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Model history (2)

Specification

Source of data

• Spiratone camera accessories, lenses, darkroom, viewing and projecting equipment catalogue (No. 803) (Summer 1980).

Manufacturer description

From the Spiratone camera accessories, lenses, darkroom, viewing and projecting equipment catalogue (No. 803, Summer 1980):

The Spiratone COMPACT PLURACOAT 18mm ULTRA WIDE-ANGLE 100° f/3.5 FULLY AUTOMATIC LENS

Spiratone's conventionally coated 18mm lens was by far the most popular ultra wideangle ever made. Ranking high in critical test reports, the lens was the undisputed best buy in its class. And considering it was designed in the 1960's, its performance was remarkable.

But optical science does not stand still and our latest, multicoated 18mm f/3.5 not only boasts equally fine resolution and linear correction, but, thanks to its multicoating, has better contrast and color fidelity, excellent flare control and what is most difficult to achieve in an extreme wideangle lens: excellent evenness of illumination. In other words, it is truly an achievement in modern lens design.

Just imagine the striking viewpoint, the startling perspective than can be achieved by taking a look at the world through the unique wide window of the Spiratone 18mm:

• It produces a true w.A. image: straight lines remain straight, undistorted as they do with a good 35 or 28mm. No 'fish-eye' effect.
• It covers almost 8 (yes, eight) times the area of the 'normal' 50mm lens. 4 times as much as a 35mm, almost 2.5X as much as a 28mm!
• It 'compresses' the required working distance by well over 60%. For example, to photograph a group or an interior which fills the 35mm frame with the 18mm at 20 feet, you'd have to push the wall back to over 54 feet to get it all in with a 50mm.
• Its depth of field is startling: At f/16, everything from 15" to infinity is 'in focus'. At f/5.6, depth of field extends from 33" to infinity.
• Its near focusing range is equally impressive: the helical focusing mount focuses all the way to 8"!
• And, of course, it's fully automatic, meter-coupled on all popular 35mm SLR's, operates just like your normal lens.

Modern Photography evaluates the Spiratone 18mm Pluracoat f/3.5 ultrawideangle - comparing it with the outstanding performance of the original Spiratone 18mm lens notes that it has improved performance, is now multicoated, and after 9 years of inflation, it costs only a few dollars more!

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Optical construction: 11 elements in 8 groups.
• Angle of view: 100°.
• Aperture: f/3.5 to f/16.
• Focusing range: 8" to infinity.
• Approximate weight: 11 oz.
• Approximate length: 2"
• Filter size: 67mm.
• Coating: Pluracoat, multicoating.

From the Modern Photography magazine (1979)

Spiratone's famous bargain 18mm f/3.2 (later renamed f/3.5) was a Sigma-manufactured optic. This new 18mm is actually made by Tokina (manufacturers for Soligor and Vivitar, among others) and in trust is really the Tokina 17mm f/3.5. Does this mean you are getting a 1mm wider angle bonus compared to the older lens? An actual measurements of the focal length revealed it to be 17.54mm. We then measured our old Sigma-made Spiratone 18mm f/3.5. It came to 18.14. Given the allowed +/-5% manufaturer's tolerance, either lens could be labeled a 17 or 18mm. However, the new Tokina Spiratone, when compared in actual picture taking (and through the viewfinder), does show more picture area.

Why should Spiratone elect to label the lens as an 18mm when they just as legitimately could have called and promoted it as a 17mm? We judge that Spiratone's older 18mm Sigma-made lens was so highly successful in sales that the importer wished to maintain the continuity of aperture and focal length in the new lens. Our conclusion: Enjoy the bonus.

While evaluating two lenses of unlike manufacture can be a case of comparing apples and oranges, some like measurements are called for: The older 12-element lens (the new one has 11) is some 2 oz. lighter, 9/16 in. longer and 1/4 in. smaller in overall diameter. The general shape and configuration of the two lenses are about the same. Aperture and focusing rings on the new lens are heavier and easier to control and the minimum aperture is now f/16 instead of f/22.

The most immediate visible difference is the new lens's two-lipped sun shade with the lips horizontally opposite. The older lens has a shallower 360° circumference shade. In our opinion, virtually any built-in shade for an 18mm lens is but lip service since a truly useful shade would have to be an enormous dish arrangement, only practical (if even then) as an accessory. However, the use of Spiratone's multicoating called "Pluracoat" goes far to minimize unwanted flare outside of the angle of coverage.

The second discernible difference concerns the new lens's front element, which is considerably greater in diameter than that in the old lens. This should help provide a more even illumination across the field with less immediate light falloff in the corners - which we did find was the case. In terms of overall resolution, we would judge both lenses approximately equal.

It's interesting to note that the non-multicoated 18mm f/3.5 Spiratone lens we tested in 1971 then cost $169.95, while the new multicoated lens seven years and much inflation later is only about $10 more. We can do no better than to repeat what we said in 1971 even if it then described an optic supplied by another manufacturer: "excellent value in addition to being a fine super-wide-angle optic."

From the editor

Made by Tokina.

We took the data on the weight and size of the Spiratone lens from the above publication in the Modern Photography magazine.

Notes

• Independent-brand lenses were made for 35mm film SLR cameras by companies that competed with the camera manufacturers. Some came from factories that made lenses under their own brand names (Angenieux, Kiron, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina). Many others were national and international marketing organizations (Kalimar, Panagor, Rokunar, Soligor, Starblitz) that bought lenses from anonymous manufacturers. One firm — Vivitar — actually designed its own lenses and accessories, which were then subcontracted to manufacturing firms. Still others were private labels, sold only by specific photo specialty shops (Cambron, Quantaray, Spiratone).

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