Chinon 55mm f/1.4: (1)

Chinon 55mm f/1.4 Lens

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…  (read more)
The National Lottery

The National Lottery

28 Nov 2018 2 1 135
If I won the lottery - which is improbable for several reasons, not least that I never buy a ticket - I would establish and finance a Campaign to Prevent the State from Promoting False Hope Through Gambling. Shot with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.
per una

per una

02 Apr 2020 1 82
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter. The macro effect was achieved with the addition of a Minolta Close Up No. 1 supplementary lens screwed into the 55mm filter mount. The Per Una brand has been a major success for Marks & Spencer.
Tomioka Toys

Tomioka Toys

02 Apr 2020 2 122
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter.
Black Holes

Black Holes

02 Apr 2020 1 124
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter. The macro effect was achieved with the addition of a Minolta Close Up No. 1 supplementary lens screwed into the 55mm filter mount.
Fruit Bowl

Fruit Bowl

02 Apr 2020 3 119
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter.
Wool Hat in a Coat Pocket

Wool Hat in a Coat Pocket

02 Apr 2020 3 3 132
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter. The macro effect was achieved with the addition of a Minolta Close Up No. 1 supplementary lens screwed into the 55mm filter mount.
The Blue Crate

The Blue Crate

02 Apr 2020 1 2 129
Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter.
A Shortage of Soap

A Shortage of Soap

02 Apr 2020 1 1 122
Because of the Corona virus pandemic we are recommended to wash our hands more often and more thoroughly. Consequently it has become difficult to find supplies of one's preferred soap. Photographed with a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens mounted on a Canon EOS 30D via an EOS-M42 adapter.
Standing Room Only

Standing Room Only

27 Jun 2017 70
Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens. The National Trust puts teasels on the chairs lest visitors cause damage. The only property where the policy differs is Avebury Manor where people are encouraged to try out the furniture.
Trivento Argentina - 2015 Malbec Reserve (New Edit)

Trivento Argentina - 2015 Malbec Reserve (New Edit…

23 Apr 2016 6 2 92
An empty bottle originally photographed in 2016, so presumably this was a wine best drunk young. An edit of an earlier version. As I mature (like wine, but maybe not the 2015 Malbec Reserve) I become more complex, more demanding. I take on greater character. I even edit photographs now. As Old Owl has remarked elsewhere, "I'm constantly surprised at the way we can, as we gain experience, look at a photograph we deemed to be a failure and discover a picture worth creating. This is also a damned good reason to never delete so-called failures." I looked this wine up on the internet and read the following evaluation: "Gorgeous nose exhibiting an array of aromas such as peppery mulberry, sour and black cherry, violet and a subtle touch of wild strawberry jam. The palate is full, complex, with a fantastic energy and bursting with ripe dark plums; tannins are impressively silky and freshness is amazing." I did not drink any of this wine and cannot therefore offer any personal opinion beyond the usefulness of the empty bottle as a subject for photography. I nevertheless wonder how fermented grapes can smell like other fruits. I once heard Jilly Goolden compare some wine or other to petrol. Wow! Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 + Minolta close-up lens no.1.
Trivento Argentina - 2015 Malbec Reserve (Label)

Trivento Argentina - 2015 Malbec Reserve (Label)

23 Apr 2016 2 2 65
I looked this wine up on the internet and read the following evaluation: "Gorgeous nose exhibiting an array of aromas such as peppery mulberry, sour and black cherry, violet and a subtle touch of wild strawberry jam. The palate is full, complex, with a fantastic energy and bursting with ripe dark plums; tannins are impressively silky and freshness is amazing." I did not drink any of this wine and cannot therefore offer any personal opinion beyond the usefulness of the empty bottle as a subject for photography. I nevertheless wonder how fermented grapes can smell like other fruits. I once heard Jilly Goolden compare some wine or other to petrol. I have tasted petrol when draining a rusted out tank on a Morris Marina and if some so-called wine expert thinks any wine tastes like petrol, they have never had a mouthful of unleaded. Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 + Minolta Close-Up supplementary lens no.1. All bought on eBay (except the wine).
And We're On Our Way

And We're On Our Way

23 Apr 2016 5 1 95
I looked at you You looked at me I smiled at you You smiled at me Canon EOS 40D + Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens.
The Garden According to Chinon

The Garden According to Chinon

27 Jun 2017 14 4 110
Photographed using an old Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens in M42 mount. Coupled to a Canon EOS 40D camera via an adapter. Processed in Lightroom to isolate the yellow tops and exclude the green stems.
Measuring

Measuring

26 Sep 2020 2 1 62
Lens: M42 Chinon 55mm f1.4. Made by Tomioka. Camera: Fujifilm X-E1.
Tomioka Laundry

Tomioka Laundry

04 Apr 2021 3 98
Lens: Chinon 55mm f/1.4, originally coupled with a Chinon CX SLR of the 1970s where it was a £10 upgrade to the usual f/1.7 lens. This picture was made with the addition of a Minolta Close-Up Lens No.1 to the lens filter mount.
Tomioka Thin Depth of Field

Tomioka Thin Depth of Field

06 Jun 2021 6 2 109
Lens: Chinon 55mm f/1.4. Camera: Canon EOS 30D. The lens is an asymmetrical double-Gauss design. (It is similar to the Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4 from 1961). It was the creation of Johannes Berger of Zeiss in 1957 and was later licensed to other manufacturers. Amongst these was Tomioka, a Japanese glass manufacturer. Chinon, who made cameras but not lenses, went to Tomioka for a standard fast lens. They decided on this 55mm f/1.4 which initially was engraved with the Tomioka name. Later in the production run the Tomioka name was removed for reasons to do with a change of ownership. But the lens lacking the name is indisputably of Tomioka manufacture, being identical in all other respects and of a distinctive and unusual appearance. There is a bit of a cult around this lens; versions with the Tomioka name are appreciably more expensive to buy secondhand. The double Gauss was maybe the most intensively studied lens formula of the twentieth century producing dozens of major variants, scores of minor variants, hundreds of marketed lenses and tens of millions of unit sales.
Tomioka Gardening Gloves

Tomioka Gardening Gloves

10 Jul 2021 4 2 176
Photographed using a Chinon 55mm f/1.4 lens fitted via an EOS-M42 adapter to a Canon EOS 30D camera.
The Age of the Slide Rule

The Age of the Slide Rule

10 Jul 2021 2 2 106
Digital photography is liberating. You are freed from waiting, you learn quickly from mistakes and get the chance to correct them. You can process pictures to suit your taste without having to build your own darkroom. And although the speed of development has slowed, digital equipment gets better and better, So why use some old screw thread manual focus lens designed in the age of the slide rule which has a tendency to flare (though this one is quite remarkable in other respects) knowing that it introduces the distinct possibility of failure into your photography? Why bother with adapters and zooming with your feet when even the cheapest kit lens provides more certainty in your picture-taking?
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