Help With Schneider 270mm Tele-Arton Lens Specs Please

[nlambrecht]

I am looking into purchasing a Schneider 270mm Tele-Arton for my field camera. However, there seams to be at least three versions of that lens and I am having trouble finding the specs for them.

The Schneider Vintage Lens page has some information, but I believe it is for the original version, that page is here: http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/large_format_lenses/tele-arton/data/5.5-270mm.htm

Looking at ebay there are at least three versions:

1: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schneider-Kreuznach-TELE-ARTON-270mm-f-5-5-Lens-In-Box-Large-Format-4x5-/251733284780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a9c7917ac

2: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Excellent-Schneder-kreznach-Tele-Arton-F-5-5-270mm-From-Japan-sk069-/261750656183?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cf18e0cb7

3: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schneider-Tele-Arton-270mm-f-5-6-lens-w-Copal-1-from-Japan-18508-/291366368396?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d6c9f48c

The first one is the oldest, but I am more interested in the last two if the image circle size was improved on. The serial numbers place #2 in the early/mid 1970s and #3 in the early 80's. Cosmetically the only difference appears to be where they placed the writing on the lens.

If anyone has the specs for this lens, front filter ring size, shutter size, image circle, flange focal length etc. please let me know. I have checked everywhere I am aware of, but with no luck. Also, if there are any of y'all who have experience with this lens please let me know your thoughts on it. If I can not find any information on this lens I may look into the Fujinon T 300 or similar. Thank You.

-Nathan

[Dan Fromm]

http://web.archive.org/web/20100922053809/http:/www.schneiderkreuznach.com/archiv/archiv.htm

[nlambrecht]

Thanks Dan, but all information on the link you provided that includes the Tele-Arton 270 from the 1950's, or 240mm or 360mm lenses from more recent years. Schneider just doesn't have any information that I can find for the 1970s and 80s versions.

[Dan Fromm]

Look again. The link I gave you has links to PDFs on, among other lenses, the Tele-Arton dated 9/56, 3/63, 9/67, 8/80, and 8/83, and ‘92

The VM says:

Tele Arton f5.5 180, 240, 270, 360mm This was a new big format lens at Photokina Aug 1956, with
nearly 2x the resolution and a very flat field. This was the original type with the big rear component, and a long term favourite.

TeleArton
Now a new telephoto name appears, and this is always a 5-glass type as far as can be seen, but the design can vary. It is in general an improvement on the good TeleXenar. One reason for the varying design seems to be the size of the rear glass in some lenses, (240/270mm) where a small version was made for 6x9 as the cameras would not accommodate the 5x4 one. Additionally even the 270mm for 5x4 has gone through some 3 designs. The first has a long rear projection, eg at No424167x ,(c.1954), then there is one with more projection at the front including three glasses there, 2 balsamed at No8,947,40x , 1964: and finally one with 3 glasses in front, all separately mounted from the 1990's. (This seems to have allowed the use of a smaller size shutter for the 270mm, down from No2 to No1.) Others may have been made such as a 500mm f5.5 reported on a Hulcher sequence camera. It seems that the TeleXenar was often a 2+3 design lens in the early 1950's and that in late 1954 Schneider decided that the 5-glass types needed a separate name and used TeleArton for this type. The initial examples were the 180 and 240mm lenses, probably for 6x9 and 9x12 respectively.