Jaca Corporation

Jaca Corporation was a Japanese distributor of photographic gear.

Elicar silver lenses image by Péter Kátai (Image rights)

Description

Jaca Corporation was a Japanese distributor of rebranded photographic gear with a business model similar to the US company, Vivitar. Their products were designed and made by other companies under contract, then sold under Jaca brand names. They are most famous for their Elicar and Panagor brand lenses, made by a variety of Japanese lens manufacturers which included Komine and Kino Precision. The 1985 Edition of the Camerart Photo Trade Directory lists the company president as Hiroto Sugita and Jaca Corporation's address as: No. 17-25, 4-chome Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108 Japan.

According to various trademark filings (see below), the Elicar and Panagor brands were used for a wide range of products including cameras, interchangeable camera lenses, automatic zoom lenses, telephoto lenses, wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, close-up lenses, video lenses, electronic flash units, camera adapters, microscope adapters, camera rails, filters, reverse adapters, bellows, extension tubes, exposure meters, slide duplicators and copiers, micro-focus adjusters, and tripods. However, according to their listing in the 1985 Camerart Photo Trade Directory, their product line included only "35mm interchangeable lenses and various accessories for macro photography".

Elicar

A US trademark registration for the Elicar mark was filed on 21 September, 1979. The filing indicates the Elicar mark was first used in commerce on 22 August, 1978.. This initial filing expired in 1981. A second US filing was made on 20 May, 1985 by Peter Gray Associates Corporation of Los Angeles, CA, believed to be the US importer for Jaca Corporation products.. This filing was updated in 1992 and was still in force as of 2012.

Despite the clear international trademark records stating the Jaca owned the Elicar trademark, there is another Japanese company that distributed and exported the Elicar lenses, Tapak International, Inc. The relationship is unclear. It's know that at least some of the lenses were manufactured by Kino Precision, and some are said to have been made by Komine. It possible that either Jaca or Tapak was manufacturer of one or more of the Elicar lenses and provided it to the other company. It's also possible there were agreements between the two companies to export Elicar branded lenses into different markets.

Elicar Cameras

• Elicar MS-1 35mm SLR

Elicar Lenses

Elicar silver lenses image by Péter Kátai (Image rights)

• Elicar 23mm f/3.5
• Elicar 28mm f/2.8
• Elicar 35mm f/2.8
• Elicar V-HQ Macro MC 55mm f/2.8, 62mm filter size
• Elicar V-HQ Macro MC 90mm f/2.5, 62mm filter size
• Elicar 135mm f/2.8
• Elicar 200mm f/3.5
• Elicar 75-205mm f/3.8 Zoom
• Elicar 80-200mm f/4.5 Zoom
• Elicar 80-205mm f/4.5 Macro Zoom
• Elicar Automatic Extension Tube Set (Pentax S/K, Minolta, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Konica, and C/Y mounts)
• Elicar Reverse Adapter & Tube Set 55

Panagor

Panagor Logo image by orbed (Image rights)

While Jaca's Elicar brand was distributed in the United States, the Panagor name was used elsewhere. Often the same lenses were sold under both names, the only difference being the geographical region where the lens was to be sold. Some of the lenses made by Kino Precision, such as the 90mm f/2.8 Macro were also sold through other marketing companies such as Vivitar and vary only in the badging and the color scheme of the lens graphics.

A Canadian trademark registration for the Panagor mark was filed on 16 June, 1971. The filing was renewed in 1973, 1988, and 2003. It has now expired. The Panagor trademark was registered in Australia on 12 May, 1971 Panagor equipment was imported and sold in Kenya, Africa starting in 1971. Panagor products were also imported and sold in the United Kingdom by AICO but no related trademark filing has yet been documented. Panagor products were not imported into the United States.

Panagor Lenses

Panagor 28mm f/2.5 image by unodeidef (Image rights)

• Panagor 21mm f/4 Auto Wide Angle
• Panagor PMC Auto Wide-Angle 24mm f/2.5
• Panagor Auto Wide 28mm f/2.8
• Panagor MC 28mm f/2.8
• Panagor 28mm f/2.5
• Panagor 55mm f/2.8 Macro
• Panagor 90mm f/2.8 Macro
• Panagor 200mm f/3.5
• Panagor PMC Reflex 300mm f/5.6 (mirror)
• Panagor PMC Reflex 500mm f/8 (mirror)
• Panagor 75-205mm f/3.5 Zoom
• Panagor 80-200mm f/3.8 PMC Auto Tele Zoom
• Panagor-E PMC Auto Zoom 85-205mm f/4.5
• Panagor 2x Auto Tele Converter
• Panagor Extension Tube set
• Panagor Tele-MACRONET 3x teleconverter (1:5 to 1.5:1 magnification with 50mm lens)
• Panagor Auto Macro Converter (1:1 convertor for 50mm lens)

Panagor Accessories

• Panagor Zoom Slide Duplicator (1x to 2.5x)
• Panagor 3-Way ZS Duplicator and Bellows
• Panagor Extension Bellows, T Mount
• Panagor Auto Ring Flash 8000
• Panagor Macro-Flash
• Panagor Wing-Bracket