Kowa Prominar 16-D

• Anamorphic Adapter by Kowa
• Double Focus
• Mount: N/A

As all Kowas, this is a projection lens, which means double focus, which means pain. The advantage of its small size is that it's easy to fit it into most single focus solutions out there. For this one, I've been using the Rectilux Hardcore DNA. This adapter goes a little too heavy on the vintage look and the artifacting is too much for my taste.

The most pressing note about the Kowa 16-D: this lens is NOTHING like the Sankor 16-D. The Sankor 16-D is much bigger and delivers better results.

As a conventional projection lens, it's 2x stretch and double focus. I highly recommend a single focus solution, since the small front element will help in not getting any extra vignette. Focus ranges from 1.5m - 5ft - to infinity, in about 300 degrees of throw.

The compact size yields a good weight, just under 300g, but you won't be able to use crazy fast lenses. The rear element is about 2.5cm (1 inch) wide, limiting light transmission. Your maximum aperture will depend on your taking lens too.

As any Kowa so far, the threads at the back are non-standard and the front has no threads at all. You'll need clamps. You can get solid clamps from Redstan or Rapido.

As a Kowa-branded lens, the 16-D is sharp at its center, even at fast apertures, but the edges quickly lose quality becoming too warpy and soft. I'd stick for longer lenses so you use more of the center area.

Apparently the 16-D's use Kowa's old formula for coating, which brings into the picture beautiful and strong purple blueish flares from strong light sources.

Due to its small size, the 16-D vignettes more easily than its big sisters. On full frame, I can only get a 2.4:1 Cinemascope clean at 58mm, with lots of distortion going on. 50mm is unusable. The next step is at 85mm for full frame clearance. Like the others, there's strong veiling glare, or white vignette, when too much light is coming through.

You can follow the sharpness tune-up tutorial in order to (very likely) improve your 16-D image quality. This one isn't my type, the same way heavy projection lenses are not my favorites, the tiny ones aren't on my list either. I think the trade-off in vignetting and sharpness doesn't make up for the lighter and smaller design, or the cheaper price tag. If you're using a crop sensor instead of full frame, you're much more likely to enjoy this adapter, but I'd recommend something even smaller than S35 or APS-C.