Playing With Lenses: Elegant old: Hanimex Auto Zoom f4 70-220mm

Friday 13 August 2021

Elegant old: Hanimex Auto Zoom f4 70-220mm

Cost: $14.99 (market price around $19.99)

I really did not want to like this lens. Hanimex is regarded as a lower quality lens distributor, preferring cheaper and lesser quality lenses. The reputation therefore of Hanimex is not to high. But I must say, I actually liked using this lens, even with the huge size and heavy weight for the zoom range. The working is smooth, so easy to focus and zoom. It even has a classic look with the fake leather rings. and narrow metal-color stripes and a nice tripod colar.

From the look of the lens, I strongly suspect this lens to be a rebranded Tamron lens. Maybe a little bit cheaper components such as 8 blades instead of 9 and without the build-in hood of the Tamron 70-220 mm f/ 4 Adapt-A-Matic Lens. It could explain the higher quality of the lens as this Tamron lens was one of the first efforts of Tamron to get into the higher tier of lens manufacturers and is regarded as a decent lens. It seems the lens is also sold as Eyemik-Quantaray 70-220mm f/4.

Inage quality is not bad, but not great either. For a zoom lens of that era, probably not a bad example. It's a little hazy at the edge of the picture, especially when zoomed out, but there is little color aberration, and the image colors are pretty rich.

It's a bit heavy to walk with for a long time, bit it was fun playing with it on a short walk. I think I might keep this one.

Lens Specification:
Focal Length: 70-220mm
Maximum Aperture: F4
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: M42
Optics: 14 elements in 11 groups
Blades: 8 blades
Focusing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 2m
Filter Size: 67mm
Weight: 1,108g
Length: 190-200mm
Production: 1969
Serial Number: 708494

More information on: Hanimex