What Are Those Rusted Metal Ladders in Brooklyn Backyards?

Image
I was taking a walk down my residential street recently when a flash of weathered iron caught my eye. Poking up above a neighbor's inner backyard was a tall, rusted metal ladder. It stood upright, narrow and tall, reaching straight toward the sky. I stopped in my tracks to look at it. To anyone else passing by, it probably looked like a piece of industrial scrap left behind by a careless contractor. But I recognized it immediately. Growing up, we had the same rusted tower planted in our backyard. It stood two feet away from the exterior wall of the house like an unmovable monument. Through decades of changing seasons and vicious winds, it never leaned an inch. My parents never made any attempt to dismantle it or repaint it, even as thick flakes of orange rust gathered along its frame. Back then, whenever I looked out from our second-floor window, I would scan the neighboring lots. None of the other yards on our street had one. Down the enti...
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eBay Vintage Lens Buy: Rare Taisei Kogaku (Tamron) 135mm f2.8


Rare Taisei Kogaku 135mm Twin Tele
A remarkable lens from Japan, very sharp wide open, of the famous zeiss inspired design with preset aperture. It's well made, all glass and steel, with excellent color and contrast. The optics in this lens are amazing, it is simple and it works. It's bokeh and colour rendering are brilliant and it's as sharp as a razor. This is one of the mythical lenses of the days of lore, and hard to find even on ebay. There is about 340 degrees of rotation on the focus ring. The lens came with a 2X adapter as well. This series of lenses (model 680) were made between 1962 & 1969. The included tele converter is shown in the picture. This gave the kit the twin tele name. 
Sharp Kogaku 135


Also known as the Taisei Kogaku [Tamron] Tamron 680 Twin-Tele 135mm f/2.8. A rare lens with the hard to adapt praktina mount. Mounting this lens onto to a EOS Rebel won't be easy. I have been trying to source an adapter for my Canon 600D Rebel but so far all information has pointed me to praticka B mount adapters. The praktina mount is often confused with the praktica B mount (PB). A few sellers on eBay (fleaBay) sell PB->EOS adapters but no praktina mounts. The praktina mount has a bayonet type screw mount. In addition, I am missing the 2x adapter that came with it that gave it the twin tele name.

No praktina mounts available anywhere in the world. The only inkling on the Internet is some guy who may be able to source work in manufacturing some praktina-EOS adapters for a steep Euro. I think it would be worth it since it is a rare lens and a hard to find adapter conversion. If only it came in the ubiquitous universal M42 mount. I would be outside on this glorious midday afternoon snapping away at all the pretty flowered trees.

Currently my copy has some haze on the front element and some oil on the blades. So far the oil has not affected the buttery smooth blades when toggling the aperture ring. The lens feels very hefty, solid and genuine feel of a well made lens. I am impressed. Hopefully sourcing some type of praktina to M42 mount would reap great benefits.

Front Element Haze

The only sources of hand made adapters are for m4/3, Sony NEX, and Samsung NX cameras.
View here.


Technical Info 
Serial #- 373268
F/range-2.8 - 22 
Focal range 135mm or 225mm (2x teleconverter)
12 aperture blades (bokeh goodness)
12 Blades of Aperture Bokeh Glory/Sony HX9V lens needs a good cleaning.

 Source: Four Thirds Forum Samples, Asian Manual Focus Club Forum, Praktina M4/3/Sony/Samsung
Praktinafan Flickr, MFLenses Forum Praktina to EOS Conversion Discussion, Tamron Twin Tele,
🔭 Do You Shoot with Vintage Taisei Glass?

Have you used this rare lens on a modern digital camera? Share your sample photos, adapter tips, or experiences with Taisei optics. Your knowledge helps other vintage lens enthusiasts find and adapt these hidden gems.

Drop a comment below or contact me directly. Full credit given to all contributors.

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Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 16, 2017 at 3:26 AM

    I know this is an old post, but I have acquired one of these lenses in what seems to be Pristine condition. Was wanting to sell, but not sure what its real worth is. Any help?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 16, 2017 at 3:26 AM

    I know this is an old post, but I have acquired one of these lenses in what seems to be Pristine condition. Was wanting to sell, but not sure what its real worth is. Any help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kareem KingMarch 19, 2017 at 11:32 PM

      I apologize for the late reply. I cannot remember how much I bought it for but to my understanding it is rare because of the mounting system. I would price it about USD 80 -120.

      Delete

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