Albinar 35mm m42 lens.

[truls]

This lens popped up in the mail, attached to a Porst Compact-Reflex m42 camera. Is this one of the many rebranded lenses without a known manufacturer?

The lens


There is no manual switch to close down the aperture. Here a quick snap at f.2.8


100% crop


Quite soft wide open.

[Stephen]

Almost certainly a generic brand, Albinar are a well known brand, the performance looks the same as the Porst branded one you posted, on at full aperture.
They may well be from one maker! and certainly a retrofocus 4 element design, meant to work well on a reflex camera. Without a stop down lever it would indicate post 1970 production, as most makers changed then, as the Spotmatic, and Practica etc., caught on with auto diaphragm operation. Most 1960 or earlier were switched, or stop down ring type. The next big year was 1980, when electric contacts really began to be fitted to lenses.

Stephen.

[Stephen]

Albinar was a brand name of Uniphot-Levitt, (US, New Jersey). The owner of Optical importer Uniphot-Levitt, and the Old Camera Barn chain of photographic shops in NY, was Fred Albu, from whom the brand name came. The business closed down after his death. The lenses were probably made by Tokina, many resemble Vivitar equivalents, and Spiratone Brand offerings, from Fred Spira.

Stephen.