Komura 80mm f3.5, a medium telephoto lens made by Sankyo Koki. Leica screw mount with rangefinder coupling. This example appears to be a very early version, with a slightly different barrel design from later examples of the same lens.

The 80mm f3.5 was one of the first four lenses to appear under the Komura brand in the May 1955 issue of Asahi Camera. A related article can also be found in Classic Camera Senka No.50, p.111.

The solid brass barrel gives the lens a substantial feel, with an actual weight of 447g. It uses a triplet-type optical design of 3 elements in 3 groups. The helicoid distance scale is in feet, with a minimum focusing distance of 4 feet, approximately 1.2m. The glass has pale purple and orange coatings.

The serial number of this particular lens is 020x. Judging from the number, it may even be a prototype or pre-production example. Early production versions of the Komura 80mm usually have a slimmer, waisted barrel, but this example has no such narrowing. The front section of the barrel is also different, with a cleaner and simpler profile. These characteristics closely match the small photograph published in the May 1955 issue of Asahi Camera mentioned above.

Near wide open, the center renders quite well, while some smearing can be seen toward the edges. When shooting subjects from a certain distance, the edge rendering and background blur give the lens a particularly distinctive character. It is a lens with plenty of vintage charm.

Rare.

There are scuffs and signs of use throughout the barrel, and the chrome plating shows some age-related deterioration.
A full overhaul, including focus adjustment, was completed in 2026. Both the aperture ring and helicoid now operate very smoothly.
As for the rangefinder coupling, focus tends to fall slightly behind at the minimum focusing distance of 1.2 feet, is spot-on at around 2m to 3m, and tends to fall slightly in front from around 5m onward. Stopping down to around f5.6 should allow subjects from approximately 2m to infinity to fall within the depth of field.
The glass surfaces show slight coating deterioration visible only under a strong LED light, and there are some traces of fungus around the edge of the rear element. Otherwise, there is no haze or noticeable scratches, and the glass is in relatively good condition.
Test shots showed good results. Sample images are available in our Test Shoot Gallery, and we hope you will take a look.
Third-party caps are included.