Tomioka

In 1924, the Tomioka Optical Company Ltd. was founded in the outskirts of Tokyo. They supplied lenses to a number of Japanses photographical camera makers like Yashica and Royal Camera Company. A rather well-known example is the Tessar-like Lausar lens. Other types and brand names of this company include Tominon, Tominor, Tri-Lausar, Tomi-Kogaku, Auto-Tominon, Tomi-Yashinon, Yashimar, Yashikor, Yashinon, Heliotar and Lumaxar. Yashinon lenses have a reputation of good quality. In 1969 the company was slightly renamed: Tomioka Optical Corporation. Tomioka gained such a good name that this was the plant where Carl Zeiss licensed optics were made for Japanse cameras, like for Contax.

sources

• Camera Magazine 1996-2: p24-27. Article in Dutch.
• an interesting article on Tomioka on the [ http://www.tlr-cameras.com TLR-cameras] website.