Beginning about 1957, Topcon produced a series of preset aperture lenses to accompany their new Topcon R camera. (See Marco Antonetto's book, Topcon Story, for dates of introduction.) These were primarily telephoto lenses; and, of course, lacked the automatic diaphragm feature and meter coupling to match the RE Super/Super D camera when it was offered in 1963. But, these lenses had the same Exkata bayonet mount as the new camera (or rather the camera had the same mount as the lenses), so they could be used with manual diaphragm control and stopped-down metering.

Most of these lenses continued to be sold through the early 1960s; the 300mm F/5.6 and the 200mm F/4 remained in inventory through 1969. And of course the Legendary 300mm F/2.8 was available until 1977 when Topcon ended Super Dm production.

Shown above are five of the R Topcor lenses, in increasing focal length, from right to left: 9 cm F/3.5, 13.5 cm F/2, 20 cm F/4, 30 cm F/5.6, and 30 cm F/2.8. There was one additional lenses of this series; a 13.5cm F/3.5. All five lenses listed above were offered by Beseler and Topcon with the advent of the RE Super/Super D camera in 1963. Beseler initially also offered the 13.5 cm F/3.5 for less than one year.

All the lenses except the 9 cm have tripod bushings. The big 30 cm has a substantial footprint to carry, and hold steady, it's massive size and weight. The bushings for the other three are less substantial; a short cylinder attached to the rear, near the bayonet mount, at right angles to the optical axis. But only the big lens provides rotation of the camera body for vertical shots, the others require rotating the tripod head.

R Topcor 9 cm F/3.5
This lens was probably a repackage of the 9 cm lens built for the Leotax rangefinder camera, but with a shorter mount to work with an SLR. It is typical of 1950 vintage lenses and lacks the refinements of those produced during the next two decades. It has several unique features:
1. The aperture ring has no 'click stops' and rotates smoothly from end to end. However the preset ring engages the aperture ring only at even 'stops'.
2. There are two short, chrome finished, studs projecting out near the rear of the lens and align horizontally when the lens is mounted. I fail to understand the intended purpose of these

studs. Perhaps as an aid for twisting the lens into position(?).
3. The hood attaches to a thin groove that circles the lens barrel near the front. Two spring-loaded tangs on the hood snap into these grooves and are released by pressing two opposing buttons on the hood. This arrangement is not robust and allows the hood to wobble when attached.

R Topcor 13.5 cm F/2
This is a most unusual lens in many respects--large, heavy and fast for a moderate telephoto. But, apparently it was not well received by the buying public--probably because of it's cost. Production of this lens was halted even before the release of the RE Super/Super D. And while no Topcon literature I have includes this lens as part of the RE Super/Super D system, Beseler continued to list it up to 1969.
This is not an easy lens to shoot with; it's mass and bulk are unhandy and the tripod mount makes cradling difficult. One must remember to

work the manual aperture for shooting and exposure measurement, although the preset mechanism eases this task.

A stepped lens hood was sold for this lens, although screwing it into the 77mm filter threads is awkward.  One unusual feature is the aperture setting ring--it has linear calibrations instead of the more normal non-linear settings of most manual aperture lenses. This feature requires an internal cam between the setting ring and the aperture blades and I cannot imagine why the added complication was included in this lens only.

R Topcor 20cm F/4
A quite normal preset lens with no outstanding attributes. The maximum aperture is modest, but the heft of this lens is sufficient to steady handheld shots.
Again, the lens hood for this lens is separate and is screwed into the 62mm filter threads. I find mounting these types of hoods to be difficult, due primarily to the fine pitch of thread--cross-threading is more the rule than the exception.

Since 200mm is one of my favorite focal lengths, I was always disappointed that Topcon never redesigned this lens as an RE Auto type. The F/5.6 200mm that was offered is, in my opinion, a little slow.

R Topcor 30 cm F/5.6
For many years, this was the standard 300mm lens presented along with all it's RE Auto cousins. A nice lens, handy enough to shoot handheld, but again the preset aperture is easy to forget when one is used to the convenience of auto-diaphragm and wide-open metering. It has a one section, telescoping hood.

Finally, about 1971, when Topcon was upgrading both cameras and lenses, a reincarnation of this lens was brought out--the RE Auto Topcor 300 mm F/5.6. The same optics, but with a new lightweight housing and with diaphragm and meter coupling, but no provision for tripod mounting.

R Topcor 30cm F/2.8   It is difficult to surpass the hyperbola already written about this lens--for instance Camera 35's modest review in 1969: "INCREDIBLY FANTASTIC".  Put on sale in 1957, this lens became the official lens of record for the 1960 Tokyo Olympics. It remained the only ultra fast, long telephoto SLR lens for many years and a large number were converted for use with Nikon F SLRs and 35 mm movie cameras.

The size and weight of this lens makes tripod mounting a must; adding additional weight to an already heavy load--not exactly a setup for candid shots. But for some conditions, only this lens will do--fast, incredibly sharp and a magnification of 5.2 compared to the normal lens. Sports and wildlife are two situations where this lens stands above all others (except now, of course, most manufacturers have caught up with Topcon and offer their own lenses of this length and speed).

But probably the most outstanding statistic of this lens is it's longevity. It remained in production (unchanged) from 1957 through 1977; and unprecedented span of 20 years during a time when lenses were undergoing rapid improvements.

I have always been amused by the image shown at the left--copied from a Beseler promotional booklet dated 1972. Here, the intrepid photographer is handholding a setup consisting of: camera body, 300 mm lens, Motor Drive with NiCad Battery Pack, and Bulk Film Magazine. The total weight of this combination is about 14 pounds (6.4 kg), not including film. Try this rig next time you are out on a crowded street trying for unobtrusive candid shots.