Founded in the 1970s as Studiolabo S.A. by Parisian photographer and inventer Jean Coquin, Cokin is best known for its lineup of square filters and filter holders, which cleverly allow use of the same filter on multiple lenses with different filter thread diameters, simply be exchanging an adapter ring on the holder. A secondary benefit of the system is that it allows adjustment of filter placement, when using filters whose effect varies across the image frame--for example to align a graduated filter with a horizon. The company has been facing financial difficulties since late last year. Stock of its filters had become hard to obtain, and its official websites had been taken offline. The acquisition by KenkoTokina will see an injection of cash allowing operations to be restored, and Cokin will continue to operate under its own brandname.

Alongside this announcement, KenkoTokina has also revealed a slight delay in shipment of its upcoming AT-X 17-35 F4 PRO FX lens, originally expected to begin shipping later this month in Canon-mount form. The first stock is now expected to arrive towards the end of next month in the Japanese market for Canon shooters. The Nikon-mount variant will also ship later in September than initially planned. KenkoTokina reports that the delay is due to defects discovered in mass-produced parts for the lens, and says that production of the parts has now been increased to speed delivery of the lens.