Tell me about "Komine"...

Camera-wiki.org states unequivocally that the Kominar is by Nittoh Kougaku, and gives a link to the company webpage, which also says so, without mentioning the involvement of any other party.

All I could find is that there is currently a hype about Komine lenses, and according to sellers most Vivitar lenses are manufactured by this mysterious manufacturer. Maybe similar to the Tomioka hype, you won't find any M42 f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens which is NOT supposed to be made by Tomioka, although none of the sellers has any proof.

Of the Vivitar Series-1 70-210 lenses, Komine is the source listed for variant 3 at ( http://www.robertstech.com/vivitar.htm ). Among the others, strangely enough, Tomioka is not listed :)

I don't think Komine and Nittoh Kogaku are the same company. Here is something I found online, quoted from an old directory of photo-related companies. It seems likely that the company no longer exists, and so the address given here is presumably no longer useful, but it does seem to indicate pretty clearly that Komine was a business of its own, not just a brand name.

Komine Company, Ltd.
Manufacturers and Exporters
4-2,2-chome, Hatanodai, Shinagawa, Tokyo 142
Cable Address: Kominemoro TOKYO
Tel :03-781-4414
Business Office: Suzufusa Bldg. 16-12, 1-chome,
Kami-Meguro, Meguro, Tokyo 153
Tel :03-792-2421
President: Manjiro Komine
Product Lines: 35mm Interchangeable Lenses

A Google™ reveals a modern Komine company, but it seems to be sports and cycling accessories. Probably lots of Komine companies over time in the city of Shirakawa, Fukushima, Japan, named after the local castle , I suspect, though the family name looks more probable for the lens company, of course.

Thanks, one and all. You all seem to have trodden the path I've been along. I can't find any link between a Komine manufacturer and Nittoh Kogaku, and, as Peter observed, there is a history of that company at the Nittoh Kogaku website and no mention of the name Komine. The name itself does not seem to be uncommon, but I still haven't found the definitive statement: "In the 1960's there existed in the city of Nagano a lensmaker by the name of Komine..." or somesuch. Craig comes closest to it with the company details, but I could take that thread no further when I discovered it, which is a little frustrating. One would think some traces of a company's activities would remain.

Many thanks for your efforts.

Dang it Craig, you beat me to that. I found that info at work on my phone and was hoping to post it when I got home. :)

Rick, here is a link that mentions the info Craig posted. You have probably come across it in a google search but maybe you didnt.

http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=42604

If you read down there is a possible tie in to Tapak International Elicar Panagor of Jaca Corp, whatever that is. You might have to spend some time translating the original Japanese page to get the correct info. I do like the fact that the Presidents name is listed as Manjiro Komine, that leads some credence to a driving force behind an actual company.

If Komine was an actual company then we can see what they made for Vivitar. But surely they didnt sit around and wait for a Viv contract. There are no Komine branded lenses, so who else did they contract out to? Soligor? The great Soligor 28mm Bestiary listed here http://forum.mflenses.com/soligor-12-8-f28mm-21and-versions-t30866,start,150.html states that apparently they did, although Im a little vague on how they came up with that other then one guy saying "I reckon that one was Komine" (which he did on the first page, but I will be honest I havent read the whole thing). How many other third party lenses out there have been either correctly or incorrectly attributed to this mythical manufacturer. Maybe we should start a "Supposed Komine Lens" list and see if there are any attributes across the board that begin to appear. Here is a link that ties them in with Elicar lenses. And Rokunor, Panagor, Panagor-Admiral along with Viv and Sol.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/4205-elicar-lens.html

Another Elicar tie in, somebody says the lens was made by Tokina (15 posts down, by ccroy) and it is immediately refuted that it was made by Komine Optical.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikon_d300_users/discuss/72157626130979807/

Im really beginning to wonder if the original person who came up with the Vivitar list maybe just mis-remembered or mis-typed Kominar as Komine. It could be a simple transposing of two letters for one. In which case we have a definite Nittoh Kogoku connection that is real and valid.

Very interesting question Rick. Thanks for asking.

Thanks, David, you mind whirs pretty much as mine does; I've been tossing round the same ideas.  The whole question of "Who made what Japanese lens?" is fascinating, albeit time-consuming, and as Winfried noted, there's quite some retrospective aura being attached to companies that may or may not ever have produced a lens themselves, or even existed...

I sense the need for a comprehensive and long-lasting web site on the subject of third party lenses. I think bits and pieces have been in various places in the past, but nothing really complete, and much of what there has been is now accessible (if at all) only through the Wayback Machine.