Soligor 55mm f/2.8 lens.

[bilzmale]

Had a dig in my rag-bag of assorted film gear and came across this lens. It is M42 mount and I also have a set of extension tubes and a 3x adapter. From the build it is clearly a macro lens with a deeply recessed front element (1:2 or 1:1 with tube).

Have trawled the 'net and found Soligor is a house name for a US importer who sourced from various Japanese manufacturers including Cosina. Most of the range was zooms and I have only found one reference to the 55mm macro.

Can anyone shed more light? Have ordered a M42 to M4/3 adapter so I can test it out (with a few other M42 lenses I have). It would not focus with stacked M42>OM>MFT adapters.

 

[robertro]

Soligor macro...

The only mention suggests it is built by Komine or Volna...similar but not identical to my Vivitar 55/2.8 1:1 macro.

The link below has some images of the lens and results:
Manual Focus Lenses :: View topic - Macro adapter for M42 Soligor 55mm f:2.8

Looks like a keeper. On the 4/3 sensor, I like the 50-55 focal length macro - it's easier to use a moderate ISO and shutter speed than with the 90-100 macros.

 

[bilzmale]

Thanks for the link. Mine is the same as the Sears version shown in the pics including the 1:1 adapter. The second digit of the serial is a 7 which another post in that thread suggests it is made by Tokina.