Montgomery Ward 28 mm M42 Mount Vintage Lens
Sep 24, 2022 08:00:59 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
Montgomery Ward 28 mm Auto Wide Angle 1:2.8 M-42 Screw Mount lens (circa 1967). SN:21172. This lens is in great cosmetic condition. Takes beautiful images. I have used on Fuji and Nikon mirrorless cameras. The glass looks very clean. Includes front and rear caps. Asking $75 PayPal shipped.
Sep 24, 2022 08:55:15 #
Wow! I didn't know Montgomery Ward ever got into the camera (or lens) business. Just as Michelin used to make Sears brand tires, do you know who actually manufactured this lens?
Sep 24, 2022 10:33:31 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
fourlocks wrote:
Wow! I didn't know Montgomery Ward ever got into the camera (or lens) business. Just as Michelin used to make Sears brand tires, do you know who actually manufactured this lens?
Yeah Monkey Wards, Sears & Penny’s all had cameras and lenses with their names on them. I’ve Goggled that question and there are several guesses including Tokina, Ricoh, Vivatar and others.
Sep 24, 2022 11:41:06 #
Vivitar and Soligor were retail names from Ponder & Best, and Allied Impex, respectively. Both companies didn't manufacture anything.
It's likely the Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Penney's brands were made by a number of makers, including Cosina, Tokina, Komine, and others. Vivitar lenses have a code in the first two digits of the serial number (22-Kiron, 37-Tokina, etc.). I haven't seen a "decoder" for Sears, etc., but you might be able to glean the maker from physical resemblances to a known maker such as Cosina or Tokina which made lenses under their own names.
Vivitar cameras were mostly made by Cosina. And the Vivitar decoder ID went away in the early Nineties when P&B went out of business and sold the name.
It's likely the Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Penney's brands were made by a number of makers, including Cosina, Tokina, Komine, and others. Vivitar lenses have a code in the first two digits of the serial number (22-Kiron, 37-Tokina, etc.). I haven't seen a "decoder" for Sears, etc., but you might be able to glean the maker from physical resemblances to a known maker such as Cosina or Tokina which made lenses under their own names.
Vivitar cameras were mostly made by Cosina. And the Vivitar decoder ID went away in the early Nineties when P&B went out of business and sold the name.
Sep 24, 2022 12:41:15 #
I have a 12 gauge double barrel shotgun with Montgomery Wards on it. I think they used multiple makers for their firearms as well.
Sep 25, 2022 10:56:24 #
leftj wrote:
Yeah Monkey Wards, Sears & Penny’s all had cameras and lenses with their names on them. I’ve Goggled that question and there are several guesses including Tokina, Ricoh, Vivatar and others.
Tokina and Vivatar weren't manufacturers. Vivitar used a number of different manufacturers to produce their products. Tokina is manufactured by Kenko which is one, if not the largest manufacturers of third party lenses and other accessories. Kenko would be a strong contender for the Montgomery Ward lens.
Sep 26, 2022 01:27:33 #
Bridges wrote:
Tokina and Vivatar weren't manufacturers. Vivitar used a number of different manufacturers to produce their products. Tokina is manufactured by Kenko which is one, if not the largest manufacturers of third party lenses and other accessories. Kenko would be a strong contender for the Montgomery Ward lens.
Tokina has always manufactured lenses since they were founded in 1950. The same with Kenko since they were founded in 1957. At first Tokina manufactured lenses for other brands, but started making their own brand in the '50s.
The two companies merged in 2011 and changed the name of the merged companies to Kenko Tokina two years later.
Sep 26, 2022 15:50:41 #
fourlocks wrote:
Wow! I didn't know Montgomery Ward ever got into the camera (or lens) business. Just as Michelin used to make Sears brand tires, do you know who actually manufactured this lens?
Probably Leitz.
Oct 3, 2022 08:50:42 #
Harry0
Loc: Gardena, Cal
fourlocks wrote:
Wow! I didn't know Montgomery Ward ever got into the camera (or lens) business. Just as Michelin used to make Sears brand tires, do you know who actually manufactured this lens?
I'll bet $1 it was Ricoh.
I knew a lot more about this ... 40 years ago.
3 relatives and I had different cameras and lenses with different names.
All Ricoh.
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