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Meyer Gorlitz Kinon Superior f=5cm Projector Lens Bokeh Test and Review



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Here's just another one of our vintage Meyer Gorlitz projector lenses from the Kinon Superior series that we want to review and test for swirly and bubble bokeh. In fact, we had previously tested a very similar variation of this lens. We posted the previous one here, but the difference is that this lens is not from the Kinon Superior I, II, or III families, and is merely a Kinon Superior; no numbering. This makes this lens the first generation of its kind, while we might have thought that the Kinon Superior I was the first generation. What we know, however, is that Hugo Meyer was located in Gortliz, which was in East Germany after World War II, and since it was later merged into a bigger state-owned lens manufacturer, not many documents exist today that would shed some light on differences in numbering of these lenses and what exactly they mean. And don't be scared! The black extension on the lens that makes it look like the Darth Vader of this series is nothing but a pair of step-up rings from 45mm to 67mm, and another from 67mm to 72mm. The lens came with these two step-up rings, and we simply thought it was cool to have one with something extra on it. It at least looks different! It also has some dust inside, and we didn't try to open the elements to clean up the particles.

This lens was manufactured sometime in the 1920s and 1930s, like the other projector lenses we've tested that were similar to this variation, and the camera used for the test was a Nikon Z7 mirrorless. We have recently decided to avoid shooting infrared (or deep B&W) to save us some headaches, and suffice to take color and black-and-white stills and videos.


Color Photos

Here are the photo shots we took with this lens mounted on our favorite Nikon Z7.


If you look at the review of the Kinon Superior I variant of this lens, you will see that, for the most part, the photos provide the same results. Photos demonstrate considerable vignetting as the image is smaller than the 35mm area of a full-frame sensor. While the central, focused areas of these photos are very sharp, sharpness decreases towards the edges of the frame. Bokeh is swirly, and the coin-like out-of-focus light sources or brighter spots become more oval towards the edges. It's also noteworthy that we've edited this series of photos more than the previous ones, only to focus more on the aesthetic capabilities of the shot that any photographer can enjoy using this lens.



Black and White Photos

The same qualities are seen in the black-and-white photography. Contrast is good, and we promoted it a bit in editing. Vignetting gives more of an atmosphere to the shots in black-and-white.



Videos

The videos, similar to the Kinon Superior I model, are dreamy and the vignetting effect intensifies this impression; the transition from focused areas to out-of-focus areas is smooth, and the same bubble bokeh is visible here.




Flare

I think by this time we have all agreed that an exotic flare is not what these beautiful Meyer Gorlitz projector lenses can offer if you're looking for one. Probably the best flare shot is the last photo below. You'll see the rays of sunlight if you zoom into the photo.


Videos

Same goes for flares in videos. Hope you've enjoyed this post this far.


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