More old lenses and stuff...

[Ole Tjugen]

Here's a small selection of the stuff I've dragged home over the years...

A 4x5" Speed Graphic pre-Anniversary for scale (with a Xenar 150mm f:4.5 on it).

Big lenses, left to right: Schneider-Göttingen Aerotar 50cm f:5.5, WWII vintage, with yellow filter.
Partially behind that is a Ross Cabinet No.2 - a 14" Petzval f:3.5.
Next a Suter Aplanat B No.6, 550mm. On the other side of the camera are a Krauss Zeiss Tessar 500mm f:6.3 and a Ross 18x16" Symmetrical of about 80cm (32") focal length.

The "small" ones are flanked by two Meyer Weitwinkel-Aristostigmats - 12 and 16cm, both f:9; a Zeiss Doppel-Amatar 150mm, a Perken Son & Rayment "Portable Symmetrical 'Optimus' 5x4", the largest one is a Meyer Aristoplan 270mm f:7.2, and last but not least an O. Simon Dresden Anastigmat - 210mm f:7.2

[Struan Gray]

Nice toys Ole. If anyone needs one of these, you do:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WRAY-LONDON-Large-Lens-48in-f8-156158-MOD_W0QQitemZ190051419627QQihZ009QQcategoryZ627QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Donald Qualls]

Those are big, Ole, but they're all too slow to make good fire starters that far north... ;)

[Ole Tjugen]

Even more old lenses and stuff:

Here are the rest of my barrel lenses :eek:. Behind everything is a 24x30cm Reisekamera (German folding plate camera), with a Lancaster 12x10" Rectigraphic mounted in the iris lens mount.

Every single one of these lenses cover at least 4x5", most cover 5x7", and some cover 12x16". The age stretches from the very early Steinheil Aplanat (right hand side, with waterhouse stops) or maybe one of the Petzvals, to a Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 480mm. Three of the lenses are post-WWII, one was made during WWII, but the majority seems to be between 1900 and 1920.

[Ken Lee]

After seeing your gear, my wife will realize that my collection of cameras and lenses is quite modest, and eminently... sane. :)

[Ole Tjugen]

Thanks Ken - I couldn't fit the other 13 cameras in the same picture (partly because the 30x40cm camera leaves no room for the others). For the same reason I took only the barrel lenses, not the ones in shutters. That's another tablefull!

[wilson.c]

Do you have any info on the Ross Cabinet No.2 - a 14" Petzval f:3.5?

It's from my Uncle's estate that I found in a box house cleaning this weekend. I guess I should house clean more often :-) I had an adapter for Rolleiflex SL66 as well. What was it designed for?

Thanks!

[CCHarrison]

Hmmmm. The ads I have from 1900 and 1904, have different specs for the # 2 Cabinet...

See attached

Dan

[wilson.c]

Thks for the info! Here's a photo of mine. It doesn't have the knurled knob to adjust the aperture though. But it has No.2 on the side. Serial No. 70999

[wilson.c]

Thanks for all the info. I'm trying to get the lens cleaned up. Unfortunately it's showing signs of age with cleaning marks and some fungus etched on the rear elements. Lucky it's non-coated so makes things easier.

Wow, this is what I call a proper iris (20 blades)!!! :D They don't make them like they used to nowadays.

If the lens doesn't flare a lot, the bokeh should be pretty cool for this large format portrait lens ;)

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

The perfect lens to fit a lifeview micro 4/3 camera, Wilson?

[Louis Pacilla]

Hi Wilson

Welcome to the world of big & aged optics. Don't get to caught up in contrast, flare & other possible optical flaws that multi coating is supposed to cut out.Just make sure to shade front element & use common sense. you will be blown away by what you see on the GG.

The knob your talking about is not for aperture adjustment but instead is used for focusing. This is a hold out from the very early days of photography when some camera boxes where just that. Boxes. The old timers used this focus knob to back off focus after focusing w/ using camera 1st. They would secure sharp focus & then back it off a bit to soften the extreme sharpness of the Petzva lensl.

Ross, Dallmeyer, Voightlander & the rest made both focusing mounts as well as ridged mounts. Yours is a Ridged mount. It looks like a great late model w/ the black enamel finish. The only thing I did not see is a mounting flange. This should not set you back very much. I would find a local machinist to make a flange for you. This is a desirable maker Portrait lens could fetch $400-$600 on the open market (my guess). But only w/ the flange. You can expect $150-$250 less if the flange is not present.That being said, there are ways to mount w/ out a flange.

Great find & have a blast .



Thks for the info! Here's a photo of mine. It doesn't have the knurled knob to adjust the aperture though. But it has No.2 on the side. Serial No. 70999

[wilson.c]

Actually the flange is mounted on a chunk of aluminum which has to a Rolleiflex SL66 mount. I've picked up a SL66 extension tube and see if I can slap a focusing helicoid for digital FF, APS-C or m4/3 ;-)

[wilson.c]

Ok, I finally got my SL66 Extension tube with a donor lens mount to make my helicoid. I've gotta get my machinist to make an adapter to a standard M52-M42 helicoid, in the mean time it's looking like this:

[Steven Tribe]

To be honest, I can't see why you have made an adapter/tube and helical focus for this large format lens to fit a medium format camera. This what people did around the 20's and 30's when camera suppliers were not good at prodiving alternative focal lengths. I have seen lots of monstrosities where good lens from previous generations have been similarly modified. By doing this, you will have no benefit of the Petzval fall-off - the image will be as sharp as they get (unless the tube design doesn't stop most of the reflected light of the sides). You are far better served in selling this to someone who can use it and buy a small petzval ( projection type) instead - and have a good deal of change left over.

[Bernard Kaye]

Just arranged to have my ashes put in a jar next to Ole's lenses, some of which are older than I am (old).
Bernie

[ypres.bass]

Perken Son & Rayment "Portable Symmetrical 'Optimus' 5x4"hi, can you write me any information about this lens? focal lenght, focal ratio, f-stops, etc
thanks

[Ash]

Ole I forgot to mention when I stayed with you last October.... when I looked at your shelves, I was trying to spot the lenses from these pictures!