Kowa Cine Prominar Anamorphic 40mm T2.3

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Among the smallest 2x front-anamorphic primes made for 35mm, with a non-rotating front that is friendly to matte boxes. Warm and low in contrast, with flares that lean amber rather than the usual anamorphic blue; one of the sharper vintage anamorphic options when well maintained. Weight figures vary a lot between sources (original barrels about 2–3 lb, rehoused sets considerably more); the lighter original-style figure is used. A 0.8x front converter turns the 40mm into an effective 32mm.

Key specs

Focal length

40 mm

Max aperture

T2.3

Mount

PL

Image circle

Super 35

Close focus

0.91 m

Anamorphic squeeze

2x

Front diameter

80 mm

Weight

1.13 kg

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

84° horizontal · frames like 20 mm on full frame

Super 35

63.8° horizontal · frames like 28.9 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

46.8° horizontal · frames like 41.6 mm on full frame

What it goes on

P+S Technik offers a dedicated rehousing (80mm front, 77mm filter thread, new focus mechanics) that stays close to the original compact size; most original-barrel sets have been PL-converted. They are 2x lenses for a 4:3 or open-gate Super 35 sensor area; they do not cover full frame.

• PL camerasNativeALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K +15 more
• Sony E camerasWith adapterRonin 4D-6K, Ronin 4D-8K, Alpha 1 II, Alpha 7 IV +13 more

  Wooden Camera E to PL · Vocas PL to E · Metabones PL-E. Solid and common. Support the lens — the E-mount is not built to carry a heavy cine zoom on its own.

• Canon RF camerasWith adapterEOS C400, EOS C50, EOS C70, EOS C80 +10 more

  Wooden Camera RF to PL · Canon PL-RF (C400 / C80) · Kipon PL-RF. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• L-Mount camerasWith adapterCinema Camera 6K, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, Ronin 4D-6K +6 more

  Leitz L-PL · Wooden Camera L to PL · Sigma MC-31. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Micro Four Thirds camerasWith adapterMicro Studio Camera 4K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Lumix BGH1, Lumix GH6 +1 more

  Wooden Camera MFT to PL · MTF PL to MFT. Works, with a 2x crop on Super 35 glass relative to full frame.

• LPL camerasWith adapterALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, URSA Cine 17K 65

  ARRI PL-to-LPL Adapter. ARRI's own adapter, passes LDS / Cooke /i lens data.

• Nikon Z camerasWith adapterKOMODO-X 6K S35, V-RAPTOR [X] 8K VV, V-RAPTOR XE

  Wooden Camera Z to PL · Kipon PL-NIK Z. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Leica M camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Ronin 4D-6K +1 more

  24.2 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• B4 (2/3") camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Broadcast G2, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, AJ-CX4000

  4 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• Nikon F camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Mini Pro 12K, URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2

  5.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

See every camera this lens fits →

Sources: sharegrid.com, cinemacamerarentals.com, pstechnik.de