Difference between revisions of "Kowa lenses for other cameras"

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Revision as of 22:47, 30 May 2009

Kowa released three Prominar lenses in Leica screw mount in mid 1957. Of these, the 35mm f/2.8 and 100mm f/2 are confirmed to exist, whereas the 200mm f/2.8 was announced but remains unconfirmed in that mount. (The earlier Prominar 7.5cm f/3.5 and 7.3cm f/3.5 are not signed by Kowa, and were perhaps manufactured by Sun, see K.O.L. and Sun lenses in Leica screw mount.)

Released in 1957

The three Kowa lenses were announced in the July 1957 issue of Shashin Kōgyō.[1] The column mentions the 35mm f/2.8 and 100mm f/2 in Leica screw mount only, and the 200mm f/2.8 in both Leica screw mount with reflex housing and Exakta mount.[2] The same lenses are also listed in the table of interchangeable lenses in the next issue of Shashin Kōgyō, dated Summer 1957,[3] with the price mentioned as "not fixed yet" (未定). It is said that the 35mm f/2.8 was finally sold as ¥13,000.[4]

Prominar 35mm f/2.8

Description

The Prominar 35mm f/2.8 has six elements in four groups.[1][3] Its optical design is probably the same as on the fixed lens of the Kallowide and Kallowide F. (Other 35mm f/2.8 lenses made by Kowa are the Prominar wide angle lens of the Kallo 140 and Kowa 140 rangefinder cameras with leaf shutter, which may have the same optical design, and a lens for leaf-shuttered SLR cameras, which probably differs.)

The front and rear part of the lens barrel have a very different styling, giving a rather disparaged aspect. The rear mount and focusing ring are chrome plated, with a tab and an infinity lock. The distance scale is engraved in feet, going down to 3.5ft.[1] The lens head is black, and has a massive aperture ring with knurls and chrome stripes, graduated from 2.8 to 22, reportedly with click stops.[5] (A similar styling is found on the Kallo 140 lens, but the knurled ring is used for focusing on the latter.) The front bezel is engraved Prominar 1:2.8 f=35mm Kowa Optical Works Japan No.xxxxxxx. The filter thread has 34mm diameter and 0.5mm pitch, and the lens can also take 36mm diameter push-on accessories.[1]

Production

The lens is very uncommon, and the only serial numbers confirmed so far are 1600072 and 1600290.[6] Similar numbers in the 16xxxxx range are known on the other Prominar 35mm f/2.8 lenses, on the Kallowide, Kallowide F and for the Kallo 140 and Kowa 140.

Accessories

The lens was sold in a red and blue presentation box, inscribed PROMINAR LENS on the lid and PROMINAR LENS f2.8 F=35mm on the side, containing the lens and external viewfinder (see below).[7] The lens cap is all chrome with the name Prominar engraved.[7]

The external viewfinder has a black and chrome finish. Its external aspect is quite similar to the auxiliary Kontur-like finders offered by Kowa for its rangefinder cameras. The viewfinder's barrel is a black cylinder, with a chrome front rim inscribed Prominar and 35mm, and a chrome ring at the rear, graduated in feet from ∞ to 3.5ft, for manual parallax compensation.

Prominar 100mm f/2

The Prominar 100mm f/2 in Leica mount is very little known, and no other still camera lens made by Kowa has the same characteristics. At the same period, other 100mm f/2 lenses were offered by Fuji and Zunow.

The optical design has six elements in three groups.[1][3] The barrel is predominantly black, with chrome front and rear ends, and large chrome stripes on the knurled focus ring. The minimum distance is 3.5ft, as on the 35mm f/2.8.[1] The aperture ring is all black, and reportedly goes to f/32 with click stops.[1] The front rim is chrome coloured. The filter thread has 55mm diameter and 0.75mm pitch, and the external diameter for push-on accessories is 57mm.[1] The bezel is engraved Prominar 1:2 f=100mm Kowa Optical Works Japan No.xxxxxx.

The lens cap is black, with the name Prominar inscribed in white or silver letters. It seems that a dedicated lens hood was supplied. It is slipped outside the lens rim and held by a tightening screw.[7] The viewfinder reportedly has the same aspect as that for the 35mm lens.[8]

The lens is extremely uncommon, and the only serial number confirmed so far is 220112.[7]

Prominar 200mm f/2.8

The Prominar 200mm f/2.8 has five elements in four groups.[1][3] Its finish is similar to that of the 100mm f/2. The minimum distance is 8ft. The aperture ring goes to f/32 with click stops,[1] and early pictures of the lens show a manual diaphragm.[9] The filter thread has 77mm diameter (0.75mm pitch) and the external diameter for push-on accessories is 80mm.[1]

The Leica mount lens is not rangefinder coupled,[1] and was apparently made to fit a reflex housing, such as the Visoflex I.[2] When the lens was released in 1957, it was also announced in Exakta mount.

The lens was later offered in 42mm screw mount and Nikon F mount too (see Kowa). It was modified with preset diaphragm and a black front end at some point,[10] but it is not known if the preset version was still available in Leica mount.

No surviving example of the Prominar 200mm f/2.8 lens in Leica mount has yet been observed. The pictures reproduced in this page might show the Leica or Exakta version; one of them seems to show a serial number beginning with "170", perhaps in the 170xxxx range.

Notes

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Column in Shashin Kōgyō July 1957, p.79.
  2. 2.0 2.1 The column in Shashin Kōgyō July 1957, p.79, actually has "for Leica mount and Exakta mount, with reflex housing" (ライカマウント及びエキザクタマウントレフボックス付), presumably meaning Leica mount with reflex housing or Exakta mount.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Table in Shashin Kōgyō Summer 1957, p.109.
  4. Awano, p.124 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.32.
  5. Click stops are mentioned in the column in Shashin Kōgyō July 1957, p.79, which says that the aperture scale goes to f/16, perhaps by mistake. An aperture scale to f/22 is visible on the lens sold as lot no.391 of Westlicht auction no.14 (November 30, 2008).
  6. Example no.1600072 pictured in Awano, p.124 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.32; example no.1600290 sold as lot no.391 of Westlicht auction no.14 (November 30, 2008).
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Pictures observed on a Japanese forum.
  8. Post on a Japanese forum.
  9. Pictures in Shashin Kōgyō July 1957, p.79, and in Shashin Kōgyō Summer 1957, p.109.
  10. Picture of the preset Nikon F version in this page at Red Book Nikkor.

Bibliography

  • Shashin Kōgyō no.62, July 1957. "News Flash". P.79.
  • Shashin Kōgyō no.63, Summer 1957. "Nihon no kamera zenbō: Kōkan renzu ichiran" (日本のカメラ全貌・交換レンズ一らん, Compendium of Japanese cameras: Table of interchangeable lenses). Pp.108–9.

Links

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