Has anyone ever heard of an "Owen Automatic" brand?

Sagitta · 02-01-2013, 03:48 PM

The proper name is probably actually just "Owen", but again... meh. Details seem few and far between even via google on this brand, and the fact that there was a bottling company that had the same name make it that much more hard to find anything on it.

I picked up a 200mm f/3.5 prime a while back which looks much like my Sears stuff so I'm assuming its a rebranded... something.

Was there an Owen department store someplace or something? Has anyone has experience with any of these things? If so, what kind of quality can I expect from it once I get to use it?

Lloydy · 02-01-2013, 05:59 PM

Post a picture of the lens and include the aperture mark, those are often a fairly accurate way of identifying the manufacturer.

Sagitta · 02-01-2013, 06:21 PM

Originally posted by Lloydy

Post a picture of the lens and include the aperture mark, those are often a fairly accurate way of identifying the manufacturer.

Heres a shot of it that shows the aperture markings. The lens is marked 'Made in Japan' and has the same slide-out metal hood that my Sears have, though now that I'm looking the marks themselves aren't the same at all. The Sears have an 'Atari Logo' look to them, while this one is just a unch of straight lines.

Soda can is there for size comparison - the Owen is pretty much almost exactly the same size as the soda can with the rear cap attached. Its a very solid feeling lens (as stuff from back in the day was prone to be) and I'm just itching to try it out on a working camera again soon.

It was a splurge purchase off eBay - I think I paid $10 for it plus shipping.

panoguy · 02-01-2013, 06:24 PM

Expect a run on "Owen Automatic lenses" on eBay right after this gets indexed by the googlebots!

Sagitta · 02-01-2013, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by panoguy

Expect a run on "Owen Automatic lenses" on eBay right after this gets indexed by the googlebots!

Probably. LOL

Here's a shot of the text across the front, just in case the font/style seems familiar to anyone.
EDIT: The lens is K-mount, FWIW. I've seen the same brand listed for Canon/Nikon/etc.

**THoog** · 02-01-2013, 06:31 PM

There's about a dozen various "Owen Automatic" lenses in various mounts out on FleaBay (so bid now!

). The most common feature seems to be the green text on the front - some of them have an odd (to me) focus mark with an orange rectangle around the center mark. One teleconverter shows a box with 'Owen' as the brand, although they managed to slip an 'auto' into the description.

Edit: I might be jumping to conclusions, but there seem to be a lot of search hits for Owen AND Hanimex lenses, and the font/style of the front markings on several "Hanimex Automatic" lenses resembles the "Owen Automatic" lenses, only in white instead of green.

Sagitta · 02-08-2013, 10:53 AM

Received my K-30 today, so I took a few test shots with the Owen. Its a keeper.

Its sharp, and has nice bokeh. It does tend to fringe a bit, but its very mild.

It even gets bonus points since it works well with an old Vivitar 2X teleconverter I have. Its the first lens I can honestly say that I've found that does.

Sagitta · 02-13-2013, 05:30 PM

Hey, see that silver band on the bottom? The one that when I acquired the lens made me think "Gee, this looks like an old Canon?"

It is.

Someone before me replaced the mount with a Pentax mount. I realized today that the lens will not focus to infinity, and that there is now an explanation why there was no red dot to mark the mount.

Boooooooo.

On the bright side, its a FABULOUS portrait lens, so I'm still keeping her, but her use with the O-GPS1 is now nil.

Sagitta · 10-16-2021, 07:40 PM

WISE FWOM THE GWAVE!

So.

That 'not hitting infinity' thing? I was going through my junk lenses, and pulled this one back out, to give it another once-over. Found out it had a weird rubber gasket around the front (assume it was a hood, once, that ripped free or something?) and in doing so realized this lens can be taken apart, right down the middle. The end literally unscrews from the bottom - which probably made inter-brand use a breeze for the thing.

I screwed it back together properly, and now its hitting infinity as it should.

Of course its raining out so I can't practice with it with the stars or anything, but I may just have a 200mm f/3.5 lens now in working condition.

kypfer · 10-17-2021, 01:52 AM

Originally posted by Sagitta

WISE FWOM THE GWAVE!

So.

That 'not hitting infinity' thing? I was going through my junk lenses, and pulled this one back out, to give it another once-over. Found out it had a weird rubber gasket around the front (assume it was a hood, once, that ripped free or something?) and in doing so realized this lens can be taken apart, right down the middle. The end literally unscrews from the bottom - which probably made inter-brand use a breeze for the thing.

I screwed it back together properly, and now its hitting infinity as it should.

Of course its raining out so I can't practice with it with the stars or anything, but I may just have a 200mm f/3.5 lens now in working condition.

Always love a happy ending … even if it is a long time coming

Sagitta · 10-18-2021, 11:01 PM - **1 Like**

I'd say she's sharp enough... this was wide open at f/3.5... Gigapan image, so it's a big'un.

02-01-2013, 03:48 PM	#1
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081	Has anyone ever heard of an "Owen Automatic" brand? The proper name is probably actually just "Owen", but again... meh. Details seem few and far between even via google on this brand, and the fact that there was a bottling company that had the same name make it that much more hard to find anything on it. I picked up a 200mm f/3.5 prime a while back which looks much like my Sears stuff so I'm assuming its a rebranded... something. Was there an Owen department store someplace or something? Has anyone has experience with any of these things? If so, what kind of quality can I expect from it once I get to use it?

02-01-2013, 06:31 PM	#6
THoog Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Carolina Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,685	There's about a dozen various "Owen Automatic" lenses in various mounts out on FleaBay (so bid now! ). The most common feature seems to be the green text on the front - some of them have an odd (to me) focus mark with an orange rectangle around the center mark. One teleconverter shows a box with 'Owen' as the brand, although they managed to slip an 'auto' into the description. Edit: I might be jumping to conclusions, but there seem to be a lot of search hits for Owen AND Hanimex lenses, and the font/style of the front markings on several "Hanimex Automatic" lenses resembles the "Owen Automatic" lenses, only in white instead of green. Last edited by THoog; 02-01-2013 at 06:40 PM.

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02-01-2013, 05:59 PM	#2
Lloydy Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Shropshire, UK Posts: 1,114	Post a picture of the lens and include the aperture mark, those are often a fairly accurate way of identifying the manufacturer.

02-01-2013, 06:21 PM	#3
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	Originally posted by Lloydy Post a picture of the lens and include the aperture mark, those are often a fairly accurate way of identifying the manufacturer. Heres a shot of it that shows the aperture markings. The lens is marked 'Made in Japan' and has the same slide-out metal hood that my Sears have, though now that I'm looking the marks themselves aren't the same at all. The Sears have an 'Atari Logo' look to them, while this one is just a unch of straight lines. Soda can is there for size comparison - the Owen is pretty much almost exactly the same size as the soda can with the rear cap attached. Its a very solid feeling lens (as stuff from back in the day was prone to be) and I'm just itching to try it out on a working camera again soon. It was a splurge purchase off eBay - I think I paid $10 for it plus shipping.

02-01-2013, 06:24 PM	#4
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	Expect a run on "Owen Automatic lenses" on eBay right after this gets indexed by the googlebots!

02-01-2013, 06:25 PM	#5
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	Originally posted by panoguy Expect a run on "Owen Automatic lenses" on eBay right after this gets indexed by the googlebots! Probably. LOL Here's a shot of the text across the front, just in case the font/style seems familiar to anyone. EDIT: The lens is K-mount, FWIW. I've seen the same brand listed for Canon/Nikon/etc.

02-08-2013, 10:53 AM	#7
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	Received my K-30 today, so I took a few test shots with the Owen. Its a keeper. Its sharp, and has nice bokeh. It does tend to fringe a bit, but its very mild. It even gets bonus points since it works well with an old Vivitar 2X teleconverter I have. Its the first lens I can honestly say that I've found that does.

02-13-2013, 05:30 PM	#8
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	Hey, see that silver band on the bottom? The one that when I acquired the lens made me think "Gee, this looks like an old Canon?" It is. Someone before me replaced the mount with a Pentax mount. I realized today that the lens will not focus to infinity, and that there is now an explanation why there was no red dot to mark the mount. Boooooooo. On the bright side, its a FABULOUS portrait lens, so I'm still keeping her, but her use with the O-GPS1 is now nil.

10-16-2021, 07:40 PM	#9
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	WISE FWOM THE GWAVE! So. That 'not hitting infinity' thing? I was going through my junk lenses, and pulled this one back out, to give it another once-over. Found out it had a weird rubber gasket around the front (assume it was a hood, once, that ripped free or something?) and in doing so realized this lens can be taken apart, right down the middle. The end literally unscrews from the bottom - which probably made inter-brand use a breeze for the thing. I screwed it back together properly, and now its hitting infinity as it should. Of course its raining out so I can't practice with it with the stars or anything, but I may just have a 200mm f/3.5 lens now in working condition.

10-17-2021, 01:52 AM	#10
kypfer Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Jersey C.I. Posts: 3,595	Originally posted by Sagitta WISE FWOM THE GWAVE! So. That 'not hitting infinity' thing? I was going through my junk lenses, and pulled this one back out, to give it another once-over. Found out it had a weird rubber gasket around the front (assume it was a hood, once, that ripped free or something?) and in doing so realized this lens can be taken apart, right down the middle. The end literally unscrews from the bottom - which probably made inter-brand use a breeze for the thing. I screwed it back together properly, and now its hitting infinity as it should. Of course its raining out so I can't practice with it with the stars or anything, but I may just have a 200mm f/3.5 lens now in working condition. Always love a happy ending … even if it is a long time coming

10-18-2021, 11:01 PM - 1 Like	#11
Sagitta Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,081 Original Poster	I'd say she's sharp enough... this was wide open at f/3.5... Gigapan image, so it's a big'un.