Kowa Cine Prominar

1. Overview

The Kowa Cine Prominar 20mm is a Japanese wide-angle prime lens from the early 1960s, developed for professional filmmaking. Kowa produced the Cine Prominar series as spherical Super 35 optics for studio productions, combining robust mechanics with moderate speed (T2.6).

2. Characteristics

Flare characteristics according to the CINEFLARES datasheet:

• Types: Spherical Spot
• Colors: Yellow, White
• Intensity: Strong

Linked Pattern Entries:

• spherical-spot

3. Creative Use

Today, the 20mm lens is primarily used when a wide-angle with a discernible vintage character is desired: slight barrel distortion at the edges of the frame, warm yellow-white flares when shooting into the light, and reduced contrast compared to modern optics. The spherical light path (1.0x) does not produce an anamorphic oval, but the flare characteristics and softer rendering clearly distinguish the image from contemporary lenses. It typically appears as a single unit in rental houses, often alongside other Cine Prominar focal lengths as a set for indie productions or commercials seeking an organic 1960s look. Due to the original housings with older focus mechanics, care must be taken during use—a standard rehousing does not exist, which can make focus pulling difficult on cramped sets.

4. Specs Overview

5. Status Tracker

• [x] Datasheet extracted (DOM-direct, 2026-04-20)
• [ ] Overview written
• [ ] Creative use researched
• [ ] AI-Illu or Manufacturer Photo (with attribution)
• [ ] Translations (9 languages)
• [ ] Import via import-lexikon.mjs