We are pleased to announce the release of a 28mm version of the popular MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35: the MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 4/28.

The lens is available for pre-order now in our web shop. Orders will be served in the order received. Please note that as usual there might be a waiting period between receiving your order and fulfilment, due to the nature of the lens.

Japan Exposures has over six years of experience of selling MS Optical products, including several hundred of Super Triplets 35mm. This includes efficient and cost-effective shipping, handling of after-sale warranty & repairs and even intra-EU shipping to save on import duty. Thank you for your continued support.

The simplest optical design that is capable of correcting all of the seven Seidel aberrations over a wide field of view is the Cooke triplet, developed by H. Dennis Taylor in 1893. It is named after the optical company in York, England, for which Taylor worked at the time, Cooke and Sons (later to become Cooke, Troughton and Sims). Taylor’s designs, despite their antiquity, are close to optimum for the aperture and field he intended, given the glass types available in his day.

However, at around 1925 with the rise of the Tessar lens designed by Paul Rudolph of Zeiss the Cooke triplet was starting to be relegated to cheaper lenses such as those in compact cameras, due to its simple design affording low cost manufacturing.

Mr Miyazaki of MS Optical, a small independent manufacturer of lenses and camera accessories, believes that a well-designed triplet is superior to the Tessar. Only very few lenses in history exploited the full power of the formula, such as an early version of the Leitz Elmar 90/4 with three elements. He started researching and designing his own ideal triplet lens at the highest level possible, using 21st century materials and manufacturing techniques. The result is the MS Super Triplet Perar 4/28, which has just been released. (For those wondering about the origin of the lens name, in Japanese pera-pera means thin or flimsy.)

Despite it’s deceptively simple construction of three lens elements Miyazaki was able to design a lens of not only outstanding performance, but also with a very interesting form factor and at comparatively low cost.

Here are its key features:

• Very high optical quality triplet formula lens
• Ultra compact design, weight 45g, 55g with hood
• Premium quality Tantalum glass, superior to Trium and Lanthanum glass with best refractive qualities
• Refined triplet design with two double thickness positive lenses, superior to Tessar design
• 10 blade quasi-round aperture for smooth and pleasing bokeh (Made in Germany by Otto Niemann Feinmechanik GmbH, Berlin)
• Minimum focus distance 0.8m
• ALL glass surfaces multicoated, 97% light transmission
• Vivid, real and beautiful color reproduction, high contrast high resolution images
• Unique exposed front aperture (hood accepts 19mm size filters with 0.5 pitch)
• Initial lot of 180 lenses, designed, manufactured and hand-assembled in Japan by Mr Sadoyasu Miyazaki
• Native Leica M mount

The MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 4/28 is available now in our web shop.

Sample image gallery to follow shortly.

Just like MS Optical’s lens conversions, please be aware that this lens is slightly different in operation from “normal” mass-manufactured lenses. For example, the aperture scale rotates with the whole lens barrel when the lens is focussed and there are no aperture click stops. This is not a lens for photographers who want all their lenses to function in the same way and cannot adjust to a different way of working. This is a design for the connoisseur with an appreciation for optics and their history.

Regarding the exposed aperture: while it may appear as unusual to some people, exposed apertures are not uncommon in lens history. Aperture placement depends on the lens design and does not have to sit in the nodal point plane, only in the light path. For example, when the lens is too small i.e. distances between elements too tight and distance to the image plane too short, the aperture can/must be placed in front.

Additional note: due to a manufacturing glitch, lens name was engraved “SUPER TPIRLET as opposed to “SUPER TRIPLET”. This does not affect lens performance.

There is no other independent maker of Leica M mount lenses that offers the same level of quality and creativity as MS Optical in the world today. The Perar is not just a lens, it is a celebration of the spirit of photography.

Related posts:

1. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 The lens is now sold out, please see here for...
2. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II We are pleased to announce the availability of a second...
3. MS Optical Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T mount/C mount lens connector S (Slim) We are pleased to announce the addition of Micro Four-Thirds...

Anatolia, by Hiroh Kikai ¥9,490 ¥8,490
Published in January, 2011, this book from Asakusa Portraits-famed Hiroh Kikai is the first ever substantial presentation of his considerable body of work from Turkey. It depicts Anatolia, but also points west and east, and was created during six visits (totaling 45 weeks) that Kikai made from 1994 through 2009. See this review at Microcord for more about the book.

Hana Dorobou, by Eikoh Hosoe ¥2,990 ¥2,490
Undergarment designer Yoko Kamoi (1925-1991) presented to Hosoe a series of her handmade dolls and told him, “Do with them what you want.” For Hosoe, they were more human than doll, and they seemed to take a life of their own, the scenes he eventually photographed them in seemingly situtations these dolls were getting themselves into — or so Hosoe felt, so strong was their human-like nature.

Hana Kinbaku, by Nobuyoshi Araki, ¥7,990 ¥5,990
Published in conjunction with his exhibition at Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo) in 2008, this 150-plus full color catalogue brings together two of Araki’s well-known obsessions, flowers and bondage scenes.

Kazuo Kitai in China, 1973, by Kazuo Kitai, ¥2,590 ¥1,990
Kitai, who was born in Anshan, Manchuria in 1944, returned to China in 1973 at the behest of the noted Japanese photographer Ihei Kimura, who assembled a group of photographers to travel the country for two weeks with him. The photos that Kitai took on this trip, which he intended to publish as a book but never did, are now collected in this special publication from Tokyo gallery Zen Foto Gallery.

Lime Works, by Naoya Hatakeyama, ¥4,290 ¥3,590
A much-needed reprint of Hatakeyama’s seminal 1996 Lime Works.

Cell, by Taiji Matsue, ¥4,990 ¥4,490
This book from 2008 by Taiji Matsue features tiny pieces (or “cells” if you will) of larger photos blown up many times over, rendering each photo both abstract and concrete at the same time.

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The last batch of Jun Abe's Citizens

One of Japan Exposures’ best-selling books — and definitely the best-selling book that is not by Daido Moriyama or Nobuyoshi Araki — is Osaka-based Jun Abe’s Citizens. Even after going out-of-print early last year, the requests for this title still come in, as do orders for Abe’s follow-up Kokubyaku Note and the recently-published Manila.

After much pleading Japan Exposures has managed to secure an additional eight copies from someone’s closet, available for order now. As we have been told in no uncertain terms that this batch is the last we will ever receive, you need to order now if you missed out the first time and would still like this book.

For more about Citizens, Japan Exposures friend John Sypal has long been a champion of Abe’s work, and photographer British photographer Nick Turpin is likewise a big fan of the work.

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We are pleased to announce the availability of a second run of this popular lens. It is available for order now in our web shop.

The MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II is optically identical to first version. In this revision, some minor changes were made:

• Native Leica M mount, not LTM with adapter
• More robust, thicker focussing lever
• Minor changes of markings on barrel, aperture scale marks

As you well know, on Friday, March 11th 2011, a strong earthquake and tsunami struck the eastern coast of Japan. Apart from the shocking damages and casualties caused by these natural disasters, the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station suffered a severe accident spreading radioactive materials over a vast area, a crisis which is still ongoing. Incidentally, the earthquake also caused some disruption to the production process of the Perar, spoiling a lot of about 50 optical lenses.

Following suggestions from our customers, we have therefore added a voluntary option to donate a modest amount to the Japanese Red Cross (or other charitable organisation) as part of your purchase. The initial amount is set to ¥5000 which you can increase or reduce as you see fit. Thank you.

The simplest optical design that is capable of correcting all of the seven Seidel aberrations over a wide field of view is the Cooke triplet, developed by H. Dennis Taylor in 1893. It is named after the optical company in York, England, for which Taylor worked at the time, Cooke and Sons (later to become Cooke, Troughton and Sims). Taylor’s designs, despite their antiquity, are close to optimum for the aperture and field he intended, given the glass types available in his day.

However, at around 1925 with the rise of the Tessar lens designed by Paul Rudolph of Zeiss the Cooke triplet was starting to be relegated to cheaper lenses such as those in compact cameras, due to its simple design affording low cost manufacturing.

Mr Miyazaki of MS Optical, a small independent manufacturer of lenses and camera accessories, believes that a well-designed triplet is superior to the Tessar. Only very few lenses in history exploited the full power of the formula, such as an early version of the Leitz Elmar 90/4 with three elements. He started researching and designing his own ideal triplet lens at the highest level possible, using 21st century materials and manufacturing techniques. The result is the MS Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35, which has just been released. (For those wondering about the origin of the lens name, in Japanese pera-pera means thin or flimsy.)

Despite it’s deceptively simple construction of three lens elements Miyazaki was able to design a lens of not only outstanding performance, but also with a very interesting form factor and at comparatively low cost.

Here are its key features:

• Very high optical quality triplet formula lens
• Ultra compact design, weight 75g, collapsible (4.2mm height when collapsed)
• Premium quality Tantalum glass, superior to Trium and Lanthanum glass with best refractive qualities
• Refined triplet design with two double thickness positive lenses, superior to Tessar design
• Round aperture for smooth and pleasing bokeh (Edmund Optics, Made in USA)
• Minimum focus distance 0.8m
• ALL glass surfaces multicoated, 97% light transmission
• Vivid, real and beautiful color reproduction, high contrast high resolution images
• Second lot of 200 lenses (serial 201-400), designed, manufactured and hand-assembled in Japan by Mr Sadoyasu Miyazaki

The MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II is available now in our web shop.

Just like MS Optical’s lens conversions, please be aware that this lens is slightly different in operation from “normal” mass-manufactured lenses. For example, the aperture scale rotates with the whole lens barrel when the lens is focussed and there are no aperture click stops. This is not a lens for photographers who want all their lenses to function in the same way and cannot adjust to a different way of working. This is a design for the connoisseur with an appreciation for optics and their history.

Photos courtesy of Pieter Franken

I did quite some shooting yesterday with the lens [on the Leica M9 and MP] and had it compete with a 35mm Summilux aspherical lens. Obviously there are significant differences, but am quite impressed with what this little lens does. First of all the focus is perfect on the M9 and the view field is good. Bokeh is pleasant. The focussing is very smooth! I liked the hood and front and rear covers – nice detail and execution!

Pieter Franken, September 2010

There is no other independent maker of Leica M mount lenses that offers the same level of quality and creativity as MS Optical in the world today. The Perar is not just a lens, it is a celebration of the spirit of photography.

Related posts:

1. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 4/28 We are pleased to announce the release of a 28mm...
2. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 The lens is now sold out, please see here for...
3. MS Optical Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T mount/C mount lens connector S (Slim) We are pleased to announce the addition of Micro Four-Thirds...

Please note that replies to email inquiries might also be delayed accordingly. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The holiday will affect the web store and the following products and services, which will resume from mid-April:

• MS Optical lens conversions including Converted Contax G lens for Leica M Packages
• Sales of JE Exotica
• Japan Exposures Equipment Sourcing and Camera Spare Part Services

Thank you for your understanding.

The Japan Exposures Book Shop will continue to operate as normal.

UPDATE: We’re back and catching up with the backlog quickly. Thank you for your patience.

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2. Web Shop on summer holidays The Japan Exposures Book Shop has returned from its break...
3. Update on release of Fujifilm GF670 Professional We have just been informed by Fujifilm that the release...

Due to tighter security measures related to cargo bound for the United States, which includes international mail, as of this Wednesday, November 17, Japan Post will for the foreseeable future not accept Airmail packages bound for the U.S. that weigh over 16 ounces (or 453 grams) from non-registered shippers. This effects all EMS, Standard Airmail, and Economy Airmail (SAL) shipments. As far as we understand, this does not affect Surface shipments. With the exception of a few titles, most books we sell in the bookstore weigh more than 16 ounces. Please note that these restrictions only apply to items bought from the bookstore and not from the Japan Exposures Shop, which is back to operating as normal after their autumn holidays.

We are doing our utmost to fulfill all outstanding bookstore orders bound for our U.S. customers before the cutoff, but for any orders received from the US from here on out, a temporary delay while we adjust our shipping methods will occur, so we ask for your understanding. You can of course still place orders and we will hold the books for you until such time as we can make the delivery, or choose Surface as your shipping method. If you are worried about securing titles with limited availability, or wish to inquire about the status of an existing order, or wish to reconfirm time frames prior to placing your order, please feel free to contact us.

We know that, with the Christmas shopping season upon us, these restrictions couldn’t have come at a worse time. Please understand that this situation is largely out of our hands but we are doing our best to find alternatives and to satisfy our customers as best as possible. We are confident that most orders intended for Christmas will reach you in time for the holidays.

Related posts:

1. Release of Fujifilm GF670 Professional delayed until end of April We have just been informed by Fujifilm that release of...
2. New shipping option: SAL As a low budget option we now offer SAL shipping,...
3. Autumn leave We will be taking a short autumn break and take...

Japan Exposures is pleased to add small Japanese publisher Super Labo’s books into the fold of publications being sold in the Japan Exposures bookstore. While we don’t shy away from established, mainstream publishers, what really tickles our book nook’s chin are the small publishers carrying on the tradition of the Japanese photobook.

Super Labo is not only doing that, but bringing a little bit of the Japanese photobook to established Western photographers also known for the craft and care they have brought to their photobooks — photographers like Alec Soth and Todd Hido.

Super Labo is the creation of Yasunori Hoki, an extremely nice and courteous man whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the recent Tokyo Photo Fair event this past September. Hoki used to run Gallery White Room on Tokyo’s ultra fashionable Omotesando Boulevard, bringing artists like Eikoh Hosoe and Joel Meyerowitz to the Tokyo high street. Hoki had to close the gallery in early 2009, but through the experience of publishing catalogs to accompany the exhibitions he put on he established Super Labo. In fact, it was through the relationship he had established with Meyerowitz during the creation of a special exhibition catalog that helped get Super Labo off the ground, and get other non-Japanese photographers interested in collaborating on these small, almost zine-like books.

While some photographers like Meyerowitz have used it as a platform to revisit in an abridged form work from the past (Redheads and Wild Flowers), or used it as a print outlet for a project originating in a different medium (Alec Soth’s Ash Wednesday), others like Todd Hido have conceived books specifically for Super Labo (and according to Hoki, Hido really got into the making of his book, Nymph Daughters). It’s perhaps no wonder that Nymph Daughters is the first of Super Labo’s books to go out of print, although Japan Exposures was able to secure a few copies before it did.

While the majority of Super Labo titles so far have featured non-Japanese photographers, books by Naoya Hatakeyama and Takashi Homma are on the horizon, and combined with already published titles like Osamu Kanemura’s Stravinsky Overdrive and Tomonori “Rip” Tanaka’s Night Riders, certainly Super Labo cannot be accused of ignoring Japanese photography.

Here’s a list of the Super Labo titles we’re currently carrying (those marked with a * indicate titles that won’t be restocked when the extremely few copies we have are sold):

Ash Wednesday, New Orleans, by Alec Soth*
Birds, by Stephen Gill
Coming to Grips, by Ed Templeton *
Night Riders, by Tomonori “Rip” Tanaka
Nymph Daughters, by Todd Hido *
Redheads, by Joel Meyerowitz
Stravinsky Overdrive, by Osamu Kanemura
Wild Flowers, by Joel Meyerowitz

Related posts:

1. Megaperls is now Japan Exposures As of 1 Nov 08 Megaperls has evolved into Japan...
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The Japan Exposures Web Shop will take a holiday starting October 18th until the middle of November. The cut-off for Hirano hand-made camera cases is Friday, Oct 8th. Orders placed on or after these dates will be processed and shipped upon our return in November.

Orders for products that are currently backordered, for example the MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35, might also be shipped in November. Please note that replies to email inquiries might also be delayed accordingly. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The holiday will affect the web store and the following products and services, which will resume from mid-November:

• MS Optical lens conversions including Converted Contax G lens for Leica M Packages
• Sales of JE Exotica
• Japan Exposures Equipment Sourcing and Camera Spare Part Services

The Japan Exposures Book Shop will continue to operate as normal, so don’t hold yourself back.

UPDATE 14 Nov 2010: We’re back and busy fulfilling all pending orders – thank you for your patience.

Related posts:

1. Web Shop on spring holidays (Update: we’re back) Due to recent events in Japan, the Japan Exposures Web...
2. Web Shop on summer holidays The Japan Exposures Book Shop has returned from its break...
3. Autumn leave We will be taking a short autumn break and take...

The lens is now sold out, please see here for details on the second production run.

The simplest optical design that is capable of correcting all of the seven Seidel aberrations over a wide field of view is the Cooke triplet, developed by H. Dennis Taylor in 1893. It is named after the optical company in York, England, for which Taylor worked at the time, Cooke and Sons (later to become Cooke, Troughton and Sims). Taylor’s designs, despite their antiquity, are close to optimum for the aperture and field he intended, given the glass types available in his day.

However, at around 1925 with the rise of the Tessar lens designed by Paul Rudolph of Zeiss the Cooke triplet was starting to be relegated to cheaper lenses such as those in compact cameras, due to its simple design affording low cost manufacturing.

Mr Miyazaki of MS Optical, a small independent manufacturer of lenses and camera accessories, believes that a well-designed triplet is superior to the Tessar. Only very few lenses in history exploited the full power of the formula, such as an early version of the Leitz Elmar 90/4 with three elements. He started researching and designing his own ideal triplet lens at the highest level possible, using 21st century materials and manufacturing techniques. The result is the MS Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35, which has just been released. (For those wondering about the origin of the lens name, in Japanese pera-pera means thin or flimsy.)

Despite it’s deceptively simple construction of three lens elements Miyazaki was able to design a lens of not only outstanding performance, but also with a very interesting form factor and at comparatively low cost.

Here are its key features:

• Very high optical quality triplet formula lens
• Ultra compact design, weight 75g, collapsible (4.2mm height when collapsed)
• Premium quality Tantalum glass, superior to Trium and Lanthanum glass with best refractive qualities
• Refined triplet design with two double thickness positive lenses, superior to Tessar design
• Round aperture for smooth and pleasing bokeh (Edmund Optics, Made in USA)
• Minimum focus distance 0.8m
• ALL glass surfaces multicoated, 97% light transmission
• Vivid, real and beautiful color reproduction, high contrast high resolution images
• Lot of 200 lenses, designed, manufactured and hand-assembled in Japan by Mr Sadoyasu Miyazaki

The MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 is available now in our web shop. Below you can see a sample selection of images taken with the lens using a Leica M8.

Just like MS Optical’s lens conversions, please be aware that this lens is slightly different in operation from “normal” mass-manufactured lenses. For example, the aperture scale rotates with the whole lens barrel when the lens is focussed and there are no aperture click stops. This is not a lens for photographers who want all their lenses to function in the same way and cannot adjust to a different way of working. This is a design for the connoisseur with an appreciation for optics and their history.

Photos courtesy of Pieter Franken

I did quite some shooting yesterday with the lens [on the Leica M9 and MP] and had it compete with a 35mm Summilux aspherical lens. Obviously there are significant differences, but am quite impressed with what this little lens does. First of all the focus is perfect on the M9 and the view field is good. Bokeh is pleasant. The focussing is very smooth! I liked the hood and front and rear covers – nice detail and execution!

Pieter Franken, September 2010

There is no other independent maker of Leica M mount lenses that offers the same level of quality and creativity as MS Optical in the world today. The Perar is not just a lens, it is a celebration of the spirit of photography.

Note: we sell the MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 in M mount. Actually, at the core the lens is screw mount, however its use on LTM bodies requires some additional technical calibration with the camera. Unless you send us your camera, for customers outside of Japan we only offer the M mount version. The L-M ring is semi-permanently fixed and could be removed if you really wanted to, but doing so may create focussing and other issues so it is not recommended.

UPDATE: We have created a stand-alone Automator application that sets the lens name, focal length and maximum aperture of your image to MS Super Triplet Perar 35mm f/3.5 in the file’s EXIF data. (Mac OS X only). [Download]

Related posts:

1. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 4/28 We are pleased to announce the release of a 28mm...
2. MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II We are pleased to announce the availability of a second...
3. MS Optical Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T mount/C mount lens connector We are pleased to announce the Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T...

To that end we have put a number of books on sale from now until August 31st — although the pessimist in us worries the heat may last longer! While not all titles can claim anything but a slim connection with summer, we did try to cater to vicariousness in our selection, so if you’re looking to experience summer from afar, you might be interested in some of these:

Cell, by Taiji Matsue ￥4,990 ￥4590. Truth be told, while there are no doubt shots in this 2008 AKAAKA-published book taken in summer, it’s the book’s cover featuring a swimming pool that gets us in the summer mood. Good thing then that this sampling shows that indeed, there are more pools to dive into.

Hawaii, by Daido Moriyama ￥8,990 ￥7,990. What says “summer” more than Hawaii, where it is basically summer all year round? This large tome has plenty of suntan-oiled bodies and floral print wraparounds, not to mention plenty of sand, er, grain. Ample samples here (not all from “Hawaii” though). Bonus points for Moriyama’s high contrast b/w making the surf and sand seem cooler than it probably is.

The Long Vacation, by Mitsugu Onishi ￥3,990 ￥3,490. The English title of this work is somewhat misleading. A more accurate translation of the Japanese title might be “The Distant Summer”, and this book has a somewhat “Summer of ’42″ feel to it although it is Tokyo in the 1990s, with enough summer festivals, embarrassing hairstyles and stonewashed jeans to have you glad we now live in 2010, although the heat has probably only gotten worse.

There are more deals from where these came from, and while we can’t claim all will cool you down, they might provide some small protection from this summer’s other burning topic, the strengthening yen.

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