Zunow 50mm f/1.9

Zunow 50mm f/1.9

Among the lenses left behind by Zunow, a small and short-lived Japanese optical maker, the 50mm f/1.9 is one of the least conspicuous. The company built its reputation on extreme speed rather than moderate apertures, so a relatively slow standard lens like this f/1.9 sat well outside the spotlight that fell on its sibling, the 5cm f/1.1. Zunow's lineage ran back to the firm founded by Suzuki Sakuta around 1930 as Teikoku Kogaku Kenkyujo, which spent its early decades grinding lenses as a subcontractor and producing military optics before and during the Second World War [1][2]. The maker is best remembered for introducing a 5cm f/1.1 rangefinder lens in 1953, at the time the fastest lens available for any 35mm camera, a distinction it held until Nippon Kogaku released the Nikkor 50mm f/1.1 in 1956 [2]. Against that backdrop the 50mm f/1.9 reads as a more conventional, accessible offering from a company whose name was built on speed.

The f/1.9 was one of several slower 50mm designs Zunow produced alongside its high-speed flagships, the catalogue also including a 5cm f/1.3 in the same era [2]. A Zunow lens list compiled for 1957 places the 50mm f/1.9 within the rangefinder range made for Leica, Contax, Canon and Nikon mounts, listed beside the 35mm f/1.7, 50mm f/1.1, 50mm f/1.3 and 100mm f/2 [2]. The same focal length and aperture also appears as a standard lens for 35mm SLRs, so the designation 50mm f/1.9 attaches to more than one Zunow product; the version recorded here is the Leica thread-mount rangefinder lens, which is not rangefinder-coupled. In keeping with Zunow's reputation, contemporary observers noted that the fit and finish of the company's lenses compared favourably with the best from larger makers such as Nikon and Canon [1]. Early Zunow lenses were finished in chrome, with some later examples produced in black; any Zunow lens is rare today, and the black-finish lenses are rarer still [1].

Optical qualities

Rendering

Documented information on the rendering of the Leica-mount 50mm f/1.9 specifically is limited, and detailed reviews or sample sets for this version are scarce. As a moderate-aperture standard lens of the mid-1950s it would not have faced the corner-to-corner aberration challenges of Zunow's much faster f/1.1 and f/1.3 designs, but no reliable source supports specific claims about its sharpness, contrast, bokeh or flare behaviour, so those are left undescribed here rather than guessed at.

History

Development and Launch

Zunow grew out of Teikoku Kogaku Kenkyujo, founded by Suzuki Sakuta around 1930, which began as a lens-grinding operation and made wide-aperture lenses, including work by designer Hamano Michisaburo, a former Nippon Kogaku engineer who joined in 1941 [1]. The firm renamed itself Teikoku Kogaku Kogyo K.K. in 1954 and became Zunow Kogaku Kogyo K.K., or Zunow Optical Industry Co. Ltd., in 1956 [2]. After establishing itself with the record-setting 5cm f/1.1 of 1953, the company expanded into a broader range of slower, good-quality lenses, among them the 50mm f/1.9, which it supplied both in rangefinder mounts and as standard lenses; the Miranda T, for example, shipped with a Zunow 50mm f/1.9 [2].

Production Evolution

Across the line, Zunow lenses moved from an all-chrome finish in the earlier years to occasional black-finish examples later in the decade, the black versions being considerably scarcer [1]. Beyond this general shift in finish, specific production changes, optical revisions or serial-number breakdowns for the rangefinder 50mm f/1.9 are not well documented in available sources.

Special editions

No widely documented factory special editions of the rangefinder 50mm f/1.9 are recorded. The most notable variation across the Zunow range is the existence of both chrome and rarer black finishes [1].

Collector Notes

Buyers should be aware that the 50mm f/1.9 designation is shared between Zunow's rangefinder lens and an SLR standard lens of the same specification, so confirming the mount is important when identifying an example [2]. Zunow as a marque is uncommon and was made by a small firm with limited financial backing, which contributes to the scarcity of all its products and the difficulty of finding original accessories such as the company's lens caps [1]. As with any lens of this age, condition factors such as internal haze and coating wear are worth checking, and given the rarity of the brand, originality of finish and mount should be verified before purchase.

Sources

• [1] CameraQuest. Zunow. https://cameraquest.com/zunow.htm
• [2] Crafting Pixels. Vintage lens makers – Zunow (Japan). https://pixelcraft.photo.blog/2025/03/06/vintage-lens-makers-zunow-japan/