Taylor C. 35mm f/2.5 for Exakta/Topcon

[m m]

<p><img src="../photo/16282732" alt="" /><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16282732-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="454" />I just came across an unusual lens. It's a Taylor C. 35mm f/2.5 in Exakta mount. Has a nice look to the photos, but I can't find any reference to this lens anywhere. And Taylor? Is that Talyor, as in Taylor-Hobson? Anyone know anything about this lens?</p>

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[john_robison3]

<p>Can't help with the history on that lens but I'll bet the red 'C' stands for 'coated'. This was probably made when coating was a newer feature on lenses and a selling point. Neat lens though, congrats on a great find.</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I don't know but I don't think this is a TTH lens. Taylor, Taylor and Hobson, or TTH, or now Taylor Hobson have never to my knowledge been just Taylor. So my guess is that this is probably a Japanese made lens of the 1950's or early 60's with an Exacta mount and an upmarket name. As John says the red C is likely to mean coated. Around this time lens makers tended to have a red symbol of some kind on them to indicate the lens had been coated. Schneider had a red triangle and Zeiss had a red T. Later coating became normal so the red marks disappeared.</p>

<p>It looks quite well made. Have you tried it?</p>

[dan_fromm2]

<p>The lens' serial number isn't in the TTH sequence. TTH serial numbers didn't and as far as I know still don't have alphabetic prefixes.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>These lenses were offered on Exaktas by at least one of the big New York stores.</p>

<p>As I understand it, on "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade_law">Fair Trade</a>" items the manufacturer could set the price if it was offered with the original lens, but if something else were substituted, a lower price could be asked. While I found an ad that showed the Exakta <em>was</em> at one point in the 50s a Fair Trade item, I couldn't find one of the ads for your lens in the time I had to look, but I have seen one fairly recently in looking up something else in my old photo mags.</p>

<p>BTW, the Taylors are expensive and highly respected lenses from those days, made for Hasselblad, Foton, and all, as well as Exakta.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Did find a Contax/Pentacon/Hexacon with a normal Taylor lens priced between a Zeiss Tessar and a likely Zeiss Biotar.</p>

<p>Your 35mm lens is probably another of the early retrofocus wide angles made for the mirror reflex cameras of the early 50s (with Angenieux and the Flektogon). Although I wouldn't rule out the idea of a Japanese lens of later vintage either.</p><div></div>

[colin carron]

<p>My guess is it was made by Petri :</p>

<p>

<p>Petri seem to have used the FT prefix for one of their ranges of products :</p>

<p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_Camera</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I admit to being pretty confused about Japanese makers and branding from this period. If you search for JUPLEN 35mm f2.5 it seems to indicate it was made by Fujita.</p>

<p>http://spiral-m42.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/fujita-juplen-35mmf25.html</p>

<p>http://forum.mflenses.com/fujita-the-forgotten-maker-t22482,highlight,juplen.html</p>

<p>If the lens noted in this is the same as the Taylor 35/2.5 then it is '<em>the first </em><em> Japanese 35mm SLR retrofocus lens on the market</em>'.</p>

<p>Nice find!</p>

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[JDMvW]

<p>That seems likely enough. If it is Japanese, they were hoping for the confusion with the Taylor Cooke etcs.</p>

[m m]

<p>I thought there was something "special" about the lens. Here are a few pics I shot with the lens adapted to a Canon T3i, just to get a feel for it. It has a beautiful look. I'm not sure if it's the camera or the lens, but oddly, the color balance changes drastically when stooping from f/2.5 down to f/8, as shown in the pictures.<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16294955-lg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000" /></p>

[m m]

<p>Wide open, at f/2.5. Focus is on the metal water<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16294956-lg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000" /> bowl.</p>

[m m]

<p>Again, but now at f/8. Focus also on the water bowl<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16294957-lg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000" /></p>

[m m]

<p>Colin: thanks for the link. It is indeed the very same lens. And it does appear they were trying to associate the lens by naming it similar to Taylor Cook. Hence, Cooke "C.". Sure confused me!</p>

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