KOMURA 200mm f/4.5 by Sankyo Kohki Japan

Sankyo Kohki KOMURA 200mm f/4.5 (Komura Uniadapter System For 35mm Rangefinder Cameras)

Sankyo Kohki KOMURA 200mm f/4.5
(Komura Uniadapter System For Rangefinder Cameras)

2016.06.22 - Published
2018.12.25 - Re-written, re-edited video

2021.08.13 - Re-written, re-edited video

The KOMURA 200mm f/4.5 was made in the early 1960s. They are custom fit with permanent adapters held in place by screw, such as the one I found in Minolta MD mount.

The whole of this lens is made of cold steel and glass. It weighs quite a bit for a tiny lens and is probably the smallest 200mm prime you'd ever see. It uses 55mm filters to set it apart from my Komura 200/3.5 which was a bigger lens made for 35mm SLR cameras.

Like its bigger sibling, the closest it can focus is a daunting 2.5 meters far, but it's fun putting on closeup filters to experiment with. Twisting the stiff focusing ring to almost a full circle is also too much work. You could almost easily lose shots.

It uses old-school manual stop down; the upper ring is for setting the f-stop, the lower ring is for manually opening/closing the diaphragm. This is what people used to do before 'auto diaphragm' became a thing. The diaphragm is the next unique feature after its tiny size -- 16 metal blades that produce a scallop-shape effect, never mind if they're oily because they're not made of spring mechanisms like newer lenses.

Shooting with this lens gives you 100% vintage character and may not be everyone's cup of tea. The elements are single-coated with amber sheen, they have weak flare control and lose contrast and colors when shooting outdoor or in bright light. It is dreamy wide open almost like a painting, but becomes super sharp stopped down from f/8 or f/16. If you can shoot in the right conditions, this lens can still give you satisfying shots. Never mind the soft contrast and muted colors; it more than makes up with the beautiful creamy bokeh balls and blurry background.