The Tominon 17mm f/4 is not well known in the macro photography world but it should be, these are some of the most underrated macro lenses on the market in the 4x range. Tominons were made in the 1970s by Tomioka Japan for the Polaroid® MP-4+ technical camera system for copying, and photomacrography.
October 27 2022 Update:
Added 1998 selling prices in the Technical Spec section below. These prices were not easy to find.
MECHANICAL QUALITY
The Tominons use all-metal barrels and aperture rings, but the Tomion 17mm and 35mm lenses have quite a bit of variation between samples so I would recommend buying lenses from sellers that accept returns. Buy a couple of units and test them to guarantee that you get a good performer. In my experience the cleanest lenses are not always the best performers by the way. I have tested 4 or 5 of the 17mm units in the past and I am on my 3rd 35mm Tominon lens. The 17mm lens I own now was was lucky to be able to purchase as new-old-stock.
PRICE/PERFORMANCE
If you are in the market for a lens in the 4x - 5x magnification range that doesn't cost a lot of money, Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 is an unbeatable value. These lenses are not well known so the 17s often sell for as little as $25-50 on Ebay. The performance of this lens is fantastic, the can cover a full frame sensor and they have excellent chromatic aberration control. The 17mm Tominon (and 35mm Tominon) is probably one of the strongest and most underrated buys on the market today. While the 17mm Tominon does not have the wide magnification range (or auto-aperture) of the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo lens it beats it at 4x magnification for a tiny fraction of the price, maybe 5% of the cost of an MP-E 65mm. See the images in test section below.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 from the POLAROID MP-4 Land Camera
Test: Tominon 17mm f/4 vs the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 Macro Photo Lens
This is a silicon wafer section at 4x at f/4 with the Tomioka Tominon 17mm.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 and silicon wafer at 4x
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 crop on the left and the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Lens crop on the right, both lenses at f/4.
100% center crops of the Tominon 17mm, on the left, and MP-E 65mm f/2.8 at 4x, both lenses at f/4
100% corner crops of the Tominon 17mm, on the left, and MP-E 65mm f/2.8 at 4x, both lenses at f/4
Compared to the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x the Tomioka 17mm does very well. The Canon has a small advantage in resolution in the center but the Tomioka lens has much better CA control all over and much better image quality in the corners. Not bad performance for a lens that costs between $25 - $100.
The only real drawback with the Tomioka 17 is the slow f/4 aperture. The lens works fine here at 4x to maybe 5x, but I wouldn't recommend any more magnification than that due to sharpness loss due to diffraction. You would be much better off with either a stacked lens configuration or a microscope objective. Polaroid recommends a range of 10x - 34X in the manual, but that kind of magnification is not going to deliver high quality results due to the f/4 aperture.
The Tominon 4/17 at 3.3x
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Tominon 17mm f/4 at 3.3x
Two types of 17 Tominons
There are two types of the Tominon 17mm found on the used market, the more harder to find short, or CU-5 version, and the more common longer normal version made for the Polaroid MP-4. The short, or CU-5 is actually more flexible since it is easier to run with less magnification, which can be a problem on cameras with longer flange focal distances like Nikon, 46.5, or Canon at 44mm, compared to Sony E-mount cameras with only 18mm register, or flange focal distance.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 MP-4 version.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 short CU-5 version from the POLAROID CU-5 MACRO CAMERA. This is a shorter barrel version than the normal MP-4 version.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Tominon 1:4 f=17mm lens
Type: Reproduction/Duplication lens
Focal length: 17mm
Optical Design: 6-element, 4-groups.
Manufacturers recommended magnification range: 10 - 19x, according to Polaroid. See the real-world magnification note below.
Real world magnification range: This lens works great at about 4-5x. Due to the slow maximum aperture of this lens I wouldn't recommend using this lens past that.
Coverage: The Polaroid MP-4+ Camera System specs list the coverage from 35 mm to 4 x 5 film.
Working distance: With the 17mm focal length the working distance is not a strength of this lens.
Aperture range: f/4 - f/22.
Sharpest Aperture: In testing I found the sharpest aperture to be from f/4 . Stopping this lens more than this will see a drop in image quality.
Lens mount: M40 x 0.75
Mounting: M42 to M40 step down adapters are easy to find on Ebay from $3 and up. One you have the M42 adapter you can pick up an M42 adapter to fit the lens mount of choice.
Filter thread: Series 5 (30.2mm).
Lens hood: A lens hood is not needed with this lens thanks to the recessed front element design.
Notes: BH Photo selling prices from the first edition BH Photo Professional Photo Source Book catalog printed in 1998.
Tominon 17mm Lens (#44-70). 6-element, 4-group macro lens; $274.50 in 2022 dollars that is $499.84
Tominon 35mm Lens (#44-69). 4-element, 3-group reverse Tessar-type macro lens; $274.50 in 2022 dollars that is $499.84
Tominon 50mm Lens (#44-68). 6-element, symmetric triplet-type macro lens; $274.50 in 2022 dollars that is $499.84
Tominon 75mm Lens (#44-67). 4-element, 3-group reverse Tessar-type copying lens; $253.50 in 2022 dollars that is $461.60
Tominon 105mm Lens (#44-66). 4-element, 3-group Tessar-type all purpose lens; $267.95 in 2022 dollars that is $487.91
Tominon 135mm Lens (#44-65). 4-element, 3-group Tessar-type all purpose lens; $267.95 in 2022 dollars that is $487.91
PROS AND CONS
What I really like:
Chromatic aberration suppression
Consistent center to corner image quality
Outstanding price/performance value
Small, compact profile
What I dislike:
M40 lens mount
Conservative maximum aperture
Cost and Availability
Thankfully there are plenty of units on the used market. In early 2020 I picked up a new-old-stock unit still in the box wrapped in plastic for $50 on eBay. So there are great deals out there on these lenses if you are patient.
Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4
The Tomioka Tominon 17mm f/4 are very easy to find on the used market and Ebay. I have paid $29 on Ebay for a unit that was a little rough without caps and up to $89 for a new old-stock unit still in the box from a surplus dealer (thanks Google).
Sometimes you can find the Tominon 17mm and 35mm lenses mounted in shutters for the MP-4 systems. The two lenses below are versions made from the POLAROID CU-5 MACRO CAMERA
The Bottom line
The 17mm Tominon is a great value and is a recommended buy for work in the 4-5x range with a great big image circle.
If you can live without an adjustable aperture and are using a small sensor, a microscope objective would also be a great alternative. If that's the case look into the Lomo 3.7x and the $17 4x objective.
For more info on the Lomo 3,7x, see this article on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/lomo-3-7x-objective
For a detailed review of the $17 4x objective see this article on Closeuphotography.com: https://www.closeuphotography.com/seventeen-dollar-plan-4x-objective/
For less magnification, in the 1-2x range, the Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 is unbeatable: https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/
THE HISTORY OF TOMINON
Tominon lenses were made in Japan by Tomioka Optical, which later became part of Yashica, and finally part of Kyocera. Tomioka is still around but they are now part of Kyocera-Optec Japan Co., Ltd. https://global.kyocera.com/prdct/optec/
From the Kyocera website:
1949 Incorporated as Tomioka Optical Co., Ltd in Ome City, Tokyo, Japan
1960 Commenced production of SLR camera lenses & copier lenses
1968 Corporate capital source changed from Japan Film Machines Co., Ltd to Yashica
1969 Company renamed Tomioka Optical Co., Ltd.
1974 Started technical alliance with Carl Zeiss Foundation and commenced consigned mass production
1983 Became a member of the Kyocera Group with merger of Kyocera & Yashica
1986 Commenced series production of laser printer lenses
1990 Commenced production of video microscope lenses (machine vision lenses)
1991 Company renamed Kyocera Optec Co., Ltd.
1996 Commenced manufacturing of aspherical lenses
1996 Established Tokyo Sales Office (Tokyo, Japan)
1997 Developed "high-durability lens unit" (zoom endurance exceeding 10 million cycles)
1999 Established North America Sales Office (San Diego, CA, U.S.A.)
2000 Commenced series production of projection lenses
2000 Developed IR lenses
2003 Established mass-production technology for aspherical lenses
2009 Established depth-expanding optical technology (co-developed with Kyocera Corporation)
2016 Merged Melles Griot KK (Now: Saitama Tokigawa Office)
2018 KYOCERA OPTEC Co., Ltd. was merged with KYOCERA Corporation and renamed as Optical Components Division
On October 1 2018 Kyocera Corporation announced the merger with Kyocera Optec Corporation, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kyocera Group. Kyocera Optec will continue to operate as the Optical Components Division of Kyocera Corporation.
TOMINON MACRO LENSES MADE FOR THE POLAROID MP-4 SYSTEM
Tominon 135mm Lens (#44-65). 4-element, 3-group Tessar-type all purpose lens: f/4.5 to f/32.
Tominon 105mm Lens (#44-66). 4-element, 3-group Tessar-type all purpose lens; f/4.5 to f/32.
Tominon 75mm Lens (#44-67). 4-element, 3-group reverse Tessar-type copying lens; f/4.5 to f/32.
Tominon 50mm Lens (#44-68). 6-element, symmetric triplet-type macro lens; f/4.5 to f/32.
Tominon 35mm Lens (#44-69). 4-element, 3-group reverse Tessar-type macro lens; f/4.5 to f/32.
Tominon 17mm Lens (#44-70). 6-element, 4-group macro lens; f/4.0 to f/22.
LINKS FOR MORE INFO
Tomioka, the maker of Tominon lenses is still around, but they are now part of Kyocera-Optic Japan Co., Ltd.
https://global.kyocera.com/prdct/optec/
More info on Tomioka on Camera-pedia site: