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Just a Lovely Old Lens


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Some years ago I initiated a thread on CMC in an attempt to unearth information regarding the origins of the lens below, the 135mm Kowanon f/2.8, a very solid and nicely-made pre-set lens, presumably from the 1950's-60's.

 

135mm Kowanon f/2.8

 

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In the interim I've collected several Kowanon lenses, all of them of very high quality, but I still can't state with any certainty just which Japanese manufacturer was responsible. The best guess is Kawakami Seiki Seisakusho Ltd, but another contender is Kōwa Kōki Seisakusho (Kowa Optical Company) who were a renowned lensmaker, going on to produce a series of 35mm leaf shutter SLRs and the successful Kowa Six 120 format SLR camera. Anyway, recalling that I hadn't used the lens for some time, I took it out late one afternoon last week fitted to a Sony ILCE-7R and, once again, was impressed by it's performance. With 12 aperture blades the lens can produce some lovely OOF effects, while it's colour rendition is outstanding. It's also remarkably free from CA's and distortions. I'll post some samples; I think the slightly unfashionable 135mm focal length somehow suits my eye, and please excuse my unabashed fascination with tables and chairs... I hope you find something to like.

 

Sidewalk Blues

 

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Rank and File

 

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Jessica's

 

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Riding High

 

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ANZ

 

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Chandeliers

 

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Ivy, Late Afternoon

 

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Zig Zag

 

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I recall you earlier post and you asking for more info... A lack of specifics doesn't mean your on the wrong track. Öovely work indeed. I don'T recall if it it was that post but I do recall you saying the 135mm was perfect for you. You mentioned above you have "gathered" some more lenses from this type, are they also 135mm?
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John_Shriver said:

 

Font on beauty ring looks like early Tamron

 

Thanks, John. I have investigated these possibilities before, but there's really only speculation, and nothing really definitive. I have a selection of 135/2.8 lenses from the era, and they tend to share similar features. I picture three below; I can be certain about manufacturers for only the Tamron Converto (or Twin-Tele), the Soligor is open to any theory, and the Kawanon is still a little mysterious. All three lenses perform very well.

 

Chuck_Foreman said:

 

...have "gathered" some more lenses from this type, are they also 135mm?

 

Yes, Chuck, there are now quite a few old 135mm lenses lurking around here, some great and some so-so. Someone once said that it's hard to make a really bad 135mm lens... And I am at home with the focal length. I seem to look way ahead of myself, which is probably why I'm always tripping over things.

 

Soligor, Kawanon,Tamron

 

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Before good quality zooms were available at reasonable prices, the SLR kits that many vendors offered usually gave one a choice of either a 135mm telephoto or a 35mm wide angle in addition to the 50 to 55mm standard lens. Even into the late 70's merchants that had a surplus of preset 135's in stock would often bundle them with an SLR in kits that were often called "dream outfits" or "pro outfits". The clue that one wasn't getting a meter coupled lens was that a T-ring was included as part of the outfit. But even the older preset 135's were still capable of good results.
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That Soligor pre-set does bring back memories. My first telephoto for a 35 SLR - (an SR1s) - was a Soligor pre-set 135mm, f3.5 T-mount. I look back at those old photos and they were pretty sharp. Back then having a pre-set lens was not a particular drawback even when I got an STR101.
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Thanks, Raghu !

 

Mike Gammill said:

 

But even the older preset 135's were still capable of good results.

 

One of the charms of the older pre-set lenses was the large number of aperture blades, in some cases as high as eighteen, giving a practically circular aperture. These are most beautifully constructed and are largely responsible for the lovely OOF effects these lenses can produce. With the advent of "auto" lenses the average number of blades dropped to around six, and the characteristics of the lenses' performance changed dramatically. This, of course, is one of the reasons I ferret out the older lenses...

Edited by rick_drawbridge
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My first additional lens for a screw-fit Praktica VF was a Tamron 135/225mm twin-tele. It was an awful lens, and gave nothing like the example IQ.

 

FWIW, all the early Kowa lenses I've seen have had a distinctive amber/gold-coloured coating. While early Tamrons had a more common blue AR coating.

 

And incidentally the lens shown distinctly says KAWANON on the front, not KOWANON.

Maybe it was meant to be confused with Kwanon, which was how Canon badged their first cameras?

 

Addendum: A 135mm f/2.5 Tamron Adaptall lens that I recently acquired, has excellent IQ that easily stands up to use on a high res DSLR/MILC.

Edited by rodeo_joe|1
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Rodeo_Joe said:

 

And incidentally the lens shown distinctly says KAWANON on the front, not KOWANON.

 

Ah yes, another slip of the pen... And I'm in full agreement regarding the high quality of the Tamron Adaptall II 135/2.5, both in terms of it's construction and it's optical quality. The more I acquire and use Tamron lens the more I've come to appreciate them.

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I don't have it on hand because I sort of permanently loaned it to my son, but the lens in question also looks very similar to the Spiratone 135/2.8 preset. That one also has 12 aperture blades (my dim recollection was 11, but close enough), and gives a surprisingly nice image. As I recall the Spiratone had a different pattern on the focus ring, with bare aluminum stripes, but it was quite similar otherwise.
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