Too bad Dagor77 is in Scotland right now, and apparently ignoring this forum. I bet he would have a dissenting point of view...
Too bad Dagor77 is in Scotland right now, and apparently ignoring this forum. I bet he would have a dissenting point of view...
Regarding the 135mm T*.
In the 1980s the Japanese importer of Linhof cameras went to Zeiss and offered to purchase an entire production run of your lens if Zeiss would produce it for them complete in a wood presentation box.
After the deal was consumated the Japanese company approached a NY dealer, Ken Hansen, and offered part of the production to him - which he took.
That is prbably where your lens came from.
Can any of you Zeiss-o-philes point me to a source for serial
number vs. date of manufacture for Zeiss lenses (would also help date my Planar T*).
Kerry.
There is a recent compilation by Hartmut Thiele that might supply some new information about Zeiss Oberkochen serial numbers.
The book is self-published by the author, you can get it from the usual zeiss-o-phile places, including : Lindemanns bookstore in Stuttgart.
Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik III. Carl Zeiss Oberkochen 1948 bis 1996.
Photoobjektive und Fertigungsnummern, Fertigungszeiten, ..., Thiele, Hartmut, München 2005__
Ernest--I have a 135/3.5 Planar, late version, but not the latest T* version. It's a very sharp lens, but I don't think it is meaningful to compare it to a more modern lens. The Planar is a fast lens with just enough coverage for 4x5" designed to be sharp at wide apertures, and it does that extremely well. It's my first choice for low light or handheld 4x5" photography.
The latest Schneider and Rodenstock lenses in that focal length aren't as fast and have greater coverage, and are also very sharp lenses, but if you need f:3.5, they can't do that. If f:5.6 is enough for you, the modern lenses are more practical. If you need more speed and don't plan to use extensive camera movements, then the older Planar or Xenotar can do it.
Thanks all of you.
I have a question for David A. Goldfarb. Could you tell me how to tell old version and the late version? How much for the 135mm late version?
Another questions: 1. Anyone can tell me what is the difference between Linhof 80mm f2.8 planar and Graflex 80mm f2.8, they look exactly the same. Is that right?
2. somebody told me The APO-Lanther 150mm is the best lens, what do you guys think about the APO-Lanther? some people said it has radiation, is it safe to use APO-Lanther lens?
Thanks a lot.
Ernest
As best I can tell, there are three versions of the 135/3.5 Planar made for Linhof (and perhaps there are other versions not connected to Linhof). The first was in a special shutter that had a special Linhof lensboard, so that it could close with the camera. The second, which I have, is in a regular Compur #1 shutter. The third version is the one mentioned above with T* coating, made for the Japanese market.
The first was in a special shutter
What is special about the shutter?
The Linhof shutter release (above) is still a positive pain in the ass. The crooked wire into the release keeps fall out. Stupid design.
My sense was that that shutter is designed to fit in the recessed board. The later ones certainly don't fit in a recessed board.
I have a Linhof Zeiss 135mm f3.5 #5194659 on electronic shutter, do you know what version of my lens? What was the peoduction year? Thanks
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