Carl Meyer 120MM F/4

[Arthur Nichols]

Hello,
I just purchased this lens and I was wondering if someone could give me some details about coverage and so on. I will be using it on a 4x5 with a graflex focal plane shutter to stop motion in water. I wanted something is this focal length that would allow a larger F/stop than what one typically finds in this focal range.
Any help or comments will be appeciated.
Art

[Dan Fromm]

If this http://cgi.ebay.com/Carl-Meyer-125mm-f-4-Wide-Angle-Lens_W0QQitemZ190102753956QQihZ009QQcategoryZ30076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem is it, it is a lightly rebadged Ross Wide Angle Xpres, ex-Air Ministry, in a civilian mount. The military mount has a large irregular flange, stops only to f/11. The A "crown" M engraving means Air Ministry.

According to the VM, it covers 5"x5", i.e., a 175 mm circle. 6/4 double Gauss type, relatively short back focus. Will work on a Speed Graphic, won't work on a Graflex SLR.

The VM thinks it is a "high quality" lens. Mine ain't, it is flary and fuzzy, doesn't improve on stopping down.

[Arthur Nichols]

Yup, thats the one

[Bill_1856]

The story I got about Carl Meyer lenses was that after WW2 Burke & James (the used-car lot of photographic products) coined the name from Carl Zeiss and Hugo Meyer to give legitimacy for their remounted dregs of Coke-bottle glass. As Forest Gump's mom might say, "when you bought anything from B&J you never knew what you were going to get."

[Gene McCluney]

The story I got about Carl Meyer lenses was that after WW2 Burke & James (the used-car lot of photographic products) coined the name from Carl Zeiss and Hugo Meyer to give legitimacy for their remounted dregs of Coke-bottle glass. As Forest Gump's mom might say, "when you bought anything from B&J you never knew what you were going to get."

Isn't that being a little harsh? Surely there are some good optics rebadged as Carl Meyer??

[Bill_1856]

Isn't that being a little harsh? Surely there are some good optics rebadged as Carl Meyer??

Yes, I think so. Because there must have been some good ones, it might have been worth taking a chance on pot luck. Their catalog had huge lists of used lenses, and I'll bet that anything from a genuine good lens maker was listed as such (all those 135 and 150mm Zeiss Tessars from "liberated" 9x12 plate cameras). Their old catalogs, with page after page of exotic optics, could almost make this young photographer salivate while perusing then (sort of like surfing onto Dagor77's site these days)!

[Ole Tjugen]

Isn't that being a little harsh? Surely there are some good optics rebadged as Carl Meyer??

Only by accident...

[Glenn Thoreson]

Now you know why some employees refered to the company as "Bunk & Junk".

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

To counter Dan's report, I once owned an ex-Air Ministry 5" f4 WA Xpres and found it a surprisingly good lens. Of course, one of the major problems with any ex-Air Ministry lens was the poor (very very poor) quality control. This is most often seen with the abundant 8" f2.9 Pentac clones, which are largely (but not completely) trash, unless you like that sort of thing.

In a particularly sad instance, a few years ago a 125mm f2 Carl Meyer Speed Anastigmat sold for close to $1200 on eBay. This was a re-badged Schneider-Goettingen 12.5cm f2 Xenon, a rather crappy (even for it its time) aerial lens for 7x9cm.

[Arthur Nichols]

Weel, It seems that the moral of the story is ask before buying. If and when I get around to mounting my precious new lens I will report back on the quality.
Thanks to all who answered.
Art

[Dan Fromm]

Jason, in my experience aerial camera lenses are somewhat of a mixed bag. And WWII-vintage ones are the most mixed of the lot. Buy and try, as we both do, is the only way to find a good one.

Re buy and try, my 125/4 WA Xpres cost only $10. At that price I can afford some, um, mistakes.