260mm Nikkor Q same as 260mm Process Nikkor?

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Gentlemen,

Does anyone know if these are the same lenses with different names, but equal coverage?

260mm f10 Nikkor Q
260mm f10 Process Nikkor

I have heard they are the same lens, but am looking for confirmation. Based on photos, the 260mm Nikkor Q appears to be older ("inside" lettering) than the 260mm Process Nikkor (lettering around the "outside" of the front barrel). Other than that, they look very similar in the photos. However, photos tell me nothing about lens design/construction or performance.

I'm not so concerned about the age as I am the performance and coverage. I've read several times that the 260mm Process Nikkor will cover 7x17 and am hoping the 260mm Nikkor Q will as well.

Thanks,
Kerry

[Per Madsen]

I think that the Q stands for Quator, which means a four element lens.

See Roberto Rotoloni's Nikon rangefinder book for a closer definition of Nikon letter codes.

The Nikon M lenses are also four element lenses.

[Per Madsen]

From Robert Rotoloni, Nikon Rangefinder Camera, Hove Collectors Books, 1993,
Hove (U.K.), ISBN 1-874707-07-3 :

U for 1 element (Uns)
B for 2 elements (Bini)
T for 3 elements (Tres)
Q for 4 elements (Quatour)
Pfor 5 elements (Pente)
H for 6 elements (Hex)
S for 7 elements (Septem)
O for 8 elements (Octo)
N for 9 elements (Novem)
D for 10 elements (Decem)

This element code list was used to at least 1974.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

I think that the Q stands for Quator, which means a four element lens.

Yes, that is correct.

The Nikon M lenses are also four element lenses.

The Nikkor M series were originally called Nikkor-Q. They changed the name to Nikkor M when they switched from single coating to multicoating.

The problem with using -Q for all four element lenses is that it doesn't tell you anything about the lens design/construction. For example, the Nikkor M is a tessar type (4/3), which has very different performance characteristics than a 4/4 wide field Guass design.

And, from what I can figure out, that's exactly what this particular 260mm Nikkor-Q is - a 4/4 wide field Guass design. Which is the same design as the newer, and very similar looking, 260mm f10 Process Nikkor.

It looks like they decided to stop using the -Q suffix to eliminate any confusion between different types of four element designs. Near as I can tell, this happened sometime in the 1970s.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

This element code list was used to at least 1974.

Per,

Thanks. From memory (I'd have to check through my old Nikon literature to be sure), I believe the first mention of the Nikkor M series was around 1978. If correct, that gives us a fairly reasonable boundary of between 1974 and 1978 for the discontinuance of the -Q element code designation by Nikon.

Now, if only somebody had some serial number vs. date of manufacture for the Nikon lenses...

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Out of respect for copyrights, I won't copy and paste someone else's images into this thread, but there is a wonderful site that has pictures of both the lenses in question. Here's some links to pages about both, including some nice pictures of the lenses.

260mm f 10 Procces Nikkor

260mm f10 Nikkor-Q

If you scroll about half way down this page, you will see a photo of a 260mm f10 Nikkor-Q that looks identical to the one I just bought (but haven't yet received).

Also from this page: "This lens is the first model of Process Nikkor series."

So, I remain hopeful that the design/construction and coverage are identical to the 260mm f10 Process Nikkor. From reading multiple threads here and on APUG, if it is the same design, it should cover 7x17, but not much more.

Kerry

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

I had that -Q lens some time and had some discussions withAkiayama-San, the "Redbook" site owner. I understood that the lenses are identical, except the coating.

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

I had that -Q lens some time and had some discussions withAkiayama-San, the "Redbook" site owner. I understood that the lenses are identical, except the coating.

FYI: Did some evaluation some time ago including this lens (attached).