RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7
Topcon · Exakta · 1977
via machine translation — corrections welcomeAlso known as: RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7 · RE Topcor 55mm f1.7 · RE Topcor 55mm F1.7 · RE Topcor 55mm 1:1.7 · RE Topcor 1:1.7 55mm · RE Topcor 1:1.7 f=55mm · RE Topcor 1.7/55 · RE Topcor 55 1.7 · RE Topcor 55mm 1.7 · RE.Topcor 55mm f1.7 · RE.Topcor 1:1.7 55mm · RE-Topcor 55mm f1.7 · RE Topcor N 55mm f1.7 · RE Topcor N 55mm f/1.7 · Topcon RE Topcor 55mm f1.7 · Topcon RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7 · Topcon 55mm f1.7 RE Topcor · Topcon 55mm f1.7 RE.Topcor · Topcon 55mm f/1.7 RE Topcor · Topcon Topcor 55mm f1.7 · Topcon RE 55mm f1.7 · Tokyo Kogaku RE Topcor 55mm f1.7 · Exaktar 55mm f1.7 · Exaktar 55mm f/1.7 · Exaktar 1:1.7 f=55mm · Exaktar 1.7/55 · REトプコール 55mm F1.7 · REトプコールN 55mm F1.7 · RE トプコール 55mm F1.7 · トプコン REトプコール 55mm F1.7 · トプコン RE Topcor 55mm F1.7 · トプコール 55mm F1.7
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RE TOPCOR 1:1.7 f=55mm | Exakta | 1977 | 711xxxxx, eight digits: Kamerastore's copy is 71113244 | — |
| EXAKTAR 1:1.7 f=55mm (Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3) | Exakta | 1977 | 711xxxxx, eight digits: the Commons copy on an EDX 3 is 71102071 | — |
- Construction: 6 elements in 4 groups comes from the Exakta EDX instruction book, for the EXAKTAR-badged lens. Topcon Club treats the EXAKTAR as the same lens renamed, and says the K-mount AM Topcor MC 55mm f/1.7 of the RM300 has the RE Topcor's optics unchanged, so the figure is set for the family. No Topcon-badged document giving the construction has been found.
- Dimensions: Tokyo Kogaku's RE300/RE200 instruction book (Table of Topcor Lenses) lists 'RE Topcor 55mm F/1.7 (new)' with 6 elements, a 43° field, f/1.7–16, 0.6 m (2 ft), a clamp-mount hood, 52 mm and 205 g. Kamerastore gives 63 × 38 mm and 210 g; Allphotolenses' database page gives 207 g and a length of 34 mm. All give 0.6 m and 52 mm, and both dealers 6 blades. The weight set is the instruction book's 205 g; no length is set.
- Maker: Topcon Club says the RE200-era lenses were designed by Tokyo Kogaku and made by its subcontractor Sima Kogaku (シマ光学). It describes what followed in two ways: its lens page says Sima changed its name to Cima (シィーマ) after Tokyo Kogaku closed its camera division in 1981, while its camera page says Sima set up a new company, Cima, which brought out the Cimko LS-1 in 1983. stevemark on the MFlenses forum calls this lens 'Cimko made', and the Maxifiche says the RE200-era bodies were probably built by third parties such as Cimko; Cimko was Cima's later brand, so neither contradicts Topcon Club, but the lens was made before the Cimko name existed. Topcon Club adds that the Cimko LS-1's standard lens was a different, smaller 50mm, not this 55mm.
- Badge versions not listed: Topcon Club says copies of the late RE lenses are seen as EXAKTAR, CARENA and QUANTARAY. No Carena- or Quantaray-badged 55mm f/1.7 in the RE mount has been found; Topcon Club's Carena KSM 1 and Quantaray Delta 2-RZ are K-mount RM300 versions, and it says Carena also sold Korean-made Carenar lenses in the Topcon RE mount. The Edixar MC and Rony MC 55mm f/1.7 of the Edixa CX 5 and Rony RS1, and the AM Topcor MC 55mm f/1.7 of the RM300, are Pentax K mount and do not fit RE bodies.
- RE200 and RE300 (and Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3): the lens's own bodies, with full-aperture TTL metering (EDX instruction book). RE Super, Super D, Super DM and RE-2: Topcon Club calls the RE200's mount the RE mount used since the RE Super, the Exakta mount with mechanisms added. No source describes this lens on the older RE bodies; sharing the mount suggests the meter coupling works on them too, but that is not confirmed. The links are kept.
- RS, RII (Automatic R) and RIII: these bodies have the body stop-down lever Topcon added in 1960 but no TTL meter, so the lens's automatic diaphragm should work while its meter coupling does nothing. No source describes the pairing.
- R (1957): Topcon Club says the R has no automatic-diaphragm mechanism in the body, everything being in its own semi-automatic Auto-Topcors. Nothing on the R closes this lens's diaphragm and the lens has no stop-down control of its own, so expect it to work only at full aperture. No source describes the pairing; the link is kept with that limit.
- Ihagee Exakta bodies: Topcon Club notes that Topcon put its release on the opposite side to Exakta's, so lenses worked by an external preset arm lose that function between Topcon and Exakta bodies. This lens has no external arm. No source describes it on an Ihagee Exakta, and the EDX 2 and EDX 3, though badged Exakta, are Topcon RE bodies.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved RE TOPCOR (or EXAKTAR) 1:1.7 f=55mm, with no AUTO; the older standard lenses of the RE bodies are the RE Auto-Topcor 58mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 and the RE GN Topcor 50mm f/1.8 and GN Topcor M 50mm f/1.4
- 52 mm filter thread and 0.6 m closest focus, against 49 mm and 0.45 m on the RE Auto-Topcor 58mm f/1.8
- Topcon RE bayonet; not the AM Topcor MC 55mm f/1.7, which has the same optics and barrel but a Pentax K mount and says MC, and not the HI Topcor 55mm f/1.8 of the UV-mount IC-1
RE TOPCOR 1:1.7 f=55mm:
- Front ring engraved RE TOPCOR, 1:1.7, f=55mm and an eight-digit serial, white on black, with no AUTO and no N (Kamerastore's photographs of 71113244)
- Black barrel with a broad rubber focusing band moulded in a square, pyramid-stud pattern, a thin bright ring at the front of the band, and MADE IN JAPAN under the distance scale (Kamerastore)
- Distance scale in feet (orange) and metres (white) down to 0.6 m and 2 ft; aperture ring 1.7, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16; depth-of-field marks for 16, 8 and 4 with a red R infrared index (Kamerastore)
EXAKTAR 1:1.7 f=55mm (Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3):
- Front ring engraved EXAKTAR, 1:1.7, f=55mm and an eight-digit serial; otherwise the same black barrel, square-studded rubber band and feet-and-metres scale as the RE Topcor (Joe Haupt's photographs on Wikimedia Commons)
- Usually on an Exakta EDX 3 or EDX 2 body, with an EXAKTA nameplate under the prism and an EDX plate beside it
- RE TOPCOR 1:1.7 f=55mm: The standard lens of the Topcon RE200 of 1977 and the RE300 of 1978. Topcon Club calls it the RE Topcor N 55mm f/1.7 on the RE200 and plain RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7 on the RE300, the same lens on both; the N was never engraved. Kamerastore lists it as "Topcon 55mm f1.7 RE.Topcor" and describes a black metal body; its copy 71113244 had an oily, slow diaphragm. Only black copies have been seen; the RE200 and RE300 were sold in chrome as well, but no chrome-trimmed lens is reported.
- EXAKTAR 1:1.7 f=55mm (Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3): Tokyo Kogaku built the RE200 and RE300 for Ihagee West as the Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3, and Topcon Club says the lens name changed to EXAKTAR to match. The EDX instruction book gives the standard lens as the EXAKTAR 55mm F1.7 on the TOPCON RE bayonet mount. The Commons photographs show one copy, 71102071, on an EDX 3, whose serial falls among the RE Topcor's.
Serial-range notes
- 711xxxxx
- Two copies have been seen, both eight-digit serials beginning 711: the RE Topcor 71113244 (Kamerastore) and the EXAKTAR 71102071 (Commons). A third number, 71103788, is written by hand as the lens serial on the specifications page of the scanned EDX instruction book, badge not shown. The badges appear to share one serial series. No serial table is published, and so few copies are too few to give a range or a date.
Specifications
- Construction
- 6 elements / 4 groups
- Aperture range
- f/1.7–f/16
- Diaphragm blades
- 6
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Dimensions
- 63 mm diameter
- Weight
- 205 g
- Filter
- 52 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1977
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Blue-dominant coating with no MC marking (Topcon Club, of the RE Topcor N lenses; it takes the K-mount AM Topcor MC to be the same lens with a multi-coat layer added)
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7 was the standard lens of the last two Topcon reflexes on the RE bayonet: the budget RE200 of 1977 and the RE300 of 1978, which added coupling for an auto winder. Topcon Club, the Japanese collectors’ site, says it was a new design, made to be simpler to assemble. It came out with a group of new interchangeable lenses from 28mm to 200mm. Tokyo Kogaku itself called these the RE Topcor N series for convenience, N for New, but never engraved the N on the lenses. Tokyo Kogaku designed the lenses, and its subcontractor Sima Kogaku made them. After Tokyo Kogaku closed its camera division in 1981, Sima became Cima, which brought out the Cimko LS-1 in 1983; Topcon Club says in one place that Sima changed its name and in another that it set up a new company. That is why the French Maxifiche says these late bodies were probably built by firms such as Cimko, and why a forum collector calls the lens Cimko-made, though it was made before the Cimko name existed. Topcon Club adds that the Cimko camera’s own standard lens was a different, smaller 50mm.
It is a modest lens of its decade. The Exakta EDX instruction book gives 6 elements in 4 groups for its badged twin, and the lens has a 52 mm filter thread. Tokyo Kogaku’s RE300/RE200 instruction book lists it with six elements, f/1.7 to f/16, a closest focus of 0.6 m and 205 g, and dealer and database figures agree on six diaphragm blades and about 207–210 g. The diaphragm is automatic, and the lens couples to the RE200’s and RE300’s meters at full aperture. Topcon Club finds the late lenses as a group a step down from the RE Auto-Topcors. They show ghosts and flare against the light that it finds surprising in a late-1970s design, though it says their tonal range is still Topcor-like once you know their habits. No published test of this lens has been found.
There are two versions, which differ only in the name on the front ring. The Topcon lens reads RE TOPCOR 1:1.7 f=55mm, white on a black ring, with an eight-digit serial. The barrel is black, with a broad rubber focusing band moulded in square studs and a feet-and-metres scale. Tokyo Kogaku also built the RE200 and RE300 for Ihagee West as the Exakta EDX 2 and EDX 3, and Topcon Club says the lens was renamed EXAKTAR to match. A copy photographed on an EDX 3 reads EXAKTAR 1:1.7 f=55mm, and its serial, 71102071, falls among the Topcon lenses’. Topcon Club also mentions CARENA and QUANTARAY copies of the late lenses, but no RE-mount 55mm under either name has been found. Several lookalikes do not fit RE bodies. The AM Topcor MC 55mm f/1.7 of the RM300 is the same optics, multi-coated, in a Pentax K mount. The Edixar MC and Rony MC 55mm f/1.7 are renamed copies of that K-mount lens.
The lens fits every Topcon focal-plane reflex, but it is fully at home only on the RE bodies. Topcon Club describes the RE200’s mount as the RE mount Topcon had used since the RE Super. The lens should therefore meter at full aperture on the RE Super, RE-2, Super D and Super DM as well, though no source shows it on them. The RS, RII and RIII have the body lever that closes an automatic diaphragm, so the lens’s diaphragm should work, though no source shows it, and none of these bodies meters through the lens. The original R of 1957 has no diaphragm mechanism in the body, so on it the lens should be expected to work only at full aperture. The lens does not fit the leaf-shutter Topcons, from the Wink Mirror to the Unirex and IC-1, which take UV-mount lenses.
These late lenses have never been valued highly: Topcon Club expects an RE200 or RE300 not to fetch much even with its lens. Kamerastore’s reference price for a lens in certified condition is €89, a dealer figure. No launch price has been found. When buying, check the diaphragm first. Kamerastore offered one copy at €42 because its blades were oily and slow, so work the diaphragm coupling at the rear by hand and watch the blades snap shut and reopen. Check also that the rubber focusing band has not perished or slipped. Read the front ring, and check the mount: a lens marked MC with a Pentax K bayonet is the AM Topcor, not this lens.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
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More sample photos elsewhere
- Kamerastore: photographs of an RE TOPCOR 1:1.7 f=55mm, serial 71113244, front, side and rear
- Topcon Club: the RE200 and RE300 with their RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7
These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.
Sample photo wanted — shot with a RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $190 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $76–$190). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- RE TOPCOR 55mm Camera Lens 1:1.7
- Topcon RE Topcor 55mm F1.7 Schwarz #71120111
- [FROM EU, MINT] RE Topcor 55mm f/1.7 1.7/55 standard prime lens EXA Exakta
- Topcon RE200 Topcor 1.7/55mm NOTTESTED
- TOPCON RE200 + RE TOPCOR 55mm F1.7
- RARE Topcon RE-200 35mm Film SLR Camera Body w/ RE Topcor 55mm F1.7 Lens JAPAN
- 【返品保証】 トプコン Topcon RE TOPCOR 55mm F1.7 前後キャップ付き レンズ e19773
- 【訳あり品】 東京光学 TOPCON RE 300 ブラック RE TOPCOR 55mm F1.7 ボディレンズセット e9750
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Listings updated 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.