KOMURA 200mm f/3.5 (Komura Unidapter System for 35mm Film SLRs)

Sankyo Kohki KOMURA 200mm f/3.5 (Komura Uniadapter System for 35mm Film SLRs)

Sankyo Kohki KOMURA 200mm f/3.5
(Komura Unidapter System for 35mm Film SLRs)

2016.09.29 - Published

2017.07.20 - Re-written

2021.08.13 - Re-written, re-upload

2022.08.15 - Updated

Sankyo Kohki Japan

KOMURA

200mm f/3.5

Mount - Komura Unidapter

System - For 35mm SLR cameras

Time Period - Early 1960s

Focal Length - 200mm
Minimum Focusing - 2.5 meters
Focus Throw - Full circle turn
Filter Thread Ø - 62mm
Aperture Run - f/3.5 to f/22

Full-stop clicks

Diaphragm - 16 blades

Optical Formula - 5 single-coated elements

Made in Japan

Photo Album:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5zWwLRHbGEaY8PS66

========================================

Impressions

Komura began to exist in the early 1950s and produced lenses for rangefinder and enlargers. The KOMURA 200mm f/3.5 (Komura Unidapter System) was from the 1960s, created for 35mm SLR cameras. Today, it's hard to adapt for Nikon DSLRs (see 'flange distance') because it usually comes in obsolete mounts; they are better used on mirrorless cameras. I was able to hack the adapter and for my Nikon D5200 with focusing to infinity.

This lens is heavy and made of cold steel, sometimes it feels like a ~~blunt weapon~~ real lens while mounted on the camera. Both my copies had a somewhat stiff focusing or maybe it was made that way; the full circle focus throw also makes it hard to focus quickly.

It uses the old school preset aperture -- the top ring is for setting the f-stop, the lower ring for manually opening/closing the diaphragm, which is also useful for video shooting. It has 16 diaphragm blades and is the most number of blades I have ever seen or read about; bokeh balls will be perfectly rounded at any f-stop and giving creamy dissolved background blur. All the blades are made of metal, it won't get stuck even with oil as can be seen here, unlike newer lenses with plastic blades and spring mechanisms.

Lens elements are treated with single-coating and have blue and amber sheen. Colors and contrast are nice when shooting indoor, but it tends to have poor flare control and usually produces soft contrast and muted colors when shooting outdoor. This vintage character is typical of old single coatings with pleasing output, but you cannot deny that it is crispy sharp wide at f/3.5, even more stopped down to f/4.

Newer 200mm primes can focus as close as 1.5 meters, some tele-zooms can focus down to 0.9 meters. This Komura lens focuses down to 2.5 meters, too far! This and its long focus throw are what makes me want to use tele-zooms like the Nikon Series E and Tamron Adaptall.

I have two copies of the Komura 200/3.5,
both came with beautiful 62mm Komura coated UV filters.

Beautiful glass with blue and amber sheen
(single-coated elements)

16 iris blades is the most number in a lens I've ever seen or know of.
Bokeh balls will be round at any f-stop and creamy blurry backgrounds.

Candy to my eyes.

Two copies of Komura 200/3.5
with slight cosmetic differences.
The right has been hacked to fit Nikon DSLRs.

"UNI." precedes 'LENS MADE IN JAPAN'
It stands for Komura's proprietary Uniadapter system
which uses 44mm screw-thread.

My second copy shows "N"
which probably means new version.

These Uniadapters usually come in obsolete mounts.
Good luck finding one for your Nikon DSLRs.
No choice but to do this hack.

Excerpt from a Komura product brochure, Feb 1970.

The Komura 200/3.5 was made for 35mm Film SLR Cameras
(I also have the Komura 200/4.5)

Komura product brochure, Australia 1975

Komura product brochure, 1963

========================================

Samples

Shot with Nikon D5200

September 2016

Mostly late afternoons, all f/3.5

Shot at 200mm f/3.5, originally portrait orientation
then cropped landscape in its full width.
You can see crispy details of this Peacock Flower
albeit with soft contrast and muted colors (overcast day).