Topcon RE Auto Topcor f1.8 58mm
It is the general concensus that all 50mm ‘normal’ lenses are very good, and I would agree with that, but there are a few that are special and this is one of them. It has everything, extreme sharpness, excellent contrast and microcontrast, rich vibrant colours, smooth bokeh, it just paints beautiful images with exceptional quality. Amazing for a 1960s lens, I directly compared it to my CZJ Biotar 2/58 of the same age and the Topcor blows it away, in fact, the Topcor can compete with much later and more well known top lenses such as the Contax Planar 1.7/50 and Leica Summicron-R 2/50.
Lens
Fact Sheet
Vendor name
Topcon
Topcon
Type
RE Auto
RE Auto
Compatible camera systems
Topcon
Topcon
Focal Min(mm)
58
58
Focal Max(mm)
58
58
Focus Min(cm)
50
50
Aperture Max
1.8
1.8
Aperture Min.
22
22
Barrel length(mm)
N/A
N/A
Elements In Group
N/A
N/A
Diaphragm action
auto|manual
auto|manual
Weight (g)
N/A
N/A
Filter Size (mm)
49
49
Push on diameter (mm)
N/A
N/A
Angular field
N/A
N/A
That 58/1.8 is a seriously sharp lens. The mount is physically interchangeable with the Exakta mount. – Nathan Tenny
The mechanical quality and finish are both top shelf too, the smoothness and damping ofthe focus mechanism is a joy to use, in terms of engineering excellence, this surpasses all others, even the Leica Summicron-R 2/50.
This lens is often available for less than 100USD and at that price it is a steal. The mount is the same as the Exakta bayonet but with a couple of added levers to communicate with a Topcon body. Adaptation to modern digital cameras is possible using an Exakta type adapter.
That 58/1.8 is a seriously sharp lens. The mount is physically interchangeable with the Exakta mount.
One of the problems is that there are two totally different Topcon mounts and three variants of the Topcon R mount! That means different adapters… 🙁
The 1.4 is even better – though quite large! Adapters for the other Topcon mount are now available and the lenses are much better than expected (and VERY inexpensive). Not in the elite category with the RE units, though