Kodak Fluro Ektar 111mm f1.5–anyone using these?

I picked one of these up for cheap recently. Impressive chunk of glass, for sure, and much to my surprise it seems to cover 4x5 pretty well. The Vade Mecum says it is a high speed lens for fluorography with the design based on triplet, 1+2+1+3. What exactly is flourography? The glass is tea colored, much like the radioactive Aero Ektars and I'm guessing it might be made of the same thorium glass. No iris, so it can only be shot wide open which is cool with me, and at f1.5 should produce some interesting results. Has anyone used one of these before? Any more info on flourography lenses?

Thanks!:cool:

Google fluoroscope.

Produces an image on a piece of glass coated with phosphors when irradiated with X-Rays. The subject is located between the glass and the X-Ray source.

If you're old enough and in the US, you may have had shoes fitted with the help of a fluoroscope. I was. Now that I'm older and understand the dangers I wonder whether shoe store fluroscopes were properly shielded and what's in store for me and the other boobies who stuck their feet in the devices.

Y'r new lens' highest and best use is as a paperweight. To clear it, set it to bask under a UV-B fluorescent tube. Some people recommend clearing radiation-damaged lenses by setting them to bask in the sun. I'm skeptical about doing that. Where I live all sorts of junk, including highly corrosive rainwater, falls out of the sky. There's nothing in the rainwater, but distilled water is quite an aggressive solvent.

I vote you take a picture with it and show us. 4 1/4" f1.5 on 4X5 has got to look interesting. Don't sleep with the lens near your crotch unless you've had all the children you wanted.

I had one once, or maybe I still do. It was a memorable lens; some of the worst coma and field curvature I have ever seen. I also recall a fair amount of color fringing. Not a trace of sharpness anywhere on the image. Still, it might be interesting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Galli

I vote you take a picture with it and show us. 4 1/4" f1.5 on 4X5 has got to look interesting. Don't sleep with the lens near your crotch unless you've had all the children you wanted.

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Jim, do you ever sleep with lenses near your crotch?:D

If you're old enough and in the US, you may have had shoes fitted with the help of a fluoroscope. I was. Now that I'm older and understand the dangers I wonder whether shoe store fluroscopes were properly shielded and what's in store for me and the other boobies who stuck their feet in the devices. [/QUOTE]


Dan,

Before my time for sure but here is an interesting "Straight Dope" about them.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_414a.html

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll get the lens properly mounted to a Speed Graphic board and give it a whirl!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pat Hilander

If you're old enough and in the US, you may have had shoes fitted with the help of a fluoroscope. I was. Now that I'm older and understand the dangers I wonder whether shoe store fluroscopes were properly shielded and what's in store for me and the other boobies who stuck their feet in the devices.

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Dan,

Before my time for sure but here is an interesting "Straight Dope" about them.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_414a.html

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll get the lens properly mounted to a Speed Graphic board and give it a whirl![/QUOTE]

I remember the thrill of looking down at the bones of my feet as I stood on the platform of the fluoroscope.

I don't think any permanent damage was done. We have four adult daughters, and I am almost 80, so if it shortened my life, hopefully not by much.