Data sheet: Soligor C/D 135 mm f/2.8 (Tokina)

Pekka Buttler, 12/2025

Specifications

The table below summarises the lens’ key specifications (measurements based on pictured, Canon FD mount sample):

Brand:	Soligor	Lens name	C/D 135 mm f/2.8
Focal length(s) 1	135 mm	Angle-of-view 2	63,4 °
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8	In Production	1974–unknown
Lens mounts (this lens)	M42	Other lens mounts3	Canon FD, Fujica X, Minolta SR, Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax K
Length 4	75,4 mm	Diameter 5	63,8 mm
Filter ring diameter	52 mm	Weight	376 grams
Lens element count	5	Lens group count	4
Aperture blades (S/R/C) 6	6 S	Focus throw	190 °
Minimum focusing distance (measured)	141 cms	Maximum magnification (measured)	1:8,6
Has manual aperture ring	YES	Has manual focus ring	YES
Aperture mechanism type	Automatic/manual	Aperture click stops 7	2.8-4-5.6-8-11-16-22

Further notes:
• This lens is part of Soligor’s “C/D” line of lenses that were (at the time) Soligor’s premium offering.
• Soligor seems to never have been very clear on the exact meaning of “C/D”. While the majority understanding seems to be that “C/D” stands for “Computer Designed” there is also a persistent alternative version indicating that “C/D” indicates “Compact Design”.
• It is important to remember that Soligor (a brand of the Allied Impex Corp) was not a lens manufacturer, but a marketing&sales organisation and that all ‘Soligor’ lenses were manufactured by various Japanese optic companies, including both well-known names such as Tokina, Tamron and Kowa, as well as less well-known companies such as Kobori, Kyoei Acall and Itoh (for a full list of Soligor lens makers, see the Allied Impex company profile.
• As indicated by this lens’ serial number, this lens is a Tokina manufactured lens. Tokina also sold the same design under their own “Tokina RMC” brand, and the Tokina variant is significantly more common.

• This lens offers an integrated, extendable hood that however does not offer much in the way of protection against backlight (it does however block oblique rays).

Versions

Notwithstanding that the same lens exists both under the Tokina and Soligor brands, I have not found any evidence of more than one version or variant of this lens having been made.

Importantly, Soligor also sold another 135 mm f/2.8 design in its C/D lineup. That lens was manufactured by Sun Optics (to distinguishg the two versions – look at the first number in the serial number. If the serial number starts with 1, then it’s (this) Tokina-made lens (if it starts with 2, then it’s the Sun Optics variant)

Adapting

Adapting M42 mount lenses

If you want to natively mount an M42 lens you need to find a functioning M42 mount film camera. Luckily that should be relatively easy as M42 bodies were produced in their millions and most of them lack features that are especially likely to have deteriorated to the point of making the entire camera inoperable. If your sample of this lens offers a switch to choose between auto- and manual aperture, I recommend using the lens on a body that is capable of stopping down the lens automatically and offers stop-down metering.

Adapting this lens to a mirrorless, full-frame digital camera is a breeze thanks to the lens having full manual controls (aperture ring, focus ring). You simply need a dumb adapter from M42 to your mirrorless system.

Due to the medium flange focal distance used by the M42 mount (45,46 mm), whether you can adapt this lens to dSLR/SLR mounts depends on which dSLR mount: Canon EF, Four Thirds, Minolta/Sony A and Pentax K can mount m42 lenses using a simple adapter ring. Nikon F on the other hand is not as problem-free, and – to retain anything near infinity focus – the adapter will necessitate corrective optics. In all cases, your camera will work only in stop-down metering.

Footnotes

1. Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’. ↩︎
2. Picture angle is given in degrees and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
   > 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
   70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
   50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
   40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
   20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
   10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
   5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
   < 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens ↩︎
3. JAPB is here listing only those adapters that we have seen with our own eyes, but other period-typical adapters can also have existed. ↩︎
4. Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity. ↩︎
5. Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers. ↩︎
6. S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures. ↩︎
7. Numbers equal aperture values on aperture ring; • intermediate click; – no intermediate click. ↩︎