Has there ever been a lens like Reinhold's new 790mm F:5.4 ULF Lens?

[Marko Trebusak]

not that it would make a big difference in soft monochrome work.

Mark, are you sure about that? Aren't Kodak portrait, Rodenstock Imagon and other meniscus lenses corrected (sort of) for chromatic abberation? I use to play with replica of Puyo-de Pulligny "adjustable landscape" lens, and it was a bit of a pain, because of a focus shift. Is single meniscus prone to focus shift as well?

[goamules]

I think you are seeing what Mark was saying. A single piece of glass will have chromatic aberrations - the different colors will focus at different focal lengths. Their softness comes from that. I believe the Pulligny may have had several lenses, but was also an achromat. Yes, they take a while to learn. Single meniscus (or double) lenses also have spherical aberrations that cause softness when used wide open. But very few "meniscus" lenses are single. Most are doublets, with two pieces of glass of different refractive indexes, cemented together.

The Kodak and Imagon and 95% of the other meniscus lenses are doublets. They are corrected for color. Their softness is mostly due to spherical aberration. 100 and more years ago, films and wetplate worked mostly in one color range. Today's black and white is sensitive to all the colors.

Then there are some "semi-achromats."

[Reinhold Schable]

Mark S. is correct, this is a single glass meniscus and is subject to chromatic aberrations.
Here's a paragraph from my Tip Sheet which is included with every lens...

"Chromatic (color) aberrations are typical for simple meniscus lens and contribute to softer contour sharpness. For black and white meniscus photography the chromatic aberration can be controlled to some measure by using color (yellow) filters."

One feature of the new 790 lens is a slightly wider card slot.
A smaller gel fiter can be taped to an aperture card just in case you happen to be out of 6" diameter filters...

Reinhold