Where do I go to find antique lenses?

[AlexGard]

So recently I have been using my Darlot petzval almost exclusively for wet plate (I no longer shoot film). I have a few modern lenses and have started to notice I am becoming increasingly underwhelmed with how they render wet plate images. I am not at all being one of those "authentic/historically correct" wet plate shooters, I am just legitimately beginning to recognise and prefer the difference in the performance of the lenses. Almost to the point of wanting to offload all my modern lenses.

I have just put down a deposit on an enormous Voigtlander 18" f/4.5 from another forum member here that I am going to use on 11x14 when I get that camera. I am very, very excited.

Anyway so on to the reason for the post...

are there any good central websites where I can go to find good antique lenses other than the dreaded ebay? I mean every now and again they pop up here and on a couple of other forums but wondering if there is a particular dark corner of the web where I can browse them a bit more? Maybe it is a good thing they are hard to come by but it would be nice to find a place other than ebay

I remember finding a European (german?) antiques auction website last year that I think was specifically for antique cameras but I tried googling it and could not find it again. It had lots of camras and lenses listed.

Unfortuantely where I live they are just about non-existent and every antiques dealer or anyone I've spoken to who deals in estates has said they never see them nor had they ever come across them.,

ANy ideas?

thankyou

[vinny]

here.
facebook wetplate group

[AlexGard]

you mean the bastards facebook group?

[Emil Schildt]

I'll pm you

[RSalles]

I'm searching another one I used to surf, but here it goes:
http://www.specialauctionservices.com/cameras_and_photographic_equipment_auctions.php

Cheers,

Renato

[Steven Tribe]

There was an exceptionally good photographic collectors auction in Australia about 2 years ago!

Anyway, the EU auctions you are looking for are WestLicht and Breker. There are more sensible prices there than a few years ago. SAS used to be more reasonable, but there is not a lot of difference now.

Generally, the quantity on offer at saleroom auctions is gradually falling away.

If you brave and willing to take a risk, Ebay still has bargains away from the repeat listers.

Here is quite good in my view, but then I have sold Petzvals here!

[Jac@stafford.net]

Not answering your wish for a dark place on the Internet because I've found no such thing for lenses.

All my finds have occurred in antique and junk shops. My mate and I used to travel rural areas and would sometimes find surprising things, including old lenses. The best find was a pair of lenses wrapped in cotton in the bottom drawer of an old dresser that was being sold. The previous owner's widow just wanted to get rid of them, clear the estate.

Of course I've no idea of the demographics of you area. Best of luck to you.

[goamules]

Besides those auctions mentioned, there are a few dealers in antique optics too. You'll find them if you google some. But the prices are usually a lot higher because these are businesses, and are there to make money. You can't have it all: secret, cheap places, that happen to have outstanding inventory. Just doesn't work that way. If it did, people you see with super high prices on ebay would just go and buy all their lenses, to relist on ebay.

You have to search, long and hard. Some of us have a want list of lenses. I know I do. And often it takes months or even years to find one example for sale. Try to find an Portrait Plastigmat, or even Unar, or a Struss Pictorial sometime. You may have to hunt for years. Darlots are the Model T ford of lenses: cheap and made in the millions. They're good. The others just are too rare to come up for sale very often.

[Jim Galli]

Not sure why ebay is "dreaded". Is that a religious rite?

Buy stuff from me. But know, that it is something I've bought on Ebay and marked up. I'm such a capitalist! Shame on me.

Like others have already indicated and is obvious, these forums for special interests are about all there is besides ebay. The For Sale page at Camera Eccentric (http://www.cameraeccentric.com/sale.html) is fun to look at. The last page on the "soft focus lenses" article at Dan's Antique Cameras website (http://antiquecameras.net/softfocuslenses3.html) has a current offering, but alas, the pretty pictures will direct you back to the loathsome ebay.

[Greg]

Make up a short list of the lenses you want to acquire. Put aside a good stash of money. Check EBay every day. When one of the optics comes up, just decide what your top money limit is (make it high) and go for it. Soon you will have some of the lenses you have always wanted and will be out there shooting with them... life is too short. Took me 2 years to acquire a handful of the lenses that I had always yearned for. Some of the lenses I had wanted to acquire never found. Never mind... I most certainly will never be able to exhaust the image possibilities out there with my hand full of lenses.

recommend:
Vade Mecum
The use of Historic Lenses in Contemporary Photography by Paul Lipscombe
An older Burke & James catalog
this forum

Also consider that for every say 5 lenses you acquire, you will also acquire one optic that doesn't cover your format, is a lemon, or something else. Be careful about people who take apart their lenses to say prove that the optic they have for sale is a Petzval... they might put the lens back together in a wrong configuration. Bought a Darlot which produced a lousy image. Took it apart and discovered that the seller had reversed one of the elements.

Greg

[Steven Tribe]

.........................Also consider that for every say 5 lenses you acquire, you will also acquire one optic that doesn't cover your format, is a lemon, or something else. Be careful about people who take apart their lenses to say prove that the optic they have for sale is a Petzval... they might put the lens back together in a wrong configuration. Bought a Darlot which produced a lousy image. Took it apart and discovered that the seller had reversed one of the elements.

Greg

1. I don't think that lister's taking things apart is a bad thing. It shows that the correct number of lenses are present and the threads are OK. A mis- assembled petzval ( front and rear cells swapped) is easy to spot and means fewer bids.

2. If you are interested in French lenses before 1900, get hold of a copy of D'Agostini's book before it is out of stock. This is not a bible, but has plenty of good info and reference pictures. I can see that it has "assisted" me in at least 4 big purchases the last 3 years and kept me away from just as many!

3. Do not take comments like "giant" and "huge" seriously - the only thing that matters is inches and centimeters. I have found that the best bargains are there where the only indication of size is way down in the text.

I forgot to mention MWClassic in London who both haunt the lesser auction in the UK as well as buy direct. They have LF as a minor thing, but the range of items that pass through their hands is quite impressive. Used to be website sales , but much goes directly into their ebay listings.

[Pete Oakley]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

[IanG]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

They've actually become far more prone to mis-descriptions since changing their website and moving. One area is formats calling continental european metric cameras 9x12, 12x15 etc 5x4 and 7x5. However I've bought off them a few times and they are OK to deal with.

Ian

[Andrew Plume]

Beware, MW Classic are prone to mis-describing lenses that they put up for sale. Don't just take their word on the coverage of any lens that they have for sale without checking.
Pete.

Pete

good afternoon to you

yes, they do make mistakes - but on the larger ones, they keep a 10 x 12" for specific testing, so if one sees any lens marked "will cover at least 10 x 12", then it almost certainly will

very best to you

andrew

[Steven Tribe]

To be honest, I have only benefited from the sometimes casual identification by MW. Their volume and bredth of photographic items they deal with, means that there will be both errors and omissions.

This thread has cost me! I decided to check what had been added yesterday!

[Andrew Plume]

They've actually become far more prone to mis-descriptions since changing their website and moving. One area is formats calling continental european metric cameras 9x12, 12x15 etc 5x4 and 7x5. However I've bought off them a few times and they are OK to deal with.

Ian

err..................moving to where Ian? They've been based in Leroy House for at least the last twelve years............

regards

andrew

[IanG]

err..................moving to where Ian? They've been based in Leroy House for at least the last twelve years............

regards

andrew

You're right I'm mixing them up with your fiends at MrCad (deliberate dropping of the R). But it's the website software etc that changeed at MWClassic.it's slowly getting better.if you nknow what you're after the mistakes make no difference :D . . . . . . and as Steven says can work in our favour.

Ian

[MAubrey]

Make up a short list of the lenses you want to acquire. Put aside a good stash of money. Check EBay every day.
You can follow particular ebay searches, set particular price constraints and ebay will e-mail you when what you're looking in your price limit for is listed.

That's what I do. Saves the effort of needing to check every day.

[goamules]

The fun of obscure, esoteric antiques is that you get to be more the expert than the seller. I've bought from MW, Loy, Igor, and others many times over the years, when they only had a passing knowledge of the lens they were selling. Which makes sense, most of these lenses were made before WWI, before the Airplane was invented, before penicillin. Good gosh man, what are you expecting?! That MW will go test a 130 year old lens on a handy, nearby 10x20 camera? If you want a retail, money back if not satisfied 100% experience, get another hobby.

Sorry, but some people just don't seem to understand the facts of life. Get out there and enjoy your chances. Don't bemoan the difficulties.

[Andrew Plume]

You're right I'm mixing them up with your fiends at MrCad (deliberate dropping of the R). But it's the website software etc that changeed at MWClassic.it's slowly getting better.if you nknow what you're after the mistakes make no difference :D . . . . . . and as Steven says can work in our favour.

Ian

Ian

I have a good relationship with Mr Cad and am friendly with them too. They may be "fiends" to some but are friends to others. Yes, they're expensive but plenty of their clients aren't fussed at all about this. I have only bought from them when they didn't know on the whole what they were selling

btw, I see no point in taking any king of a pop at mwc either - now they're friends of mine too, btw, btw - if one can make the effort to go to see them, it's well worth the effort - mainline to Marylebone, tube to H & I, bus to the top of Essex Road, will get you there, fwiw, an interesting trip and it's always better to dress on the light side as the heating in their building is on the tropical side

and btw btw, the UK used market (other than eBay) would be dealt a large blow if they were not around, imo, imo

good luck to you

andrew

[IanG]

Andrew, you'll find I frequently recommend people try MWClassic, I've always found them great to deal with and items as described. I have no hesitation buying from them and mostly their pricing is fair often lower than typical ebay (completed sales) prices.

Ian

[Andrew Plume]

great

andrew

[Steven Tribe]

I agree completely with Ian's comments about pricing at MW. They have a very realistic attitude to "ordinary" RRs and lesser names, especialy for smaller formats.

[goamules]

Yep, and I bet we all agree with Andrew, that there was a time when they priced and described lenses very low. They were good to buy from up until 2-4 years ago, when they got more background in what they are selling. Same with some ebay sellers, who are no where near MW's quality of business.