Petzval / Dallmeyer (or other) antique lens for glowing SF HALO effects

[Moogie]

Dear forum friends,

I also seem to got hooked by all your extremely beautiful fuzzy images, especially the flowers with the glowing halo.

Now I did not want to highjack any other thread and also did not find another thread which deals exactly with my questions in mind.

Obviously I am now hoping for your recommendations which lenses I can consider to buy which would achieve such effect.

Firstly I would like to see, if some (like the Dallmeyer from around 1860) lenses have this effect already as built or if a modification of lens arrangements has always to be made?
if yes, are there any instructions, what usually has to be done (swapping the rear back to front?)?

As of now I still use 4x5 but feel ready the GAS also rising for 8x10 soon.
So I am planning to consider this already and only want to buy a lens which can cover at least 8x10 and leave some space for movements.

Currently I searched already around on evil-bay and have found the following candidates:

Dallmeyer Triple Achromatic 14 inch
Dallmeyer Patent N°4
Wollensak Verito 9 Inch 230mm F4
Burke & James AJAX Petzval Portrait lens #2 10.5in f5
DEROGY Aplanat n°3 f8
Bausch & Lomb 12 Inch E.F
Bausch & Lomb 5.5" EF R.P.
Darlot Paris Antique Brass Lens 5"
Pathé Frères PARIS Lens F = 300M/M

The first one seems my favourite, also the outer appearance is not so nice anymore.

I hope you can give me some suggestions what to consider.

BTW: I am planning to use on Linhof style lens board as of now with 96x99 mm.
So can't go too big yet.

Thanks a lot and best regards, Miguel

[Steven Tribe]

Tried to put an answer together - but it would take too much space. Nice to see interest in non-perfect lens types, which in many people's opinion, is the real challenge in these days of perfect lenses and "too" perfect images - analogue and digital.

I think you should read Dan's very useful series on these lenses. Part one is here:

https://antiquecameras.net/softfocuslenses.html

MAny of the actual lenses you list remain unidentified, as a Dallmeyer no. 4 , for example, could be one of a number of types. A good thing, as we try to avoid identifying lenses presently on offer!

[seven]

Miguel, i think you're looking for a soft focus lens. from your list only the Wollensak Verito will give you the desired result. read about soft focus lenses as Steven suggested and then start looking for a lens to buy.

[Moogie]

Hi Steven and Seven,

Thanks a lot for your input.

I read already roughly through the page and will study it in more details during the next days.
What I did not find on the site though, was any info regarding the glowing halo effect I am after.
Soft focus of course is one thing, but this glowing halo is what really excites me.

Do you also have insights on this particular detail?
I do not expect this will be on all of the SF lenses and rather special, hence my assumption that a modification is often required to achieve this effect?

Thanks and best regards, Miguel

[Steven Tribe]

You need to on to the next sections which deal with imperfect simple achromats, rather than "Portrait" softness.

[seven]

Miguel, the "glowing halo effect" depends also very much on lightning.
another source you should study is http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/ lots of great samples with different sf lenses.

[Two23]

"Glowing halo" is also often due to shooting glass plates (which have no anti-halonation coating) rather than film.


Kent in SD

[Greg]

One very overlooked lens, in my opinion, was sold by Burke & James: REMBRANDT SUPER-PORTRAIT lens. "Modified Darlot-Petzval Formula, soft-sharp quality" and "Pinkham-Smith still pictorial lenses" per B&J's 1962 catalog. Came in three focal lengths:
10" f/8
14" f/6
18" f/6.8
Not being a Name brand European optic, I've seen them going for very un-inflated, if not down right reasonable, prices on the auction site. Also try multi-dealer antique shops and "junk" shops. (Local "Junk Shop" had a large brass Petzval priced at under $100... Owner I have known as a friend for years, so I immediately told him what the actual value of his lens was.) They turn up on Craig's Lists rarely but every now and then for down right amazingly low prices.... I mean under $100. If not local, offer the seller $50 for shipping costs... trust me the seller will jump at the offer. Also offer to pay for the item with a Bank Check or Money Order verses personal check or PayPal.

[Ted R]

Glowing soft focus halo effects can also be obtained from modern lenses, and perhaps with an advantage that the quality of the effect is adjustable over a wide range. Here is an example of a modern soft focus lens image showing halo, the lens is the Mamiya RB67 150mm soft focus. There are two things going on that combine to produce the effect. The first is blur produced by uncorrected spherical aberration. The second is a reduction of contrast due to highlights spilling into darker areas.









In this example the lens was adjusted for maximum effect. There are two types of adjustment. The lens aperture is the primary adjustment. The lens maximum aperture is f4 and the effect is strongest at this setting. The effect is present equally in all areas of the image. As the aperture is reduced the effect becomes less obvious. At f8 the lens operates as a normal lens with no soft focus effect. For fine adjustment in between the available half-stop aperture settings (f4, f4.8, f5.6, f6.7) a set of three perforated discs is provided each working to reduce the effect slightly in three steps. These discs are inserted in the center of the lens which is designed for this purpose to be opened by the photographer.

There is an interesting study on the history of soft focus lenses which is available free online by Russell Young and can be found here https://research-repository.st-andre...ndle/10023/505

[Moogie]

Wow, so may very useful information.
Thanks a lot tot everybody.
I will read through all the comments, linked pages etc. and see to get more understanding.
Once I have a full picture and finally a lens available, I will show you the results.

Nice weekend and happy light, Miguel