Fuji 3.5cm/f2 Fujinon LTM Lens

[leigh_marrin]

About 20 years ago I picked up a LTM 3.5cm/f2 "Fujinon" lens, made by the "FUJI PHOTO FILM CO.", for use on my Leica M3 and IIIf. Price was about $150, and while I never used it much wide open, it is a fairly good lens in the mid aperture ranges. It's probably a little bigger than the first generation Leitz 35mm Summicron.

 

Recently I tried to find a little info on Fuji LTM lens on the web, and could find almost nothing. But on eBay, I was astounded to see an identical lens with an opening bid of $1400, and a "buy-it-now" price of about $2200. The buyer's hype mentioned that this was a very rare lens, and also that it was made in 1954, with 7 elements in 5 groups.

 

Also on eBay were listings for a Fuji 5cm/f.28, 5cm/f2, 5cm/1.2 and a 3.5cm/f3.5. All were very pricey; even the 3.5cm/f3.5 had an opening bid of about $3000. No surprise: none of the lenses had any bids yet.

 

Questions: wonder if anyone here has used any of the Fuji LTM lens, and their impressions of them? Also, did Fuji ever make a LTM-mount camera?

[andrew_hall1]

AFAIK the seller is Arsenall (sp?), notorious for astronomical prices on everything he puts on eBay. He also has a nasty habit of bombarding the site with dozens, if not hundreds, of such listings at the same time.

 

As for the Fujinons, try searching in Japanese and you will find some image samples. You may also have those pages translated into English by some search engines like Altavista, etc.

[stuart_richardson]

I have never used them myself, but I know that Kevin Cameras sells a lot of lenses of this

type (Leotax, Konica, Fuji etc). I think their price is more from their rarity than their

performance though...I think a lot of makers did these 3rd party LTM lenses in the post-war

reconstruction. I am not sure if they made the bodies as well...

[peter_evans4]

<p>It's a little hard to say who <em>made</em> what in 1950s Japan when, as just one rather minor example, nobody seems to know anything about the <em>manufacture</em> of Tanaka/Tanack/Tanar products. But as far as I know no LTM body was ever branded Fuji (or Fujica, etc.). Kevin doesn't sell many Fuji LTM lenses: he sells few, at high prices. Here in Tokyo, any Fuji -- or "Cristar" (or whatever the name was that was used on the early ones) -- LTM lens is expensive. If I were you and were not particularly fond of this lens, I'd sell it for a profit.</p>

[andrew_hall1]

Tanack cameras were made by - guess who? - Tanaka Optical Co.: http://homepage1.nifty.com/fukucame/nenpyo/5.htm

[peter_evans4]

<p>Yes, Tanaka Optical Company (or rather,

田中工学 Tanaka Kōgaku) announced

itself as the maker of products branded Tanack and Tanar. But where

was its factory? (I vaguely remember that there's agreement

that it did have a factory that made cameras, but that the matter of the

lenses is completely obscure.)</p>

[leigh_marrin]

Thanks for all the informative replies. I'll try to translate some of the Japanese/Fuji sites.

 

 

Peter, I suppose I should try and cash in on my "rare" Fuji lens, but I suspect I'd have trouble getting anywhere near those wild Tokyo prices here in North America. My 35mm/f2 Fuji appears to be a fairly decent lens, so I'll hang onto it.

[leigh_marrin]

Well, this afternoon I checked out an eBay auction for a 35mm/f2 Fuji lens identical to mine: an hour before it closed there was a $1495 bid from a Japanese bidder.

 

Dang, it seems weird that an otherwise unremarkable lens I paid $150 for 20 years ago is now worth more to a few collectors than my Leica M3. But as I'd really love a Leica M2, I guess it's time for some profiteering.