Lens for Anscow View to do Tintype

[YHP]

Hi,

I have a Anscow View with a Goerz Dagor f6.8 Series II No. 6 12 inch lens
Since the Tintype needs a lot of lighting, I'm thinking of upgrading my lens to a 5.6

What do you think of this lens:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181759233174

Do you think it is indeed an easy fix, or there no way to tell and I'm taking a risk buying it?

Thank you for your feedback!

[seven]

forget about modern lenses. find a nice and fast Petzval lens if you want to do collodium pictures.

[YHP]

Thanks, but I forgot to mention that I will be doing portraits in studio, using strobes, which I know require tons of power! Could I also use a Petzval in this case?

[ic-racer]

That is about a half-stop increase in light. So if you need to fire your strobes 30 time to get an image with the f6.8 lens, you will only have to fire them 21 times with the 5.6 lens.

[goamules]

Bull. Don't listen to the above. Yes, you can use a modern lens, and yes, you can use a Dagor for wetplate. In the studio, the faster the better. But an F4.5 Tessar will work just about as fast as an F4.0 Petzval. People do it all the time, some of us here on this forum.

Oh, and one pop of the strobes seems to be working well for many. Mark took me and my wife with wetplate with one pop of a couple of flash units.

[Joe Smigiel]

Thanks, but I forgot to mention that I will be doing portraits in studio, using strobes, which I know require tons of power! Could I also use a Petzval in this case?

Yes, but you will need to rig a shutter to these older lenses if you are going to use flash. I have front-mounted a synched Packard shutter to a couple of my Petzvals but mounting a Packard or other type behind a lensboard is another option. You might even be able to have a Petzval custom-mounted in front of a modern shutter if the lens was small and the shutter large. The latter would be a very expensive option and in that case, you might be better off just buying a fast Tessar as Garrett suggested or buy additional strobe power.

I've used f/5.6 Plasmats (Schneider Symmars) successfully with wetplate and strobes with lots of power from a Speedotron Blackline system. A 9600ws quadlight gives me around f/8 at 2m.

Personally, I'd either go with a more modern f/5.6 lens and lots of strobe power, or try to find a nice, faster Tessar if you want to shoot wide-open. Petzvals can impart a nice effect, but they are pricey now compared to Tessars or Plasmats.

Personally, I'm very weary of the head-and-shoulders or closer, deer-in-headlights, frontal Petzval shots done wide-open with little depth-of-field.

[YHP]

Thanks Joe, it's very useful

[seven]

of course he can use a modern lens. modern lens on collodium results in boring modern look, with the same effect he could shoot on film and spare himself the trouble. just my opinion. OP can listen to whatever he wants.
format used was not mentioned, but smaller Petzvals can still be found at normal prices, cheaper than a Dagor for sure.
@Garett - it would be nice not to use words like 'bull', i find it offensive

[YHP]

Thanks Garrett!

[Mark Sawyer]

The boring modern look from a boring modern f/4.5 Tessar lens:

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Owen21k/Danaka%20w%2019-inch%20Velostigmat%20s_zpswyaggat9.jpg (http://s55.photobucket.com/user/Owen21k/media/Danaka%20w%2019-inch%20Velostigmat%20s_zpswyaggat9.jpg.html)

Versus a head-and-shoulders or closer, deer-in-headlights, frontal Petzval shot done wide-open with little depth-of-field:http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Owen21k/Mary%201s_zpsjfzhs3yn.jpg (http://s55.photobucket.com/user/Owen21k/media/Mary%201s_zpsjfzhs3yn.jpg.html)

[brandon13]

134757
134758
134759
I shoot 8x10 plates with a 400mm f4 petzval(Not cheap) and a 300mm 4.5 Xenar(Cheap) all the time with strobes. I don't use a shutter. I just remove the lens cap. fire and replace the cap. I am usually around 2000-2400ws through a soft box with an f4-4.5 lens wide open. collodion formulas and the age of the collodion can vary quite a bit as far as effective collodion speed goes. The Cadmium based ones work for me. I also make collodion every couple months so it's always fresh. good luck. Your goerz will work fine but is a tad slow for a 4800ws pack In my experience. but just barely so. great outdoor lens though.

[DrTang]

Yes, but you will need to rig a shutter to these older lenses if you are going to use flash.

here's what I've been doing

hook the strobes up to the flashmeter

put black bowler hat over lens

take bowler off lens-pop flash with meter - replace bowler hat

[Joe Smigiel]

Yes, but you will need to rig a shutter to these older lenses if you are going to use flash.

here's what I've been doing

hook the strobes up to the flashmeter

put black bowler hat over lens

take bowler off lens-pop flash with meter - replace bowler hat

When are you available?

[Joe Smigiel]

Versus a head-and-shoulders or closer, deer-in-headlights, frontal Petzval shot done wide-open with little depth-of-field:http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Owen21k/Mary%201s_zpsjfzhs3yn.jpg (http://s55.photobucket.com/user/Owen21k/media/Mary%201s_zpsjfzhs3yn.jpg.html)

No, no, no. Where are the antlers Mark?

[YHP]

Thanks a lot Brandon!

[Two23]

No, no, no. Where are the antlers Mark?



A doe doesn't have antlers.


Kent in SD

[Mark Sawyer]

A doe doesn't have antlers.


Now, now... the moderators just closed that thread. :rolleyes:

I suspect if one understands the subtleties of the differences between old and new, one probably has uses for both. F/4.5 is around the point of diminishing returns for speed, so I'd aim for that. Start with the cheaper and more common, a Tessar, and watch for the right Petzval to come up. If you can appreciate lenses enough to prefer one over the other, you probably want one of each. Both can be lovely. (Mind you I probably have a couple dozen of each. That's the real danger here... :rolleyes: )

[brandon13]

Thanks a lot Brandon!
no prob. YHP Yes I prefer the Xenars to Tessars as far as a nice inexpensive lenses.(just my personal preference)Both of my Xenars are from the 1920's and I tend to like older lenses for wet plate. I shoot petzvals 80% of the time. from 5x7 up to 11x14 plates. My second favorite 8x10 wet plate lens is a 360mm f4.5 non universal Heliar. I picked up that one for $500.00 three years back. so maybe that could be your somewhere in between the nice Dallmeyer price and the cheaper Tessar/Xenar . Heliars are pretty sweet.

[Mark Sawyer]

no prob. YHP Yes I prefer the Xenars to Tessars...

Large format Xenars are Tessars.

[brandon13]

Large format Xenars are Tessars.

Tessar Clones Yes I know. I have both. Just prefer the Xenars to the Tessars as well as the Industars That is why I said (just my personal preference) Weren't you just talking about understanding subtle differences?

[Mark Sawyer]

Tessar is the design, Xenar is just Schneider's brand name for their Tessar. Nearly every manufacturer has made Tessars under one name or another, although only Bausch & Lomb engraved theirs simply as a "Tessar", (Ib IIc, etc.). You're likely to find as much difference between two Xenars as between a Xenar and a B&L Tessar