Hawk Vintage 74: A vintage anamorphic lens series by Vantage Film featuring warm color rendition and soft rendering for a nostalgic, period look.
Technical Details
The Hawk Vintage 74 series comprises six focal lengths: 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm, 80mm, and 100mm, all with a T2.2 aperture. The flange focal distance is 52mm for PL mount, with an M95x1 filter thread. The lenses weigh between 1.8kg (35mm) and 2.3kg (100mm) with a minimum focusing distance of 0.9m. The image circle diameter is 24.5mm height x 46.31mm width. Characteristic features include asymmetrical aberrations, reduced contrast at wide apertures, and pronounced chromatic aberrations in the image corners.
History & Development
Vantage Film developed the Hawk Vintage 74 series in 2018 in response to the growing demand for authentic vintage anamorphic looks without the drawbacks of genuine 1970s optics. The lenses are based on Vantage's Hawk V-series but were specifically modified to emulate the optical "weaknesses" of classic anamorphic lenses. In 2020, Vantage expanded the set with two additional focal lengths and optimized the mechanical construction for modern camera workflows.
Practical Use in Film
The Hawk Vintage 74 lenses were used in productions such as "The Batman" (2022, DoP Greig Fraser) and "Dune" (2021), where they created the nostalgic 1970s science fiction look. Typical workflow: used at T2.8-T4 for the characteristic vintage look, and at T5.6+ for sharper imaging. The horizontal lens flares are generated by point light sources and intensify with wider focal lengths. The asymmetrical bokeh produces oval out-of-focus highlights that become more circular towards the center of the frame.
Comparison & Alternatives
Unlike original Panavision C-Series or Todd-AO lenses, the Hawk Vintage 74 offer modern mechanics with vintage optics. Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses produce cleaner images without intentional aberrations, while Zeiss Supreme Prime Radiance lenses deliver stronger flare effects but with symmetrical bokeh. Atlas Orion Series lenses are positioned at a lower price point but do not achieve the specific asymmetrical distortions of the Hawk series. For an authentic 1970s look without the technical risks of vintage lenses, the Hawk Vintage 74 remain unparalleled.