Chinon 55mm f/1.4 Lens

An old tin doing duty as a spare button store. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

I walk around the house. Things have changed slightly in this room. Some clothing is airing on clothes hangers suspended from a bookshelf. There is not much light but it is enough if a fast lens is used in combination with an elevated ISO. The colours are nice. The close-up effect of a standard lens on a cropped sensor is slightly enigmatic. The folds create shadows; the buttons reflect activity. This is a little slice of domesticity. Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens via an M42 adapter.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens with Minolta Close-Up Supplementary lens no.1.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 + Minolta close-up lens no.1.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens + Minolta Close-Up lens no.1.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 on extension tube.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 on extension tube.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Chinon 55mm f/1.4 M42 lens on a Canon EOS 40D via an adapter.

Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and an Auto Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted via an M42 - EOS adapter. Shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom. The Japanese Tomioka company made this lens to a Planar design by Johannes Berger of Zeiss, which Zeiss never themselves used, having something similar which they considered superior. I bought this lens still attached to a Chinon CX from an eBay seller. It is engraved ‘Auto Chinon’ but in all other respects is identical to 55mm f/1.4 lenses badged ‘Tomioka’ which Chinon were supplying before 1974 when there was a change of ownership at Tomioka. The company was taken over by Carl Zeiss in 1974 and the name Tomioka was removed from the front of lenses being supplied to camera manufacturers. Tomioka was at one time the largest lens producer in Japan. It was more economical for Chinon, Mamiya Sekors, Ricoh, and others to buy from Tomioka than to manufacture their own lenses. In this they were not alone. Vivitar and Soligor, for example, never made lenses. They specified what they wanted, and various Japanese optical companies bid for the contracts. When sold new in the UK by Dixons the f/1.4 lens was available as an option to the normal f/1.7 for an extra £10 over the £69.95 usual price (I quote from a 1976 advertisement in ‘Amateur Photographer’). That was quite a premium and as a result the f/1.4 version is relatively scarce. However, the more normal f/1.7 offering is also a very good performer and both plentiful and cheap. It is rumoured that Tomioka made it as well, and whilst the appearance is strikingly similar (for example, the focussing ring is covered with a rippled leatherette material in both cases), there was never a Tomioka-badged f/1.7 on a Chinon SLR. Much as I enjoy using these vintage lenses, I would add a footnote that they are not in the Nikon league for contrast and sharpness. You won’t beat a 50mm Nikkor from this period, either optically or on quality of construction. Of course, they cost appreciably more, and were beyond the reach of all but the professionals and the well-heeled. Heigh-ho.

Photographed with a Canon EOS 40D and an Auto Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted via an M42 - EOS adapter. Shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens on a Canon EOS 40D via an adapter.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.

Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4.