Tanar's compact slower normal — the 1954 50mm f/2.8 in Leica Thread Mount.
The Tanar 50mm f/2.8 in Leica Thread Mount dates to 1954, made by Tanaka Kogaku for its early screw-mount rangefinder system. It is a vintage Japanese slower normal from a smaller mid-1950s maker, offered as a compact standard for L39 bodies below the faster Tanar fifties in speed.
It is a manual-focus rangefinder-coupled lens with a 50mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. The moderate aperture keeps the design simple and the barrel small, and it couples to the rangefinder for accurate focusing on screw-mount and adapted bodies.
At 50mm f/2.8 the lens suits street, travel and general daylight shooting where a slim, discreet normal is useful. Slower normals of this type are typically sharp and contrasty across the frame at working apertures with a clean, even rendering.
As a vintage lens from a small maker, used copies are relatively scarce and should be checked for haze, fungus, cleaning marks and coating wear, along with focus feel and aperture oil. Confirm rangefinder coupling and infinity focus. It adapts to Leica M with an LTM-to-M ring and to mirrorless cameras via an adapter.