Sankyo-Kohki Komura 80mm f/3.5

Sankyo-Kohki Komura 80mm f/3.5

The Komura 80mm f/3.5 sits at the slower, more compact end of Sankyo Kohki's short telephoto offerings for Leica screw mount, where it lived alongside the better known and much faster Komura 80mm f/1.8. As a rangefinder-coupled lens in Leica thread mount (LTM, also called L39 or M39), it focuses through the camera's coupled rangefinder and fits the broad family of Leica and Leica-compatible screw bodies, as well as the many Japanese and European rangefinders sharing that standard. Sankyo Kohki built lenses under the Komura name from the early 1950s onward, and by 1960 the firm had grown into one of the largest independent lens makers in Japan, supplying optics across a wide range of mounts and focal lengths [1].

The lens is a conventional moderate-aperture short telephoto. Its ten-bladed diaphragm produces a rounded aperture opening, and the relatively modest f/3.5 maximum speed keeps the optical assembly compact and light compared with the f/1.8 sibling. Close focus is about 1.25 m, in line with other rangefinder portrait-length lenses of the era, and the coupling to the camera rangefinder allows accurate focusing at typical portrait distances. Like other Komura LTM lenses, it was offered in black-and-chrome finish.

Documented detail specific to this slower 80mm is limited. Sankyo Kohki produced a very large catalogue of interchangeable lenses for rangefinder, SLR, and other mounts, and Komura-branded screw-mount lenses for Leica and for the Nikon rangefinder system were among the company's most common products [1]. The 80mm f/3.5 is far scarcer in the secondhand market than the faster 80mm f/1.8, and surviving examples are mostly identified by the maker's marking on the front beauty ring rather than by published model numbers.

Optical qualities

Rendering There is little detailed, independent test data for the 80mm f/3.5 specifically, so its rendering is best described in general terms. As a single-focal-length, moderate-aperture short telephoto from a respected mid-century Japanese third-party maker, it is the type of lens that gave Sankyo Kohki its reputation: medium telephoto and wide-angle Komura optics were valued for offering good image quality at prices below the established German and Japanese brands [1]. Beyond that, claims about its sharpness, contrast, bokeh, flare, or distortion are not supported by reliable published sources and are best verified on a given example, since coating wear and haze are common on lenses of this age.

History

Development and Launch Komura was the brand name for lenses made in Japan by Sankyo Kohki beginning in the early 1950s. Little is recorded about the company's origins, but as Japan's optical industry expanded after the war, many independent lens makers emerged, and Sankyo Kohki's earliest products were sold under the Chibanon (also spelled Chivanon) name, including lenses for enlargers and early Japanese folding cameras [1]. As the company grew, its range expanded to interchangeable lenses for rangefinders and SLRs, with Leica thread mount and Nikon rangefinder mount lenses being the most common [1].

Production Evolution By 1960 Sankyo Kohki was one of the largest independent lens manufacturers in Japan, and the popularity of its wide-angle and medium telephoto lenses drew the attention of Western photographers and American distributors such as Joseph Ehrenreich, leading to a US trademark filing in December 1962 [1]. The clearest single snapshot of the company's lineup comes from a 1965 Komura dealer catalogue published by EPOI International, Ltd, a subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo Optical Industries Inc of New York, which showed about 40 lenses from 28mm to 800mm covering most rangefinder, SLR, and C-mount cameras [1]. The short 80mm telephoto class fell within this rangefinder-oriented part of the catalogue.

Collector Notes The 80mm f/3.5 is easily confused with the much more sought-after Komura 80mm f/1.8, which appears far more often in listings and references; buyers should confirm the marked maximum aperture rather than rely on the 80mm focal length alone. As with most lenses of this vintage and origin, examples frequently show haze, faint internal fungus, coating wear on the front element, and stiff or oily helicoids, all of which are worth checking before purchase. Because published documentation for this specific slower variant is thin, originality and mount details are best confirmed visually against the maker's markings on the lens itself.

Sources

• [1] Mike Eckman. Sankyo Kohki Komura 500mm f/7. https://mikeeckman.com/2022/10/sankyo-kohki-komura-500mm-f-7/