Originally posted by ChrisPlatt Sears 50mm lenses yes (usually); others no...
Chris
Not particularly wishing to be contrary, but...
Depends on which generation of Ricoh/Sears. As noted above, later Sears K-mount lenses (PK/A and PKA/R) were often made in Korea or by various minor lens houses in Japan. My brother owns one of these nasty items. There were also Mamiya-made Sears lenses that were clearly labeled as Sears/Sekor.
That being said, based on my personal experience as a consumer (I purchased my first Ricoh in 1969, though not from Sears), I can pretty much assure you that if it was a camera lens at the time and if it was in the Sears catalog under the Sears name, it was procured through Ricoh. My understanding is that this relationship remained essentially intact from the late 1960s through the early 1980s when I bought my second Ricoh (again, not from Sears).
Now I have been wrong before, but as a consumer at the time, the common statement in photo magazines and Consumer Reports when referring to Sears cameras, lenses and flashes was some like this..."essentially a re-labeled Ricoh product...". As a result, these cameras and lenses were almost never reviewed on their own. When you asked the guy at the camera counter at Sears (yes, they really had such a thing) the clerk would always confirm the relationship with Ricoh. Does that mean that the lenses were
always re-badged Ricoh? Who knows for sure? Maybe they were really made by Chinon, Cosina, or Makina or some firm in Korea or Singapore?
Steve
(Strangely, there was a camera counter at JC Penney and at K-Mart as well. They sold brands like Penney (duh), Focal, Vivitar, and Soligor. Lets hear it for off-brands...Woo! Hoo!)