Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 36

Thread: collecting for stupid reason....

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Denmark, Europe
    Posts
    2,165

    collecting for stupid reason....

    I wonder whether I am the only one that have this feeling:

    IF I were rich, I'd proberly be a collector of lenses (and cameras..)

    But what lenses to collect?

    I have a weakness for names on lenses! Great names, that sounds good when you mention them. it's like one can taste the words....

    Pinkham&Smith (strong, very american sounding)
    Nicola Perscheid
    Dallmeyer (I love the sound of that name)

    Darlot
    Jamin
    Derogy
    Hermagis
    Lerebourg et secretain

    (have to be pronounced as french sounding as possible..)

    Taylor, Taylor and Hobson (Sounds like a big law firm)
    Cooke (short, and to the point)

    Oscar Zwierzina

    ..and proberly a lot more..

    Good thing I am not wealthy...

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    8,469

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    One of my neighbors collects photographic equipment. Zeiss, mainly 35 mm, but also lenses for larger formats. He has two rationales. To learn about and document the equipment. To have good equipment to use. He and a friend went so far as to write and publish a book, the Zeiss-Ikon Compendium.

    He used to give me hell for what he saw as mindless accumulation, i.e., accumulation with no obvious rationale. After I explained why I did what I did he subsided. I have one rationale, to get good equipment to use without spending too much money. So I'm not really a collector, I'm a user with not enough money to buy the latest most expensive (and certainly very very good) and be done with it.

    When I was accumulating macro lenses it wasn't clear which were really good and which weren't. I bought, tested, and knew. Same idea with lenses for shooting at distance. When I started it wasn't clear which of the lenses I could afford were any good at all. So I bought, tested, and knew.

    What would be your rationale for accumulating lenses? "For their names" seems a little weak. You might as well set the names to music. Much less expensive than acquiring the lenses.

    Cheers,

    Dan

    Um, er, ah, in the context of photographic objectives Cooke is a brand name of Taylor, Taylor, & Hobson, later Rank Taylor Hobson, and now Cooke Optics. For most of its history Cooke was not the name of a company.

    Lerebours et Secretan. If you can't spell the makers' names correctly you'll have a hard time finding their lenses.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Denmark, Europe
    Posts
    2,165

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    [QUOTE=

    Lerebours et Secretan. If you can't spell the makers' names correctly you'll have a hard time finding their lenses.[/QUOTE]

    spelled after memory (which is bad...)

    maybe I can't spell it - but I love to pronounce it!

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Denmark, Europe
    Posts
    2,165

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Fromm View Post


    What would be your rationale for accumulating lenses? "For their names" seems a little weak. You might as well set the names to music. Much less expensive than acquiring the lenses.

    Cheers,

    Dan

    .
    IF I wanted to collect music, I'd choose "Summertime" ...

    In the collection in the Danish radio, there are more than 1200 different versions of this alone....

    getting those wouldnt be cheap..

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    6,246

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    Personally, I always thought that Pinkham (Pink'em) & Smith sounded more like Undertakers (Funeral Parlour Directors/Morticians).

    If we go the way of philatelists we will end up (when we are past just buying user objectives) collecting theme lenses:

    - National (Suter/Swiss or Grubb/Irish). There is already a group with the early American retailers/makers as a special interest. Whenever I bid on a Suter I am terrified that some Banker in his mountain chalet will sweep me of the board.

    - Pictorial. This is really a growth area already. Even just one of everything will take a hefty investment of time and capital.

    - Mistakes in engraving. These are either from the makers side ("Cook patent" on early German Triplets) or from the individual engraver working under candle or gaslight.

    - Engraving styles. Early Voigtländers ( and the smaller makers at Braunsweig) had superb copperplate. Lancaster is very distinctive too - in a rather squat way. Any others?

    There are (un)fortunately too few nice/spectacular trademarks and Swift's swift is very discrete - English understatement?

  6. #6

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    When I started camera collecting back in 1992, I had no plan as to what to collect...I had $ 20 Kodaks mixed with a $ 3500 Walker American Challenge Camera. A few years later a wise, and experienced collector told me to focus on one aspect of cameras and dont stray.... this helps from accumulating junk, taking up space in ones home and keeps the hunt even more exciting.... So, I only collect 4x5 or smaller, pre 1890's, American made wood cameras. This narrow focuses causes me to buy one or two items per year....very selective..... and when I find a rare item, I may sell off an item in my collection thats not as rare, to help fund the purchase and keep my display cases small, but to the point.... this has worked for me !

    Dan




    Antique & Classic Camera Blog
    www.antiquecameras.net/blog.html

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    S.E. Iowa
    Posts
    58

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    Hey Dan,

    What is the lens on the top camera in your post? Is it a Waterbury Lens?

    Wayne



    Quote Originally Posted by CCHarrison View Post
    When I started camera collecting back in 1992, I had no plan as to what to collect...I had $ 20 Kodaks mixed with a $ 3500 Walker American Challenge Camera. A few years later a wise, and experienced collector told me to focus on one aspect of cameras and dont stray.... this helps from accumulating junk, taking up space in ones home and keeps the hunt even more exciting.... So, I only collect 4x5 or smaller, pre 1890's, American made wood cameras. This narrow focuses causes me to buy one or two items per year....very selective..... and when I find a rare item, I may sell off an item in my collection thats not as rare, to help fund the purchase and keep my display cases small, but to the point.... this has worked for me !

    Dan




  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    6,246

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    Dan, the tone of your contribution in a thread entitled "collecting for stupid reason" seems somewhat misplaced. Emil has had great success in finding the lenses he wants to use and knows the TT&H, Cooke, CTS, H.D.Taylor and triplet story as well as you.

  9. #9

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    PS - I love the trade names Heliar, Summicron and Lucidograph !

    Perhaps one could collect lenses beginning with the letter "V" made by Wollensak

    Verito
    Velostigmat I,II,III,IV
    Vitax
    Versar
    Voltas
    Vesta
    Veritar
    Varium

    Antique & Classic Camera Blog
    www.antiquecameras.net/blog.html

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Denmark, Europe
    Posts
    2,165

    Re: collecting for stupid reason....

    Quote Originally Posted by CCHarrison View Post
    PS - I love the trade names Heliar, Summicron and Lucidograph !

    Perhaps one could collect lenses beginning with the letter "V" made by Wollensak

    Verito
    Velostigmat I,II,III,IV
    Vitax
    Versar
    Voltas
    Vesta
    Veritar
    Varium
    Funny you say that..

    My girlfriend apparently has a weakness for lenses (brands and trade names) beginning with the letter "D"...

    Dallmeyer
    Derogy
    Darlot
    Dagor

    and so on

    (PS also love the name Heliar - tastes much better than Dynar...)

Similar Threads

  1. One reason to be an artist
    By sanking in forum Resources
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 21-Jan-2010, 11:50
  2. Collecting Photography Books
    By Jim Becia in forum On Photography
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 3-Feb-2009, 17:01
  3. Have an old Epson 1280 collecting dust
    By bsimison in forum Digital Hardware
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 23-Oct-2008, 21:31
  4. going "larger" (collecting 2 by 2 cents...)
    By Janko Belaj in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 14-Jun-2005, 20:11
  5. For What Reason, This Passion?
    By Tom Smart in forum On Photography
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 16-Oct-2004, 18:37

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •