Commercial Ektar vs Ektar 203?

[Shen45]

While they differ in many ways - physical size one obvious issue - why did Kodak make 2 lenses in very similar focal lengths?

[Dan Fromm]

Hmm. An 8" f/7.7 dialyte. 8.5", 10", 12", 14" f/6.3 Tessars. What was your question?

See http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/KodakEktarsDB1.htm

[Jim Jones]

The Ektar and its similar predecessor appeared in the Kodak lineup almost a hundred years ago. Its design and production tools were amortized long ago. It excels for macro photography and photo copying where lens speed and shallow depth of field are not important. The Commercial Ektar line provided photographers with a consistent range of faster lenses, advertised to be optimized for color. I suspect the customer's perception of the advantages of the 8.5 Commercial Ektar was greater than any edge in performance. What the customer thinks is more important than hard facts. The 203mm Ektar is probably my most often used lens on 4x5, as it was on 5x7 years ago.

[Shen45]

Thanks Jim, I have both and find like you the 203 is the lens I use most of the time.