Taylor, Taylor and Hobson Lens

[seawolf66]

With all the time I have spent here ,In my mind you folks Praise and worship those Lens made by them: So here is my question, If their that good on Large format lens
How would they be for 35mm lens , I just purchased a TT&H Lens for My Fed-2 Model=B4 it is as follows: Of yes was bought in the USA not over seas

Leitz 5 cm f 1.5 Summarit lens
This is a chrome lens in a screw mount introduced in 1949 as a coated post war replacement for the uncoated Schneider Xenon 50mm f1.5. Except for some minor optical design modification, it is substantially identical in design, it is a modified double Gaussian formulation with four central cemented elements; it has a front singlet and a split rear element. Early lenses (such as this lens) which were made for export have The Taylor, Taylor & Hobson U.S. patent number No 2019985.


This lens will need a good cleaning other wise its in Decent shape :Seawolf

[IanG]

It must be more than substantially identical for it to have been a Patented design. But at that time the TTH 35mm lenses where far better than the Leica/Leitz made equivalents which is why they usually fetch very high prices.

Ian

[seawolf66]

It must be more than substantially identical for it to have been a Patented design. But at that time the TTH 35mm lenses where far better than the Leica/Leitz made equivalents which is why they usually fetch very high prices.

Ian

Ian: Thank you for your time and info:

[Mark Sawyer]

It should be a very good lens, possibly a close relative of a TT&H Cine lens. TT&H were a top line of lenses for the motion picture industry, (for that matter, they still are), and they're much better known and respected for those lenses than for the large format lenses, which are now a minor side-line for them.

[IanG]

TTH and Meyer both offered fast lenses well before Leitz, there were f2 Cooke Series O's (35mm - 140mm FL) and f1.5 Meyer's for formats from 35mm upwards to 9x12cm in the late 1920's.

A.O.Roth the UK Meyer distributor were selling a Leica bodied camera with an f1.5 Meyer Plasmat in 1927, for £39 in comparison the same camera from Leica with an f3.5 lens was £18 15s.

The link between TTH & Leitz after WWII is quite interesting because TTH set up Reid & Sigrist with UK Government backing to manufacture Leica based Reid cameras, they can't really be called copies because Reid were given access to the Leitz designs and the rights to use them as part of War reparations. Leitz didn't give access to the pre-War Leica 4 prototypes which later became the M series.

I should have something about the TTH Summarit, and other Cooke lenses for 35mm hand cameras back in the UK, I'll look when I'm there in about 3 weeks.

Ian

[djmoonlight]

It should be a very good lens, possibly a close relative of a TT&H Cine lens.

[seawolf66]

Super Speed Panchro f1.3 Several lenses occur in this group. Lee designed an OPIC with a split rear glass
in USPat 2,619,895/1935; Brit Pat 373,950/1932; 397,281 (Tay006). This parallels a Schneider Xenon f1.3
design and the patent number was engraved on some Leitz f1.5 50mm Xenon and Summarit lenses. TTH
production of these lenses seems to be small, and they are very sought after. Some Super Speed Panchros
at least have a quite different 1+2 i 1+3 design (Tay025)and may be triplet derivatives.

This all I could find on Vada Mercum for taylor, taylor & Hobson:

[seawolf66]

More Info on the lens only 103 were made in 1939 serial #491898 to # 492000 and my serial number is # 491956 Am boy am I smiling {LOL}

[IanG]

In the 1939 British Journal Photographic Almanac (pub Nov 1938) Leitz still list the 50mm f1.5 Xenon which was £34, but their f2 lens is still the Summar.

By contrast Zeiss are selling a 50mm f1.4 Biotar for Cine or miniature cameras for £26 15s, this was available for Leica and Contax. TTH don't list their range, there an image of their Portrait lens along with a portrait (Hollywood glamour style) but their strap-line is:

COOKE LENSES - PRIDE OF CRAFTSMEN
and CHOICE OF THE ARTIST

Ian

[Ralph Miyashiro]

I have this lens, although not of the TT&H designation. I've considered selling it many times but can't seem to do it. IMO it is not an all around lens. Low contrast, very flare prone and quite soft at large apature, 1.5 almost not usable. It improves somewhat on stopping down, I can't consider it a speed lens. Why do I still have it? If you shoot this lens in well lit open shade (no sunlight in background) with color film the results can be very very nice. All other situations, you will do a lot better with something else. I don't know if TT&H changes this. Have fun with it.