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Kowa R Lenses
These vintage Kowa full framed lenses were originally designed as still photo lenses from the 1960’s – 1970’s, made for Kowa leaf shutter SLR cameras, extremely rare and unique.
The images produced are low contrast but have sharpness in the centre with fall off towards the edges of frame. Even though most focal lengths are not ‘fast’ compared to modern day optics, they produce amazing flares and really stand out when used to their potential on full frame sensors.
In the camera system, the iris control ring is built into the camera body rather than the lens making it impossible to easily modify the lenses for cine use. Therefore, the only option would be to fully rehouse these lenses and introduce a new iris assembly. This process will also bring them up-to-date and be adaptable to modern day cameras.
TLS replace the original irises with matte finished 16-blade irises to give a smooth, round bokeh even when the lenses are stopped down. The non-linear cam driven focus allows improved close focus on every focal length. The lenses feature 110mm fronts, nearly 300-degree focus rotation with zero image shift and zero backlash.
We currently offer the rehousing on the following lenses 19mm f4, 28mm f3.5, 35mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, 100mm f2.8, 135mm f3.8 and 200mm f4.
Kowa R Lenses Specification
| 19mm | 28mm | 35mm | 50mm | 85mm | 100mm | 135mm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | PL | PL | PL | PL | PL | PL | PL |
| T-Stop | T4 | T3.6 | T2.9 | T1.9 | T2.9 | T3.6 | T3.9 |
| Format | FF | FF | FF | FF | FF | FF | FF |
| Min. Object Distance typ. | 12" | 9" | 11" | 16" | 2'3" | 3' | 3'9" |
| Front Diameter (mm) | 110mm | 110mm | 110mm | 110mm | 110mm | 110mm | 110mm |
| Weight **(g) | 1021g | 934g | 916g | 907g | 1216g | 1261g | 1415g |
| Weight **(lbs) | 2.25lbs | 2.06lbs | 2.02lbs | 2lbs | 2.68lbs | 2.78lbs | 3.12lbs |
* Total approximate length is measured from the flange to the front of lens
** Weight subject to change with further developments
