Sears anyone

[truls]

I purchased a SEARS lens 50/2.0 pk mount. A quick test revealed great sharpness. I was really impressed, the sharpness is similar to my Nikkor-H 50/2.0. Is this normal as Sears is not a very well known brand.

[lloydy]

I don't think Sears ever made a lens, but apparently they sourced and sold some gems. There's been a lot of discussion on other forums about Sears lenses, and most is positive.
A look at their brochures from years ago show they sold a big range of gear under their own brand names, it must have been a big seller for them.

[Stephen]

Sears were the granddaddy of the American mail order catalogues, they made nothing, but retailed it all over the States, from the Victorian period onwards. They supplied almost anything saleable. It is a safe bet the lens came from Soligor or Cosina in Japan, the real makers behind dozens of makers names, importers names, or retailers and mail order houses, like Sears.
Most medium to expensive independent lenses perform as well as major makers, only the cheapest show lack of consistency or bad assembly standards.

Stephen.

[pompiere]

Most of Sears' PK mount cameras were made by Ricoh, but they sourced their lenses from several makers. I have a Sears KS-2, which is the same as a Ricoh XR-7, and a KS-II Super, as well as several Sears lenses. I also have a Sears zoom lens with Minolta MD mount. Since they don't have the big name, you can often buy them for much less and their quality is very good.

[Stephen]

Sears as a brand did not feature in the UK or European market, Dixon's brand dominated the UK, Prinz, Miranda, Chinon etc., often the very same lens as Spiratone, Ritz, Tower, Sears, Vivitar, et al.

Photax in the UK was a brand that used Cosina to make lenses, it was only in later years the Cosina brand appeared after the partial collapse of Vivitar, who cut back the lens on the assumption digital would not need separate lenses. I think the only maker to rarely wander into badge engineering was Tamron, who are building up the separate lens business again with the new mass popularity of the mirrorless reflex cameras.

Many lens makes in the 1990's saw no future in selling after market lenses, consumers had zoom lenses built in, and reflexes had no mass market future, how wrong they were, as the lens business is slowly returning.
Stephen.