Any idea who made this Montgomery Ward m42 mount lens?

Maineiac · Jan 12, 2023

I found it at a local goodwill store for $10.00. it has a little yellowing in the lens, but otherwise seems clean. I've got a M42 to FD adaptor on order and will try it out on my Canon FTb QL
sorry for slightly blurry, humongous pictures

Timo Schön · Jan 13, 2023

I found this article

Montgomery Ward - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

camera-wiki.org

and this old forum post

Montgomery Ward made lenses? [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

Sorry for borrowing from the recent thread concernong Zeiss lenses! I have a lens labeled "8x10 Rapid Rectilinear No 2951" "Montgomery Ward & Co Chicago" Can anyone tell me anything about it? It doesn't have a flange with it, but rigging it up to a lensboard and measuring from the front...

www.largeformatphotography.info

It seems that that the brand is similar to Sears (also a department store selling photographic equipment) but they definetly seem to have an intersting line up of cameras. The names Seneca and ROC are mentioned in the forum post regarding the lens manufacturers but I have never heard of them.

Since this is an older post I assume you probably found these things out yourself already but I had some free time at hand so why not How did the lens perform?

Maineiac · Jan 13, 2023

I found articles talking about cameras, but haven't found anything about lenses. not specifically anyway. I read somewhere that Tokina made a a lot of rebadged lenses.

BobD · Jan 13, 2023

I would guess it is one of the Japanese makers that made Vivitar lenses listed here:

https://www.cameraquest.com/VivLensManuf.htm

xkaes · Jan 13, 2023

My first guess is Tomioka. Second guess is Cosina. You'll need to track down this lens with their name on it and compare the two. Looks like a nice lens.

Maineiac · Jan 13, 2023

xkaes said:
My first guess is Tomioka. Second guess is Cosina. You'll need to track down this lens with their name on it and compare the two. Looks like a nice lens.

BobD said:
I would guess it is one of the Japanese makers that made Vivitar lenses listed here:

https://www.cameraquest.com/VivLensManuf.htm

thanks, I'll check them out

Ian Grant · Jan 13, 2023

Here in the UK we had similar re-branded lenses sold by small camera store chains. It's like to have poor barrel correction, few third party M42 28mm lenses were well corrected. The exceptions were the Tamron 28mm f2.5 and Vivitar S1 lenses, and there was a rare higher end Soligor.

It does look very like one of my M42 28mm lens, they aren't at hand, it's dark and I can't find my torch, either a Chinon or Hanimex, fairly sure the Chinon. Like you I didn't pay much they were thrown in with Pentax Spotmatics.

Ian

BobD · Jan 13, 2023

I just sold a Japan-made, K-mount "JC Penney" 135/2.8. I never used it but it appeared as well made as any such lens I've seen.

Brendan Quirk · Jan 13, 2023

Wards and Sears often sold Ricoh sourced materials. Details, I have none. But my Ricoh Singlex TLS often appeared under their badge.

Paul Howell · Jan 14, 2023

I know Sears sold rebranded Ricoh bodies and lens, M42 and K mount, Wards sold rebranded Konica, as far as I know Konica did not make any M42 gear. Later Sears sold rebranded lens made in South Korea, I have a 300 5.6 in K mount.

Maineiac · Jan 14, 2023

looking at pictures on the web, I'm 99% positive it was made by Chinon. the 2 lenses are almost exactly the same, and the difference was so subtle I think it was an earlier or later model or maybe just a different way that MW wanted theirs to be

Gillco Photo · Jan 27, 2023

I have the FD version of this lens - I can't remember where i found the information, but i think Konica may have made this lens

Paul Howell · Jan 27, 2023

If made by Konica it would be a very good lens.

Maineiac · Jan 27, 2023

Paul Howell said:
If made by Konica it would be a very good lens.

I was out today with it on a new (to me) Pratika ltl, it is unbelievably sharp. I'm very impressed with the quality of the photos.

Paul Howell · Jan 28, 2023

Then it just might be a rebranded Konica, although Konica sold rebranded cameras it was with the Konica mount, never knew that Konica made lens in other mounts other than their own.

Wolfram Malukker · May 16, 2024

I also have this lens-I haven't used it yet but I it's exactly the one in pictured in this thread. How did you end up liking it, Maineiac? Your last response says you were pretty impressed-did it have any poor characteristics?

loccdor · May 17, 2024

I was impressed with the off-brand 28mm f/2.8 Osawa M42 lens. This lens looks to have some differences from that but I have had good luck with off-brand 28mm f/2.8 primes, I think that some of the simpler lens designs are easy enough to manufacture that 3rd parties can get pretty good at them. I wouldn't be surprised if your lens is a sleeper of a gem.

Ian Grant · May 17, 2024

Maineiac said:
looking at pictures on the web, I'm 99% positive it was made by Chinon. the 2 lenses are almost exactly the same, and the difference was so subtle I think it was an earlier or later model or maybe just a different way that MW wanted theirs to be

Chinon did not make their own lenses. Some like their 50mm standard lenses were superb, like their 50mm f1.4. Others like the wide angles were not well corrected although sharp, and suffered slight barrel distortion, but then they were quite inexpensive.

Looking through copies of Amateur Photographer from the early 1970s it's surprising how many UK dealers (usually with 3 or 4., or more, stores) had lens re-badged for them. Usually these were companies also selling by mail-order. I'd buy the occasional US magazine and see the same lenses re-badged for US stores.

Ian

Any idea who made this Montgomery Ward m42 mount lens?

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