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Other Third Party |
Other Third Party lenses I own include those from Asanuma, Quantaray, Soligor, Sun and Zykkor. There have been a large variety of other Third Party manufactureres as well, including Albinar, Angenieux, Beroflex, Cambron, Chinon, Cosina, Haminex, Hoya, Kiron, Koboron, Novoflex, Sakar, Spiratone and probably others I've never heard of. I cannot go into all of these, so will limit myself to those I own.
Allied Impex Corporation (originally Allied Import-Export Company) brought us Miranda cameras and Soligor lenses from 1963 to 1978, with Soligor lenses coming from a variety of manufacturers. Most Soligor lenses of the late 60s and early 70s came from the company we know today as Tokina. Prior to 1963, Soligor was a primary supplier of lenses to the Miranda Camera Co.
Today, Quantaray is a well known brand of lens, sold by Ritz camera, among others. The worst kept secret in the business is that Quataray lenes, for the most part, are made by Sigma.
Quantaray 24mm f/2.5 MF: My Quantary is in Konica mount and I seldom blow up pictures larger than 8x10, so pictures with this lens come out fine. It's not a lens I would recommend, but I don't think most would be too unhapy with it either.
Zykkor 28mm f/2.8 MF: Zykkor are Korean made lenses. I've seldom used this lens, but the pictures I've taken with it are sharp in the center with some fall off at the edges. It was a cheap filler until I get a better prime wideangle lens for my Nikon system.
Asanuma 35mm f/2.8 MF: This is a very nice lens. This is an early Tokina brand name, and it is an excellent lens. It performs beautifully and is sharp thoughout out its range. I have it in Konica mount.
Soligor 200mm f/2.8 MF: A variety of lens makers have made Soligor lenses. So I have no idea who made this one. It's a fast 200mm, using 72mm filter. I have it in Konica mount and mainly use it where I need it's lower light capability over my Konica 200mm f/3.5. However it gives very nice pictures, although not as sharp as my Konica.
Haminex 300mm f/4 MF: This lens was probably designed by Vivitar. It's a fast 300mm lens that gives very respectable picture quality. The Haminex brand is vary rare. It's more of a collectors item. I have it in Konica mount.
Soligor 28-80mm f/3.5 Macro MF: Again, in Konica mount. This is only a fair lens. I use it mostly for family snapshots when quality doesn't matter. It has a bad reputation, but I must have gotten a good example, for I find the quality of mine as being above average. It has a weight of 17.1 ounces and takes 62mm filters. Lens construction is 15 elements in 13 groups.
Koboron 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 MF: This is an average lens. Nice as a travel lens, but nothing special. I have this in Konica mount.
Sun 85-300mm f/5 Macro MF: This was an early 300mm capable acquisition. Performance is only average, but is a low cost way of acquiring 300mm that does a fair job or reaching out. and picture quality where prints aren't blown up very large. Mine is in Konica mount.