To-mioka or not To-mioka...

Recently as DSLR users have started to suddenly acquire legacy lenses, buyers are seeking better quality glass for their money. Quite often a legacy lens will gain reputation and thus price through word of mouth over the various forums dedicated to the topic of legacy glass. This sees prices soar on ebay as hundreds and thousands of ebayers try to strike gold. The classic example is the Carl Zeiss Jenna DDR Flektogon 35mm 1:2.4. More about that lens later since there appears to be a new contender in the market at the moment.

Tomioka, a well respected Japanese company, made lenses for Carl Zeiss Jenna which must be saying something! Often other brands like Ricoh, Sears, Chinon etc contracted Tomioka to manufacture lenses for them. This resulted in re-branded Tomioka lenses with Sears, Rokinon, Chinon etc labels. For example the Carl Zeiss Jenna Plannar is often thought to be the same lens as Chinon 55mm 1:1.4 inflating prices  for this particular Chinon in the used lens market.



There are certain clues or giveaways that help decide whether a lens is made by Tomioka or not. Most of this is hearsay but it is the best we have to go by and also of course the image quality. One or more of these may be true for a Tomioka made lens.

• Clockwise swirl of aperture blades

• Rubber grip with irregular texture
• Plain rubber grip with silver bands on either side

• Rear element very flat
• Black seal around the rear element

• Wave-like auto/manual switch

I have attempted to gather a list of all the Tomioka manufactured lenses I can find and link the references here.

• Sears 28mm 1:2.8 with the aluminum knurled barrel is supposedly Tomioka made.
• Sears 55mm 1:1.4
• Rikenon 50mm 1:1.4 on PK mount may be a Tomioka
• Chinon 55mm 1:1.4 comes in many shapes of the barrel. Of utmost certainty among experts is the one with the coarse rubber focus ring with silver rings on either side.
• Mamiya may or may not have had their some lenses made by Tomioka as this poster suggests. The jury is still out and the wait seems to be a long one!