Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 (Leica screw mount)
Minolta · LTM · 1947
Known as “Umebachi”, “梅鉢”
Also known as: Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 · Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 · Super Rokkor 45mm 2.8 · Super Rokkor 45/2.8 · Super Rokkor 4.5cm f/2.8 · Super Rokkor 1:2.8 f=45mm · Super Rokkor 1:2.8 f 45mm · Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm · Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 · Chiyoko Super Rokkor 1:2.8 f=45mm · Chiyoko Rokkor 45mm f2.8 · Chiyoko Rokkor 45mm 2.8 · Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 · Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 LTM · Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 L39 · Super-Rokkor 45mm F2.8 · スーパーロッコール 45mm F2.8 · スーパーロッコール 45mm · スーパーロッコール 45/2.8 · スーパー ロッコール 45mm · 千代田光学 スーパーロッコール 45mm · 梅鉢 ロッコール 45mm · 梅鉢 45mm · 梅鉢レンズ · ミノルタ 梅鉢
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 1: aperture window, scales read from the front | LTM | 1947 | 210x–440x (Leica Copies Japan) | No figure published |
| Version 2: aperture window, scales read from above | LTM | 1947 | 485x–1437x (Leica Copies Japan) 9013x–9054x, an odd five-digit run (Leica Copies Japan); #90,537–90,684 seen by miyou55mane | No figure published |
| Version 3: aperture window with focusing lever | LTM | 1949 | 1179x–1434x (Leica Copies Japan) | No figure published |
| Version 4: no aperture window, 70 ft mark | LTM | 1951 | 1791x–2107x (Leica Copies Japan) Window present to #17070 and absent from #17607 (miyou55mane) | No figure published |
| Version 5: revised depth-of-field scale, six-digit serial | LTM | 1952 | 13477x–13990x (Leica Copies Japan) #134,187–140,857 seen; block #134,001–140,xxx (miyou55mane) | About 7,000 (miyou55mane's estimate from the serial block) |
| Version 6: no inner 19 mm thread, seven-digit serial | LTM | 1953–1955 | 140017x–140948x and 141191x–141690x (Leica Copies Japan) #1,400,191–1,417,849 seen; block #1,400,001–1,417,xxx (miyou55mane) | About 18,000 (miyou55mane's estimate from the serial block) |
- Serial notation. Leica Copies Japan writes ranges with a trailing x for one more digit (1791x = 17910–17919). Its ranges, and miyou55mane's, are lenses the authors have seen, not factory allocations; they overlap in places and the versions changed on the production line, not at a clean number.
- Versions. Leica Copies Japan counts at least six versions, followed here. canonrangefinder (Minolta lenses page, also quoted by Lens QA Works) also has six series (1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–51 with the first lever, 1951–52 the first without the window, 1952–53 at 135xxx, 1953–55 at 140xxxx without the 19 mm thread), but it splits the first two by number, where Leica Copies Japan splits them by the direction of the scales. Camera-wiki says the lens 'with focusing tab but without front bezel aperture window' came with the Model D, which contradicts the window-and-lever version 3 that Leica Copies Japan documents. antiquecameras.net gives a cruder split by serial length: four digits with the window (Models A–C), five digits with window and lever, scale in metres (D and early E), six digits without the window (late E, F, early II), seven digits with a feet scale and no inner thread.
- Distance scales. Leica Copies Japan finds metric scales on most lenses up to about 693x and feet from 781x, with a few metric exceptions. antiquecameras.net puts metres on the five-digit lenses and feet on the seven-digit ones. Check the scale against the serial rather than relying on either rule.
- Aperture blades. 9 according to Leica Copies Japan's specification table and JA Wikipedia ('絞り羽根は9枚'); 8 according to Lens QA Works (minolta.su), in the specification table for its review copy No. 7504.
- Filters. 34 mm outer thread on all versions (Leica Copies Japan; JA Wikipedia; minolta.su; Flashback Camera). Leica Copies Japan and canonrangefinder give the inner thread as 19 mm, the Elmar's size; antiquecameras.net gives 21.5 mm. canonrangefinder also says, in its 5cm f/2 entry, that most 45mm lenses take 40.5 mm filters, which no other source supports.
- Weight and size. The Rokkor lens brochure gives 150 g and a length of 38 mm (as quoted by Leica Copies Japan). Lens QA Works weighed its early copy at 160 g and measured 48 × 31.3 mm; Leica Copies Japan's late copy, No. 1411910, weighs 186 g without its lever and is also 31 mm long, 33 mm at the longest.
- Date. 1947 from Leica Copies Japan, camera-wiki (Minolta-35 introduced May 1947) and JA Wikipedia's list; Flashback Camera, topgabacho and ob-scura date the camera, and so the lens, to 1948; Leica Copies Japan notes that early production of 1947 appears to have been for export. Leica Copies Japan ends production in 1955 or 1956, when the Super Rokkor 5cm f/2.8 replaced it.
- Price. No list price for the lens alone has been found. The Model II with an f/2.8 lens was ¥39,800 in a 1955 advertisement (ob-scura) and in the US Department of Commerce list of Japanese retail prices at 31 March 1957 (Leica Copies Japan). Both are Japanese list prices for camera and lens together. ob-scura notes the 1955 advertisement does not say whether the f/2.8 is the 45mm or the new 5cm; by 1957 the 5cm f/2.8 had replaced the 45mm (Leica Copies Japan), so the 1957 figure is probably not for this lens.
- Value. Lens QA Works (minolta.su) quotes a Japanese collector, T Rokkor Miura: 'The real plum bowl without the lever is the most valuable.' No other source puts a premium on the lever-less lenses.
How to tell them apart
- Engraved 'Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 1:2.8 f=45mm' with the serial; a blue © coating mark on every version (Leica Copies Japan)
- Rigid, very short lens with a scalloped, machined focusing ring, the 'umebachi' (plum-blossom crest) shape that gives it its nickname
- Leica 39 mm screw mount, rangefinder-coupled; focuses to 1 m
- Not the Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 or f/3.5 fixed to, or made for the 24 mm mount of, the Minolta A, A-2, A-2 L/LT, A3 and A5; not the Rokkor-PF 45mm lenses of the Hi-Matic and AL; not the Super Rokkor 5cm f/2.8 that replaced it
Version 1: aperture window, scales read from the front:
- Small round window in the front ring showing the set f-number, beside the blue ©
- Aperture, distance and depth-of-field scales face forward, readable from in front of the camera, like the slow-speed dial of the Model A
- No focusing lever; four-digit serial
Version 2: aperture window, scales read from above:
- Aperture window kept; scales now face the back, readable from the shooting position
- No focusing lever
- Distance scale mostly in metres (20 m farthest) up to about 693x, mostly in feet from 781x, with 100 ft as the farthest mark before infinity (Leica Copies Japan)
Version 3: aperture window with focusing lever:
- Aperture window AND a focusing lever (tab) on the focusing ring
- Five-digit serial; otherwise as version 2. The lever is not on every lens in this range: 1437x, on a Model D, has none
Version 4: no aperture window, 70 ft mark:
- Plain front ring with no aperture window; focusing lever
- Farthest distance mark before infinity 70 ft instead of 100 ft
- Five-digit serial, from about 17xxx
Version 5: revised depth-of-field scale, six-digit serial:
- Six-digit serial starting 134–140
- Depth-of-field scale re-engraved, less crowded and easier to read; no window; lever; inner 19 mm thread kept
Version 6: no inner 19 mm thread, seven-digit serial:
- Seven-digit serial starting 140 or 141
- Black retaining ring around the front element has no filter thread; only the 34 mm outer thread remains
- Version 1: aperture window, scales read from the front: The lens of the Model A and early Model B, which Leica Copies Japan dates to 1947. Most lenses up to about 693x have a metric distance scale ending at 20 m before infinity. Leitz Auction sold a 24×32 mm Chiyoda-Kogaku Osaka body with lens No. 2073, slightly below the lowest number in Leica Copies Japan's table.
- Version 2: aperture window, scales read from above: Found on Models B, C and D. Leica Copies Japan thinks the numbers ran on from 8999 to 90000 for a while before going back to four digits (925x) and then to 1004x; miyou55mane reads the 90,xxx block as an extension of the 9,xxx numbers and finds it on IB–ID bodies. Leica Copies Japan's 9053x and 9054x lenses have no lever and the 100 ft mark.
- Version 3: aperture window with focusing lever: Leica Copies Japan finds it on the Model D (1949), whose front plate has a recess under the mount, presumably for the lever. Camera-wiki disagrees and describes the Model D lens as having the tab but no window (see note ²).
- Version 4: no aperture window, 70 ft mark: Leica Copies Japan finds that it seems to coincide with the arrival of the Model E (1951). The Science Museum's Model E, body 15480, carries lens 18075.
- Version 5: revised depth-of-field scale, six-digit serial: Leica Copies Japan finds it on the Model F (1952); miyou55mane on the IF to early Model II.
- Version 6: no inner 19 mm thread, seven-digit serial: The lens of the early Model II (types a1 and a2, 1953) and of a few early type b1 bodies of 1955, which Leica Copies Japan identifies by their larger 13.5 mm finder window. Leica Copies Japan's own 1411910 weighs 186 g without its lever. A Model II with lens No. 1401589, offered as junk (as is), sold on Yahoo! Auctions in 2026.
Serial-range notes
- 1,001–21,xxx; 90,xxx; 134,001–140,xxx; 1,400,001–1,417,xxx
- miyou55mane's blocks and estimates, from serials seen: #1,001–21,xxx for the Model I bodies (about 20,000), #90,xxx (about 1,000), #134,001–140,xxx for the IF to early II (about 7,000) and #1,400,001–1,417,xxx for the early II (about 18,000), about 46,000 in all. No factory figure has been published.
- 140017x–140948x
- Shared with other Rokkors. Leica Copies Japan's own table puts the Super Rokkor 5cm f/2 (version 4) at 140035x–140376x, inside the 45mm's last block, and miyou55mane writes that 45/2.8 serials also overlap those of the 45mm lenses of the Minolta A, A2, A2L, A3 and A5. A number alone does not prove which lens it is.
Specifications
- Formula
- 5 elements in 3 groups, the front group a cemented triplet (Leica Copies Japan; JA Wikipedia; Flashback Camera); antiquecameras.net calls it Heliar-like
- Construction
- 5 elements / 3 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8–f/16
- Diaphragm blades
- 9
- Min. focus
- 1 m
- Dimensions
- 48 × 31.3 mm
- Weight
- 160 g
- Filter
- 34 mm, 34 mm outer thread; 19 mm thread inside the retaining ring on all but the last version (Version 1: aperture window, scales read from the front, Version 2: aperture window, scales read from above, Version 3: aperture window with focusing lever, Version 4: no aperture window, 70 ft mark, Version 5: revised depth-of-field scale, six-digit serial) · 34 mm outer thread only; no inner thread (Version 6: no inner 19 mm thread, seven-digit serial)
- Years manufactured
- 1947–1955
- Country
- Japan
- Coating
- Coated from the first lens, marked with a blue © (Leica Copies Japan). JA Wikipedia says the early coating is soft and very easily damaged
- Material
- Rigid aluminium barrel (Leica Copies Japan)
What reviewers say
- Lens QA Works (minolta.su) (blog) — Tested No. 7504, found on a Model B, on a Sony A7II: a sharp centre and good corners at a distance but weak mid-frame up to f/8, swirly bokeh, rather heavy vignetting, little coma, colour fringing or distortion. Recommends it as an art tool rather than an everyday standard lens.
- ob-scura (御部スクラ) (blog) — Shot on its Model II and on a Zorki-1: an odd lens with thick lines, heavy out-of-focus areas and a strong contrast that makes ordinary scenes look dramatic, bokeh not pretty wide open, some flare with sky, slight corner cut-off on 24×36. Not a lens that draws well, but one with a look no other lens has, worth buying even for digital. Its focusing tab sits high enough to clear the Minolta-35's self-timer, where an Industar-50's does not.
History
The Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 was the standard lens of the Minolta-35, the Leica-thread rangefinder that Chiyoda Kogaku (Chiyoko, later Minolta) introduced in 1947, and until the Model II of 1953 it was the only standard lens the camera had. Japanese collectors call it umebachi, after the plum-blossom crest, which JA Wikipedia, ob-scura and Flashback Camera all explain by the shape of its machined focusing ring. The focal length was chosen for the camera’s first 24×32 mm frame, on which a 45mm lens gives about the view of a 50mm on 24×36. JA Wikipedia also ties the modest f/2.8 to the short rangefinder base of the Model I, which miyou55mane gives as 13 mm effective. The lens is short and rigid, with five elements in three groups. Its front group is a cemented triplet, which JA Wikipedia describes as hard to make in a period without new glass types. Leica Copies Japan finds the Super Rokkor 5cm f/2 offered beside it on the Model II from 1953, where canonrangefinder and JA Wikipedia’s lens list date the f/2 to July 1955 and JA Wikipedia’s list of Minolta cameras to April 1954; the 5cm f/2.8 replaced the 45mm in 1955.
Chiyoda changed the lens on the production line rather than by model, and Leica Copies Japan, which keeps a database of serial numbers, counts at least six versions. The first two have a small round window in the front ring that shows the set f-number. On the first, the scales face forward and are read from in front of the camera; on the second, they are read from above. The third keeps the window and adds a focusing lever; it is found on the Model D of 1949, whose front plate is recessed under the mount. From about the Model E of 1951 the window is gone, and miyou55mane places the change between lens numbers 17070 and 17607. The fifth version, with six-digit numbers, has a re-engraved depth-of-field scale. The sixth, with seven-digit numbers from 140xxxx, drops the small 19 mm filter thread inside the retaining ring, leaving only the 34 mm outer thread. Camera-wiki describes the Model D lens differently, with the lever but no window, and antiquecameras.net sorts the lens only by the number of serial digits. miyou55mane estimates about 46,000 lenses from the serial blocks; no factory figure has been published.
No list price for the lens alone has been found. A 1955 advertisement quoted by ob-scura priced the Model II with an f/2.8 lens at ¥39,800, a list price for camera and lens, without saying whether that was the 45mm or the new 5cm. At auction, a Model A outfit with lens No. 2073 and its box made €1,200 including premium at Leitz Auction, and a Model II with a sixth-version lens, offered as junk, sold for ¥14,000 on Yahoo! Auctions in 2026. The reviewers who have used one agree that it has character more than polish. Lens QA Works found a sharp centre, a weaker middle zone and swirling backgrounds. ob-scura describes heavy, dramatic rendering with unlovely bokeh wide open, and that is why it recommends the lens. JA Wikipedia and ob-scura both note darker corners on the full 24×36 frame, which the lens was not designed for.
The lens fits any Leica-thread body and couples to its rangefinder. No Minolta-35 body has frame lines. On the early Model II, Leica Copies Japan finds that bodies sold with the 45mm have a larger finder window than those sold with the 5cm lenses, the smaller window acting as a mask for the narrower 5cm view. The Minolta-35’s self-timer sits close to the mount; ob-scura reports that the 45mm’s tab is high enough to clear it, though some other lenses with a low tab or infinity lock will not mount on these bodies. When buying, read the serial against the version table: a lens whose features do not match its number, such as a window on a seven-digit lens, fits none of the versions the sources record and is worth asking about. The early coating is soft (JA Wikipedia), so look for cleaning marks, and the front triplet is cemented with balsam, so look for separation. Check that the window, where there is one, shows the f-number that the ring is set to. A listing titled simply Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 may be the fixed or 24 mm-mount lens of a Minolta A-series camera, 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
More sample photos elsewhere
- Leica Copies Japan: each of the six versions photographed, with the lens table
- Lens QA Works: No. 7504 on a Model B, with test shots on a Sony A7II
- ob-scura: sample photographs on a Minolta-35 Model II and a Zorki-1
- Flashback Camera: a late lens, with sample photographs
These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 (Leica screw mount)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $300 across 27 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half $260–$380). Tracked since 2026-11-09, 2 days: down 29% from $430.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-10 | $300 | $260–$380 | 27 |
| 2026-11-09 | $430 | $230–$430 | 3 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- [Excellent] Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 L39-mount #CL3054946
- Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 MF Lens L39 Leica Screw Mount 4947
- Minolta LTM Super-Rokkor 45/2.8, metal caps, Ex
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF For Leica レンズ
- [Near MINT] MINOLTA Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm f/2.8 Leica LTM L39 Mount JAPAN
- [Vintage MINT] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 Standard MF Lens From JAPAN
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF Leica レンズ
- [N MINT] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF Lens For Leica JAPAN
- [Near MINT] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM MF Lens For Leica From JAPAN
- [MINT+] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF Lens For Leica Japan
- Super Rokkor 45mm f:2.8 Chiyoko lens, Leica LTM, US SELLER, "LQQK"
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm 1:2.8 M/ F Lens for Leica Screw Mount Super Clean
- Super Rokkor 45mm f:2.8 Chiyoko lens, Leica LTM, #1409167, US SELLER, "LQQK"
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF For Leica レンズ
- [MINT] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF Lens Leica From JAPAN
- [MINT] Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Standard MF Lens For Leica JAPAN
- CHIYOKO SUPER ROKKOR 45MM F 2.8 W/LEICA 39MM LMT SCREW MOUNT
- [vintage MINT] Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 L39 Leica Screw Lens JAPAN
- 千代田光学 Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 前期 [L39]
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f2.8 Leica L39 LTM Lens Minolta Tested Working Japan
Show 19 more listings
- Chiyoko Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39 LTM Leica L Schraubobjektiv
- 千代田光学 Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 前期 [L39]
- Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 Standard MF Lens for Leica L39 From JAPAN
- Super Rokkor 45mm f:2.8 Chiyoko LTM lens with 1:2-1:1 tube, US SELLER "LQQK"
- Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 L39
- Minolta Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 Standard Prime Lens Silver L39 Chiyoko from Japan
- MINOLTA SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 L39 Mount Lens Chiyoko Japan Vintage
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 Standard Prime Lens L39 Excellent Minolta Japan
- Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 L39 CL3054946
- Minolta-35 model C #9536, c.1949, MIOJ, 24x33mm, metal shutter curtains, Super Rokkor 45/2.8 #10178, cap, CLA'd 2023, Ex++
- Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 Standard Prime Lens for L39 Leica Minolta Japan
- Minolta-35 model B #1927, c.1948, MIOJ, 24x32mm, new shutter curtains, Super Rokkor 45/2.8 #3967, cap, case, manual, Ex++
- Ex+ Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 Silver Lens Leica LTM
- Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 * Chiyoda Engineering * 11483
- 【美品】Minolta/美能达 Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45/2.8 银色镜头 Leica LTM #jp21069
- Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 千代田光学 スーパー ロッコール 45/2.8 Lマウント L39 LTM Minolta-35 ミノルタ 4.5cm Minolta
- [AB品] Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8＊千代田工学＊11483
- 【返品保証】 ミノルタ Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm F2.8 ライカLマウントレンズ e20441
- [オールドレンズ] 千代田光学 Chiyoko SUPER ROKKOR 45mm F2.8 L39マウント #CL3054946
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Listings updated 2026-11-10. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.