
 
Thanks for the link peterm1.
I'm going to open up a can of whoop-ass on the poster on that site for using my images (numbers 3,4,5) without linking back to my website or Flickr page
 
johannielscom said:
Thanks for the link peterm1.
I'm going to open up a can of whoop-ass on the poster on that site for using my images (numbers 3,4,5) without linking back to my website or Flickr page
Click to expand...

Glad to be of service. No matter how inadvertently and unexpectedly...... :) Go get'em.
 
I had one. It was ok. I don't recall much else, but I so seldom shot 135mm on a rangefinder. Sorry, not of much help.
 
We used to have a master list of all the lenses by Acall, Komura, etc. here on RFF. It was a good resource and I hope it can still be found. I haven't looked in years though.

Phil Forrest
 
I have a Super-Acall lens engraved Kyoei Optical Co., Ltd. exactly like the one pictured except the distance scale is in feet only--no meters. Infinity focus is off by a lot, so it needs to be recalibrated. Just haven't gotten around to it, so can't comment on its performance. It came with a Series 7 filter adapter, Ednalite skylight filter, and hood engraved "Acall 135mm". Nice!
When I got it I did a little research and found that some but probably not all Acall lenses were marketed as Komura, Asanuma, Telesar, Astra, Force, Sankyo, and Bittco Super Vemar.
 
bmattock said:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14747
Click to expand...

Bill,
I was talking about the thread that went on for a few years called something like "The Definitive Komura List" (paraphrase that in searching.) I haven't seen the thread since maybe 2013.
I think it was stuffed into an archive a few years ago. I was active on that one when testing out a rather uncommon 200mm Komura that was RF coupled. I think we had close to every known marque and focal length/aperture represented on there if not in actual photos, then in research.

Phil Forrest
 
tumblr_pgjwafgmaM1shc02i_1280.jpg


BTW, I have this Japanese "Leica Friend" magazine that has an article introducing those Sankyo Kohki lenses. 5 A4 Pages, with pictures but all in Japanese. If there are more than five people needing to read it I will make take some proper photos of the pages and share.
 
I had one and posted some pics on this forum. Sold it, the Canon 135 3.5 is just as good, and easier to find in great condition. You're going to have to figure out yourself how to open it for lubing....or pay someone else to figure it out. Can't be that complex, just screws and spanner rings and such.
 
I recently acquired a Sankyo Kohki Komura 300mm f5 lens
that has an Exakta mount adapter on an ltm screw thread.

It screwed right on my Leica III.
 
Jack Conrad said:
I recently acquired a Sankyo Kohki Komura 300mm f5 lens
that has an Exakta mount adapter on an ltm screw thread.

It screwed right on my Leica III.
Click to expand...

I think you’ll need to also have a komura reflex box attachment for the lens to focus correctly on your Leica.
Regards
Nathan
 
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