List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
p.1 #1List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
I've started this list two years ago, though initially limited to European lens manufacturers. Since then I've continued assembling further entries.
Recently I've expanded my list to (historial and current) lens manufacturers from all over the world and shared a variant which I'm continually updating here:
https://www.simplejoy.at/articles/list-of-lens-makers/
I'm very thankful for anyone who can chime in, add some names or pointers towards good sources or who can spot errors in the existing list or sorting.
To clarify, I'm trying to build a list of manufacturers of all kinds of lenses related to photography, including industrial, enlarging and projection lenses but not single components or lens elements for glasses, binoculars etc. I'm also
not looking for mere brands/re-sellers or camera-makers. I'm sure that a couple of those managed to get in there regardless by now, so if you spot some errors, I'd appreciate it, if you could let me know as well.
Since people here seem particularly knowledgeable about (more recent) alt-lens manufacturing companies from China and Japan, I'm hopeful that there's a bunch of those which I've overlooked by now.
Recently I've expanded my list to (historial and current) lens manufacturers from all over the world and shared a variant which I'm continually updating here:
https://www.simplejoy.at/articles/list-of-lens-makers/
I'm very thankful for anyone who can chime in, add some names or pointers towards good sources or who can spot errors in the existing list or sorting.
To clarify, I'm trying to build a list of manufacturers of all kinds of lenses related to photography, including industrial, enlarging and projection lenses but not single components or lens elements for glasses, binoculars etc. I'm also
not looking for mere brands/re-sellers or camera-makers. I'm sure that a couple of those managed to get in there regardless by now, so if you spot some errors, I'd appreciate it, if you could let me know as well.
Since people here seem particularly knowledgeable about (more recent) alt-lens manufacturing companies from China and Japan, I'm hopeful that there's a bunch of those which I've overlooked by now.
Sep 07, 2026 at 10:33 AM
p.1 #2List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Okay... just tried to look a bit more into the (vast) area of Leica-inspired lenses & copies from China. Is it correct that these are all separate companies? Or is there evidence that some might be brands only, selling the same product?
Artralab
Astrhori
Funleader
Kipon
MrDing
Peace Lens Optics
Syoptic
Artralab
Astrhori
Funleader
Kipon
MrDing
Peace Lens Optics
Syoptic
Sep 09, 2026 at 09:04 AM
p.1 #3List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Here are a few more companies from the former GDR:
- VEB Carl Zeiss Jena
- VEB Feinoptik Görlitz
- VEB Pentacon Dresden
- Ernst Ludwig Optische Werkstätten (Weixdorf bei Dresden)
"Feinmess" should be called "VEB Feinmess Dresden".
- VEB Carl Zeiss Jena
- VEB Feinoptik Görlitz
- VEB Pentacon Dresden
- Ernst Ludwig Optische Werkstätten (Weixdorf bei Dresden)
"Feinmess" should be called "VEB Feinmess Dresden".
Sep 09, 2026 at 10:02 AM
p.1 #4List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Here are a few more companies from the former GDR:
- VEB Carl Zeiss Jena
- VEB Feinoptik Görlitz
- VEB Pentacon Dresden
- Ernst Ludwig Optische Werkstätten (Weixdorf bei Dresden)
"Feinmess" should be called "VEB Feinmess Dresden".
Thanks a lot, I‘ll take a look at that. I think that I prefer to add the VEB at the end though since it‘s a type of corporation (Volkseigener Betrieb) rather than the company name. And was Feinoptik Görlitz really engraved on any lenses? I thought they kept the Meyer brand around, even after WWII until they integrated everything under the Pentacon banner.
Here are a few more companies from the former GDR:
- VEB Carl Zeiss Jena
- VEB Feinoptik Görlitz
- VEB Pentacon Dresden
- Ernst Ludwig Optische Werkstätten (Weixdorf bei Dresden)
"Feinmess" should be called "VEB Feinmess Dresden".
Thanks a lot, I‘ll take a look at that. I think that I prefer to add the VEB at the end though since it‘s a type of corporation (Volkseigener Betrieb) rather than the company name. And was Feinoptik Görlitz really engraved on any lenses? I thought they kept the Meyer brand around, even after WWII until they integrated everything under the Pentacon banner.
Sep 09, 2026 at 10:23 AM
p.1 #5List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
simplejoy wrote:
I think that I prefer to add the VEB at the end though since it‘s a type of corporation (Volkseigener Betrieb) rather than the company name.
No, that is not the case. VEB stands for "Volkseigener Betrieb" (People Owned Factory) and must always appear at the beginning, as this was the official designation and the exclusive way the respective manufacturer wrote its name at that time. Incidentally, "VEB Feinoptik Görlitz" should actually be "VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz"—sorry about that.
simplejoy wrote:
And was Feinoptik Görlitz really engraved on any lenses? I thought they kept the Meyer brand around, even after WWII until they integrated everything under the Pentacon banner.
In your initial post, you mentioned list of lens manufacturers, not a list of used engravings.
I think that I prefer to add the VEB at the end though since it‘s a type of corporation (Volkseigener Betrieb) rather than the company name.
No, that is not the case. VEB stands for "Volkseigener Betrieb" (People Owned Factory) and must always appear at the beginning, as this was the official designation and the exclusive way the respective manufacturer wrote its name at that time. Incidentally, "VEB Feinoptik Görlitz" should actually be "VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz"—sorry about that.
simplejoy wrote:
And was Feinoptik Görlitz really engraved on any lenses? I thought they kept the Meyer brand around, even after WWII until they integrated everything under the Pentacon banner.
In your initial post, you mentioned list of lens manufacturers, not a list of used engravings.
Sep 09, 2026 at 10:39 AM
p.1 #6List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Nifty Fifty wrote:
No, that is not the case. VEB stands for "Volkseigener Betrieb" (People Owned Factory) and must always appear at the beginning, as this was the official designation and the exclusive way the respective manufacturer wrote its name at that time. Incidentally, "VEB Feinoptik Görlitz" should actually be "VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz"—sorry about that.
In your initial post, you mentioned list of lens manufacturers, not a list of used engravings.
Thanks a lot for the explanation! I'm going to do that in case of companies, which wrote their name in this way (including the VEB at the front) at all times, but not with those like ROW which usually didn't do that from my experience. I'll have to check my favorite resource regarding that, which is zeissikonveb.de
There's lots of original material there, so I can make sure which was which!
You're right of course on the "lens manufacturer" point. There‘s going to be some compromises though in terms of accuracy, since I try to arrange them alphabetically and (where possible) by the most commonly known name.
simplejoy wrote
I think that I prefer to add the VEB at the end though since it‘s a type of corporation (Volkseigener Betrieb) rather than the company name.simplejoy wrote
And was Feinoptik Görlitz really engraved on any lenses? I thought they kept the Meyer brand around, even after WWII until they integrated everything under the Pentacon banner.Thanks a lot for the explanation! I'm going to do that in case of companies, which wrote their name in this way (including the VEB at the front) at all times, but not with those like ROW which usually didn't do that from my experience. I'll have to check my favorite resource regarding that, which is zeissikonveb.de
There's lots of original material there, so I can make sure which was which!
You're right of course on the "lens manufacturer" point. There‘s going to be some compromises though in terms of accuracy, since I try to arrange them alphabetically and (where possible) by the most commonly known name.
Sep 09, 2026 at 12:23 PM
p.1 #7List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
You can do it however you like, of course, it is your list, after all, but ROW was officially known as "VEB ROW" or "VEB Rathenower Optische Werke" during the GDR era, and I’d bet anything that it was written exactly that way on all official documents. Except, perhaps, for documents intended for non-socialist countries; things got pretty bizarre in that regard anyway.
Just to put it in perspective: an estimated 99% of factories in the GDR were nationalized—making and so "people-owned" and officially included "VEB" in their names.
Just to put it in perspective: an estimated 99% of factories in the GDR were nationalized—making and so "people-owned" and officially included "VEB" in their names.
Sep 09, 2026 at 01:38 PM
p.1 #8List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Nifty Fifty wrote:
You can do it however you like, of course, it is your list, after all, but ROW was officially known as "VEB ROW" or "VEB Rathenower Optische Werke" during the GDR era, and I’d bet anything that it was written exactly that way on all official documents. Except, perhaps, for documents intended for non-socialist countries; things got pretty bizarre in that regard anyway.
Just to put it in perspective: an estimated 99% of factories in the GDR were nationalized—making and so "people-owned" and officially included "VEB" in their names.
Of course I believe you, that the offical name was that, but I've done a lot of research on ROW and it is not part of the logo, barely written anywhere on the products and on manuals often just as part of the imprint:
There are also examples where the VEB is written seperately and after the name:
Of course the full name with VEB also appears in several ads and is usually how the company is referenced in any offical documents, but as mentioned, that's not my priority. Unless there's a very convincing reason to go another route, I'll try to use names, which companies were known as.
I think I'll add a couple of things in parenthesis though, with companies where it makes things clearer (like "Opton" for example). I don't know if you're familiar with Hartmut Thiele. He also doesn't list any of the companies mentioned under VEB in his books, whenever a list is in alphabetical order.
You can do it however you like, of course, it is your list, after all, but ROW was officially known as "VEB ROW" or "VEB Rathenower Optische Werke" during the GDR era, and I’d bet anything that it was written exactly that way on all official documents. Except, perhaps, for documents intended for non-socialist countries; things got pretty bizarre in that regard anyway.
Just to put it in perspective: an estimated 99% of factories in the GDR were nationalized—making and so "people-owned" and officially included "VEB" in their names.
Of course I believe you, that the offical name was that, but I've done a lot of research on ROW and it is not part of the logo, barely written anywhere on the products and on manuals often just as part of the imprint:
There are also examples where the VEB is written seperately and after the name:
Of course the full name with VEB also appears in several ads and is usually how the company is referenced in any offical documents, but as mentioned, that's not my priority. Unless there's a very convincing reason to go another route, I'll try to use names, which companies were known as.
I think I'll add a couple of things in parenthesis though, with companies where it makes things clearer (like "Opton" for example). I don't know if you're familiar with Hartmut Thiele. He also doesn't list any of the companies mentioned under VEB in his books, whenever a list is in alphabetical order.
Sep 09, 2026 at 02:00 PM
p.1 #9List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Anyway: Thanks again for the great input! It already helped me spot a couple of things,which I'll have to check again or improve somewhat! There really are some complex company structures, name changes etc. to consider within the optical industry of the time...
Sep 09, 2026 at 02:13 PM
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p.1 #10List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
I completely understand your approach and didn't mean to dissuade you. I simply wanted to mention the specific terminology. Treating the whole thing with absolute precision is difficult anyway, as names were changed repeatedly in the post-war years and even later. Therefore, I fully understand the preference for sticking with the commonly used terms.
With Leica, for example, one also doesn't usually differentiate between Ernst Leitz GmbH, Leica GmbH, Leica Camera GmbH, or Leica Camera AG.
And then there's Rollei: Franken & Heidecke, Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke, Rollei Fototechnik, Franke & Heidecke GmbH Feinmechanik und Optik, DHW Fototechnik GmbH.🤯
With VEB, at least, it would be immediately clear that these were products from the GDR.😇
With Leica, for example, one also doesn't usually differentiate between Ernst Leitz GmbH, Leica GmbH, Leica Camera GmbH, or Leica Camera AG.
And then there's Rollei: Franken & Heidecke, Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke, Rollei Fototechnik, Franke & Heidecke GmbH Feinmechanik und Optik, DHW Fototechnik GmbH.🤯
With VEB, at least, it would be immediately clear that these were products from the GDR.😇
Sep 09, 2026 at 03:08 PM
p.1 #11List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
simplejoy wrote:
I've started this list two years ago, though initially limited to European lens manufacturers. Since then I've continued assembling further entries.
Recently I've expanded my list to (historial and current) lens manufacturers from all over the world and shared a variant which I'm continually updating here:
https://www.simplejoy.at/articles/list-of-lens-makers/
https://www.simplejoy.at/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/lensmakers.jpg
I'm very thankful for anyone who can chime in, add some names or pointers towards good sources or who can spot errors in the existing list or sorting.
To clarify, I'm trying to build a list of manufacturers of all kinds of lenses related to photography, including industrial, enlarging and projection lenses but not single etc. I'm also
not looking for mere brands/re-sellers or camera-makers. I'm sure that a couple of those managed to get in there regardless by now, so if you spot some errors, I'd appreciate it, if you could let me know as well.
Since people here seem particularly knowledgeable about (more recent) alt-lens manufacturing companies from China and Japan, I'm hopeful that there's a bunch of those which I've overlooked by now....Show more →
Thank you for that list it brings back memories from the early 1970's when I somehow ended up on a retail camera dealer list, and had European manufacturers sending me catalogs of new lenses at literally mates rates. It was great for a 13-15 year old.
Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,
The only possible error I saw was Bell & Howell. They didn't manufacture lenses. I believe it was Taylor-Hobson, Cooke, and other 3rd parrties that made lenses for what they sold. They were a lot like Vivitar giving access to US markets by re-badging other companies existing products with their name added and sometimes a design change. Even Canon used this method to get into the US market.
My general impression of lens manufacturing history reads something like this. They start making lenses, and one or a handful of talented designers emerge. They toil for a bit under the owner until they go free agent, and start making lenses on their own. Some continue to toil away in situ, and develop a following right where they are. In both cases their names, or naming convention gets bestowed on their designs and creations. Almost like rock stars, or the chefs of today. I imagine the unknown contributors list would be vast, kind of like the boss or supervisor that takes credit for an employees idea.
I've started this list two years ago, though initially limited to European lens manufacturers. Since then I've continued assembling further entries.
Recently I've expanded my list to (historial and current) lens manufacturers from all over the world and shared a variant which I'm continually updating here:
https://www.simplejoy.at/articles/list-of-lens-makers/
https://www.simplejoy.at/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/lensmakers.jpg
I'm very thankful for anyone who can chime in, add some names or pointers towards good sources or who can spot errors in the existing list or sorting.
To clarify, I'm trying to build a list of manufacturers of all kinds of lenses related to photography, including industrial, enlarging and projection lenses but not single etc. I'm also
not looking for mere brands/re-sellers or camera-makers. I'm sure that a couple of those managed to get in there regardless by now, so if you spot some errors, I'd appreciate it, if you could let me know as well.
Since people here seem particularly knowledgeable about (more recent) alt-lens manufacturing companies from China and Japan, I'm hopeful that there's a bunch of those which I've overlooked by now....Show more →
Thank you for that list it brings back memories from the early 1970's when I somehow ended up on a retail camera dealer list, and had European manufacturers sending me catalogs of new lenses at literally mates rates. It was great for a 13-15 year old.
Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,The only possible error I saw was Bell & Howell. They didn't manufacture lenses. I believe it was Taylor-Hobson, Cooke, and other 3rd parrties that made lenses for what they sold. They were a lot like Vivitar giving access to US markets by re-badging other companies existing products with their name added and sometimes a design change. Even Canon used this method to get into the US market.
My general impression of lens manufacturing history reads something like this. They start making lenses, and one or a handful of talented designers emerge. They toil for a bit under the owner until they go free agent, and start making lenses on their own. Some continue to toil away in situ, and develop a following right where they are. In both cases their names, or naming convention gets bestowed on their designs and creations. Almost like rock stars, or the chefs of today. I imagine the unknown contributors list would be vast, kind of like the boss or supervisor that takes credit for an employees idea.
Sep 09, 2026 at 03:11 PM
p.1 #12List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
James Markus wrote:
Thank you for that list it brings back memories from the early 1970's when I somehow ended up on a retail camera dealer list, and had European manufacturers sending me catalogs of new lenses at literally mates rates. It was great for a 13-15 year old. Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,
That sounds great indeed! What kind of lenses do you stil have from that opportunity? I'd love to travel back in time and get some interesting lenses from Astro-Berlin, Meyer-Optik, Boyer, Angenieux, Goerz, Som Berthiot, Taylor-Hobson or Dallmeyer etc.
James Markus wrote:
The only possible error I saw was Bell & Howell. They didn't manufacture lenses. I believe it was Taylor-Hobson, Cooke, and other 3rd parrties that made lenses for what they sold. They were a lot like Vivitar giving access to US markets by re-badging other companies existing products with their name added and sometimes a design change. Even Canon used this method to get into the US market.
Thanks a lot! You're correct, most lenses by Bell & Howell were made in the UK or Japan. I've stumbled upon the latter while researching for my Tomioka article
According to the information I found Tomioka might have made projection lenses for Bell & Howell for a short amount of time.
However according to this overview:
https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/bell-and-howell/
Bell & Howell might have started its own lens production during WWII. Under one of the images production of projection and photographic lenses is mentioned.
Thank you for that list it brings back memories from the early 1970's when I somehow ended up on a retail camera dealer list, and had European manufacturers sending me catalogs of new lenses at literally mates rates. It was great for a 13-15 year old.
Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,That sounds great indeed! What kind of lenses do you stil have from that opportunity? I'd love to travel back in time and get some interesting lenses from Astro-Berlin, Meyer-Optik, Boyer, Angenieux, Goerz, Som Berthiot, Taylor-Hobson or Dallmeyer etc.
James Markus wrote:
The only possible error I saw was Bell & Howell. They didn't manufacture lenses. I believe it was Taylor-Hobson, Cooke, and other 3rd parrties that made lenses for what they sold. They were a lot like Vivitar giving access to US markets by re-badging other companies existing products with their name added and sometimes a design change. Even Canon used this method to get into the US market.
Thanks a lot! You're correct, most lenses by Bell & Howell were made in the UK or Japan. I've stumbled upon the latter while researching for my Tomioka article
According to the information I found Tomioka might have made projection lenses for Bell & Howell for a short amount of time.
However according to this overview:
https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/bell-and-howell/
Bell & Howell might have started its own lens production during WWII. Under one of the images production of projection and photographic lenses is mentioned.
Sep 09, 2026 at 04:05 PM
p.1 #13List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
simplejoy wrote:
Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,That sounds great indeed! What kind of lenses do you stil have from that opportunity? I'd love to travel back in time and get some interesting lenses from Astro-Berlin, Meyer-Optik, Boyer, Angenieux, Goerz, Som Berthiot, Taylor-Hobson or Dallmeyer etc.
Thanks a lot! You're correct, most lenses by Bell & Howell were made in the UK or Japan. I've stumbled upon the latter while researching for my Tomioka article
According to the information I found Tomioka might have made projection lenses for Bell & Howell for a short amount of time.
However according to this overview:
https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/bell-and-howell/
Bell & Howell might have started its own lens...Show more →
I sold virtually all my film gear in 2005, because I wanted the Nikon D2X. At that time I got almost nothing for much of it. Many Zeiss lenses, Meyer-Optik, Angenieux, Goerz, Dallmeyer, Gorlitz, etc- about 40 Exakta mount lenses + Bronica with a couple Nikkors. The one I miss the most a Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f2 17 iris blade Biotar that came thrown in on an Exa 1a.
I got into half frames recently and here is how the Canon Demi entered the US market.
James Markus wrote
Thank you for that list it brings back memories from the early 1970's when I somehow ended up on a retail camera dealer list, and had European manufacturers sending me catalogs of new lenses at literally mates rates. It was great for a 13-15 year old. Hundreds of pages from Angenieux to Zeiss with all the copy you could desire and specs. Bought as much gear as my lawn mowing jobs could fund,James Markus wrote
The only possible error I saw was Bell & Howell. They didn't manufacture lenses. I believe it was Taylor-Hobson, Cooke, and other 3rd parrties that made lenses for what they sold. They were a lot like Vivitar giving access to US markets by re-badging other companies existing products with their name added and sometimes a design change. Even Canon used this method to get into the US market.According to the information I found Tomioka might have made projection lenses for Bell & Howell for a short amount of time.
However according to this overview:
https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/bell-and-howell/
Bell & Howell might have started its own lens...Show more →
I sold virtually all my film gear in 2005, because I wanted the Nikon D2X. At that time I got almost nothing for much of it. Many Zeiss lenses, Meyer-Optik, Angenieux, Goerz, Dallmeyer, Gorlitz, etc- about 40 Exakta mount lenses + Bronica with a couple Nikkors. The one I miss the most a Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f2 17 iris blade Biotar that came thrown in on an Exa 1a.
I got into half frames recently and here is how the Canon Demi entered the US market.
Sep 09, 2026 at 04:34 PM
p.1 #14List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
James Markus wrote:
I sold virtually all my film gear in 2005, because I wanted the Nikon D2X. At that time I got almost nothing for much of it. Many Zeiss lenses, Meyer-Optik, Angenieux, Goerz, Dallmeyer, Gorlitz, etc- about 40 Exakta mount lenses + Bronica with a couple Nikkors. The one I miss the most a Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f2 17 iris blade Biotar that came thrown in on an Exa 1a.
I got into half frames recently and here is how the Canon Demi entered the US market.
That's interesting! These collaborations Canon did are quite fascinating in hindsight... like the early Hansa Canon camera which featured a Nikkor lens!
I sold virtually all my film gear in 2005, because I wanted the Nikon D2X. At that time I got almost nothing for much of it. Many Zeiss lenses, Meyer-Optik, Angenieux, Goerz, Dallmeyer, Gorlitz, etc- about 40 Exakta mount lenses + Bronica with a couple Nikkors. The one I miss the most a Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f2 17 iris blade Biotar that came thrown in on an Exa 1a.
I got into half frames recently and here is how the Canon Demi entered the US market.
That's interesting! These collaborations Canon did are quite fascinating in hindsight... like the early Hansa Canon camera which featured a Nikkor lens!
Sep 10, 2026 at 02:25 AM
p.1 #15List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
A couple of comments for the Japanese part of the list:
- Hanakage --> Muichikyo (無一居)
Hanakage lenses are a specific subset of lens names made by Muichikyo company.
Although the company's website refers to China they operate from Japan.
https://www.photo-china.net/sinsaku/index.html
- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.
Edited on Sep 10, 2026 at 03:28 AM · View previous versions
- Hanakage --> Muichikyo (無一居)
Hanakage lenses are a specific subset of lens names made by Muichikyo company.
Although the company's website refers to China they operate from Japan.
https://www.photo-china.net/sinsaku/index.html
- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.
Edited on Sep 10, 2026 at 03:28 AM · View previous versions
Sep 10, 2026 at 03:13 AM
p.1 #16List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
Juha Kannisto wrote:
A couple of comments for the Japanese part of the list:
- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.
Thanks a lot! I've corrected it.
"Taron" does indeed seem like a unique manufacturer:
https://vintagecameralab.com/taron-eye/
And while the lens could have been made by a 3rd party, it does have "Taron Co LTD" written on it, so for now I'd say that's enough to include them. Seems like the company was called Nippon Kosokki earlier, and renamed to Taron later.
A couple of comments for the Japanese part of the list:
- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.
Thanks a lot! I've corrected it.
"Taron" does indeed seem like a unique manufacturer:
https://vintagecameralab.com/taron-eye/
And while the lens could have been made by a 3rd party, it does have "Taron Co LTD" written on it, so for now I'd say that's enough to include them. Seems like the company was called Nippon Kosokki earlier, and renamed to Taron later.
Sep 10, 2026 at 03:26 AM
p.1 #17List of lens manufacturers - help needed!
simplejoy wrote:
- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.Thanks a lot! I've corrected it.
"Taron" does indeed seem like a unique manufacturer:
https://vintagecameralab.com/taron-eye/
And while the lens could have been made by a 3rd party, it does have "Taron Co LTD" written on it, so for now I'd say that's enough to include them. Seems like the company was called Nippon Kosokki earlier, and renamed to Taron later.
Thanks! I missed seeing Tamron in the list (but I found it now), and I just thought that Taron must have been a mistyped Tamron... Anyway, makes sense to keep Taron there then, I had never heard of them.
I added one more to my previous comment:
- Hanakage --> Muichikyo (無一居)
Hanakage lenses are a specific subset of lens names made by Muichikyo company.
Although the company's website refers to China they operate from Japan.
https://www.photo-china.net/sinsaku/index.html
(They also have other lens series that have different names than Hanakage, such as Inraku, Kousen, Korou...)
Juha Kannisto wrote
A couple of comments for the Japanese part of the list:- MS Optics --> MS-Optics
They include the hyphen in their name on the lenses, on their website etc.
They also used the name MS-Optical prior to changing it to MS-Optics in 2015. Not sure if it would make sense to include that older name in the list as well.
- Kinoshita --> Kinoshita Optical
I think it would be more accurate to include Optical in the name as they include it in the lens labels, on their website (https://kinoshita-optical.com/) etc.
- Taron --> Tamron
Seems to be a typo.
"Taron" does indeed seem like a unique manufacturer:
https://vintagecameralab.com/taron-eye/
And while the lens could have been made by a 3rd party, it does have "Taron Co LTD" written on it, so for now I'd say that's enough to include them. Seems like the company was called Nippon Kosokki earlier, and renamed to Taron later.
Thanks! I missed seeing Tamron in the list (but I found it now), and I just thought that Taron must have been a mistyped Tamron... Anyway, makes sense to keep Taron there then, I had never heard of them.
I added one more to my previous comment:
- Hanakage --> Muichikyo (無一居)
Hanakage lenses are a specific subset of lens names made by Muichikyo company.
Although the company's website refers to China they operate from Japan.
https://www.photo-china.net/sinsaku/index.html
(They also have other lens series that have different names than Hanakage, such as Inraku, Kousen, Korou...)
Sep 10, 2026 at 03:30 AM