This time I review the projector lens Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4.
I was interested in photography with projector lenses, so I was looking at samples taken with various projector lenses online.
At that time, a photo sample by Astro Kino Color caught my eye. The lens where the photo was taken was 50mm F1.6, but the lens I got was 50mm F1.4.
It wasn’t the same thing, but I was fascinated by the photography with this projector lens Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4.
Contents
The lens by Astro-Berlin
The projector lens manufacturer “Astro-Berlin” was established in 1922 as a lens manufacturer for astronomical telescopes. In the 1920s, it was one of the most well-known companies as a lens manufacturer for cinematography.
Unfortunately, the business ended in 1991.
Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 is a lens for 16mm film projectors
from ebay
Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 was provided as an OEM for 16mm film projectors. It was mainly used in Siemens 2000 in the 1950s.
As for the lens made by Astro-Berlin, Pan-Tachar for movie shooting seems to be very popular. It is bought and sold at a very high price on the online market.
On the other hand, Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4, a lens for 16mm film projectors, is not so expensive. Many of the colors seem to be silver, but what I bought was black.
How to install Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 on the camera?
I decided to mount it on the Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 in the same way as the projector lens Agfa Lucellar IIIa 5cm F1.6 reviewed last time.
For smaller diameters than M52, it is easy to attach to the M52-M42 helicoid adapter. I purchased the following parts and installed this projector lens on the camera.
- 52mm-43mm step down ring
- M52-M42 helicoid adapter
- M42-NEX thin mount adapter
Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 is larger than 49mm in diameter, so I scraped a little inside the 52mm-49mm step down ring.
Last time, using the M42-NEX thin mount adapter was able to avoid the problem of becoming a macro lens, but unfortunately this problem could not be solved completely.
The Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 modified for SONY E mount has a maximum focus distance of only 2m.
Photo Samples with Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 attached to SONY NEX-5R
In November 2017, I attached this lens to the SONY NEX-5R and went out to the city to take photos.
This subject is an announcement speaker at the station platform.
I focused on the person walking in front and released the shutter. The distance is about 2m, this is the maximum focus distance.
And this lens created an interesting Swirly Bokeh.
The town of Tokyo was already decorated with Christmas lights.
Swirly and a lot of Bubble Bokeh were created.
Because of the effect of this lens coating, the photo looked slightly yellowish.
In close-up shooting, the swirlyness doesn’t stand out.
Because the helicoid stretches, it is possible to take a considerable macro shot. A very soft Bokeh occurred.
Projector lens Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 Review Summary
This time, I reviewed Projector lens Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4.
This lens was a 16mm film projector lens developed by Astro-Berlin for OEM. I modified the mount to attach to the camera, but unfortunately the maxmum focus distance was only 2m.
The photo taken with this lens was very attractive. It creates ridiculous Swirly Bokeh and Bubble Bokeh.
For me this projector lens Astro Kino Color IV 50mm F1.4 is like a jewel.
Thank you for reading to the end.
