Where do I go to find antique lenses?

[Steven Tribe]

.........................Also consider that for every say 5 lenses you acquire, you will also acquire one optic that doesn't cover your format, is a lemon, or something else. Be careful about people who take apart their lenses to say prove that the optic they have for sale is a Petzval... they might put the lens back together in a wrong configuration. Bought a Darlot which produced a lousy image. Took it apart and discovered that the seller had reversed one of the elements.

Greg

1. I don't think that lister's taking things apart is a bad thing. It shows that the correct number of lenses are present and the threads are OK. A mis- assembled petzval ( front and rear cells swapped) is easy to spot and means fewer bids.

2. If you are interested in French lenses before 1900, get hold of a copy of D'Agostini's book before it is out of stock. This is not a bible, but has plenty of good info and reference pictures. I can see that it has "assisted" me in at least 4 big purchases the last 3 years and kept me away from just as many!

3. Do not take comments like "giant" and "huge" seriously - the only thing that matters is inches and centimeters. I have found that the best bargains are there where the only indication of size is way down in the text.

I forgot to mention MWClassic in London who both haunt the lesser auction in the UK as well as buy direct. They have LF as a minor thing, but the range of items that pass through their hands is quite impressive. Used to be website sales , but much goes directly into their ebay listings.

[Pete Oakley]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

[IanG]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

They've actually become far more prone to mis-descriptions since changing their website and moving. One area is formats calling continental european metric cameras 9x12, 12x15 etc 5x4 and 7x5. However I've bought off them a few times and they are OK to deal with.

Ian

[Andrew Plume]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

Pete

good afternoon to you

yes, they do make mistakes - but on the larger ones, they keep a 10 x 12" for specific testing, so if one sees any lens marked "will cover at least 10 x 12", then it almost certainly will

very best to you

andrew

[Steven Tribe]

To be honest, I have only benefited from the sometimes casual identification by MW. Their volume and bredth of photographic items they deal with, means that there will be both errors and omissions.

This thread has cost me! I decided to check what had been added yesterday!

[Andrew Plume]

They've actually become far more prone to mis-descriptions since changing their website and moving. One area is formats calling continental european metric cameras 9x12, 12x15 etc 5x4 and 7x5. However I've bought off them a few times and they are OK to deal with.

Ian

err..................moving to where Ian? They've been based in Leroy House for at least the last twelve years............

regards

andrew

[IanG]

err..................moving to where Ian? They've been based in Leroy House for at least the last twelve years............

regards

andrew

You're right I'm mixing them up with your fiends at MrCad (deliberate dropping of the R). But it's the website software etc that changeed at MWClassic.it's slowly getting better.if you nknow what you're after the mistakes make no difference . . . . . . and as Steven says can work in our favour.

Ian

[MAubrey]

Make up a short list of the lenses you want to acquire. Put aside a good stash of money. Check EBay every day.

You can follow particular ebay searches, set particular price constraints and ebay will e-mail you when what you're looking in your price limit for is listed.

That's what I do. Saves the effort of needing to check every day.

[goamules]

The fun of obscure, esoteric antiques is that you get to be more the expert than the seller. I've bought from MW, Loy, Igor, and others many times over the years, when they only had a passing knowledge of the lens they were selling. Which makes sense, most of these lenses were made before WWI, before the Airplane was invented, before penicillin. Good gosh man, what are you expecting?! That MW will go test a 130 year old lens on a handy, nearby 10x20 camera? If you want a retail, money back if not satisfied 100% experience, get another hobby.

Sorry, but some people just don't seem to understand the facts of life. Get out there and enjoy your chances. Don't bemoan the difficulties.

[Andrew Plume]

You're right I'm mixing them up with your fiends at MrCad (deliberate dropping of the R). But it's the website software etc that changeed at MWClassic.it's slowly getting better.if you nknow what you're after the mistakes make no difference . . . . . . and as Steven says can work in our favour.

Ian

Ian

I have a good relationship with Mr Cad and am friendly with them too. They may be "fiends" to some but are friends to others. Yes, they're expensive but plenty of their clients aren't fussed at all about this. I have only bought from them when they didn't know on the whole what they were selling

btw, I see no point in taking any king of a pop at mwc either - now they're friends of mine too, btw, btw - if one can make the effort to go to see them, it's well worth the effort - mainline to Marylebone, tube to H & I, bus to the top of Essex Road, will get you there, fwiw, an interesting trip and it's always better to dress on the light side as the heating in their building is on the tropical side

and btw btw, the UK used market (other than eBay) would be dealt a large blow if they were not around, imo, imo

good luck to you

andrew