Vintage Tanaka Kogaku Japan Tanar H.C. 1:2 f=5cm Lens Bokeh Test and Review
- Mohsen Jalali
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
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This vintage Tanaka Kogaku Japan Tanar H.C. 1:2 f=5cm Lens is the next photography lens that we are going to test for bubble/bubbly bokeh, swirly bokeh, sharpness, black-and-white contrast, and, in a word, the character that it can give to photos. In our research, we found out that this specific lens with its black and chrome finish was produced somewhere between 1957 and 1959, when it was discontinued and substituted with a faster 1.9 lens. Tanaka Kogaku was a smaller lens manufacturer compared to Nikon, Canon, and Minolta, and with the fierce competition of the time, it disappeared from the business in the 1960s (the Tanaka Kogaku lens manufacturing company shouldn't be confused with other Japanese companies named Tanaka that are still active in different sectors). The lens comes with an M39 mount and is surprisingly heavy when you hold it in your hand. Also, the barrel of the lens has a lock mechanism, and it extends out while focusing on farther distances (you can see the longest and shortest form of the lens in the photos above). Although not much is known nowadays about the designs of lenses that were manufactured by discontinued firms, we know that this lens comes with 6 elements in 3 groups, and it is mostly believed that the abbreviation H.C. that is printed on it stands for Hard Coating, especially because in the 1950s, there was this global competition between lens manufacturers for new coatings to decrease lens flaws such as chromatic aberration. It was a reliable competitor for Nikon's Nikkor 50mm f/2 and Canon's Serenar 50mm f/1.8 and f/2 in its prime days. This specific one comes with some dust inside and minor haze on one of the elements close to the edges of it. As always, we mounted this vintage lens on a Nikon Z7 and took photos while it was set on vivid colors. This lens, too, has aperture blades, and I assume that there's no need to mention that the shots are taken with the aperture as wide as it gets.
Color Shots and Bokeh
A close look at the photos below shows how soft and bubbly the bokeh can be. Bubbles mostly have sharp edges and add to the dreaminess of the shots. In addition to being bubbly, the bokeh that you can get out of this lens is also swirly to some extent. This is more visible in the third photo. However, when the background is crowded and close, the bokeh can become overly busy and a bit chaotic, as you can see in the seventh to tenth photos. Photos are also sharper in the middle than in the corners, and when you drag the right focus, the shallow depth of field can add to the character that it gives your shots.
Black-and-White Photography
And here are the B&W shots we took with this lens. I must admit that the contrast it gives to the shots is more than what I expected. The same pattern of bokeh is visible in black-and-white photography, as you can see below.
Color Photo Flare
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this lens is the flare that it creates. The flare effect makes beautiful rainbows on the elements, but unlike the lenses we've tested so far, the rainbows are arches from eccentric circles, rather than concentric circles. For whatever reason this is happening, it can create artistic peculiarities when used in the right fashion. You can note that the flare also makes the dust particles inside the lens more conspicuous, as we have seen in other vintage lenses we posted on this blog.
Black-and-White Photo Flare
The flare rainbows without colors are simply rings of light, as you can see below.
As always, you can leave us comments and shoot us emails to learn more about the lenses that we share. We're only sharing a fraction of the materials that we create with each lens to keep our posts concise.
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