Info needed on three lenses...

[GhoSStrider]

Good evening to all the lens gurus out there.

A friend of mine has some older lenses, and asked if I knew anything about them. I didn't, but I figured that I migh be able to get some information here.

The first lens is actually a pair of lenses. They are Voightlander Collinear 30cm f9 .

The second is Kodak Copying Ektanon 18 1/2in. f10.

The third is an Emil Busch Busch-Bis-Telar 360mm f9.

I'm assuming that the Ektanon is a process lens, and I'm thinking that the Collinears might be as well, as they don't have any apertures (but they do have a slot for waterhouse stops?)

I don't have pictures right now, but will try to get some posted.

Any and all information would be appreciated, but I'd especially be interested in finding out coverage and value information.

Thanks in advance!

[Colin Graham]

No real world experience, but some info from the VadeMecum on the Emil Busch and Voigtländer Kollinear

BisTelar-
This was important as the first telephoto to be designed and made with fixed separation of the glasses, allowing better corrections by the designer K.Martin in 1905. It was developed in successive designs and is a fairly easy lens to find as it sold well.
Bistelar Series 1 f9.0 It was made in 7, 10, 12, (1911) 14in later. use 10in for 5x4. from 1905.(R)

Used today, the image from an f9 Bistelar seems soft at f9, but tidies up on closing down, though a small aperture such as f22 was really needed for good results. It was well ahead of the accessory tele units tried, and justified the success it certainly had. It is fairly easy to obtain today, and is often regarded as a soft focus lens, which was not the original intention.

Kollinear:
This was made in several series, and there may be changes in the designs. Users say that the
performance is very good but that the colour correction can be less good than other types, and the faster
series may lack ultimate sharpness.

They range in coverage from 80 to 90 degrees depending on series, (I- 85; II- 80; III-90) but I'm having trouble reconciling your sample with the info and my present level of focus...need more coffee.

[Tim Deming]

at f9, the Kollinear is likely an "apo-kollinear", Voigtlander's copy lens before they started making the apo-skopar. Hard to find these days!

Tim

[Jan Pedersen]

No real world experience just yet but the Wollensak Ektanon lens series are supposedly pretty good taking lenses to.
Check one of the latest issues of the View camera magazine, believe it was the January issue with Jay Dussard featured, some of the photos are taken with Ektanon lenses.
Don't know how much coverage they have, could be limited.

[John Kasaian]

I had a kodak ektanon---its a wonderfully sharp lens but my example was very large and heavy---enough to tax the front standards on my elderly 'dorff so I traded it in on a 14" Commercial Ektar. It offered plenty of coverage for 8x10. I can't comment on any of the ther lenses.

[Uli Mayer]

"at f9, the Kollinear is likely an "apo-kollinear"

The Apo-Collinear is the only "Collinear" or "Kollinear" made by Voigtländer with an f9.

According to Affalter the 9/30cm covers 30x36cm at 1:1 magnification, i.e. half that film size at "infinity". Eric Beltrando on his dioptrique- website has a page on the first version of this lens with an analysis of its corrections.
http://dioptrique.info/objectifs2/00080/00080.HTM

Later developments of the Apo-Collinear led to exceptionally thick middle lenses in both groups which made it much heavier and longer than the 'normal" Collinear.