"Anything Dagor"

[DG 3313]

I am the new owner of some old glass......9.5" F 6.8 Goerz Dagor. What have you done with your Dagor?

[IanG]

I have two and use them, my 12" f6.8 Goerz AM Opt Dagor in a Compound is the prime lens on my 10"x8" Agfa Ansco Commercial View, it's a 1939/40 lens that was coated for the original owner after WWII. The seller (the second owner) had never used it saying it was old and useless - it needed a careful claen but is an excellent lens in terms of resulting images.

My second Dagor was bought about a year ago a 120mm f6.8 Goerz Berlin Dagor in a Compound it's in near mint condition and had never been fitted to a camera, although uncoated it has nice contrast compared to a similar age mint uncoated Tessar, it's close to a coated lens in lack of internal lens flare, it covers 7"x5" with no room for movements stopped right down.

Your 9½" Dagor according to Goerz AM Opt covers 10x8 @ f16 and 14x11 @ f45, by coverage they mean acceptable sharpness rather than illumination. If it's in a shutter it'll be easy to use as a slightly loner normal lens for 7x5 or a slight wide angle on a 10x8 camera. If not you need to find a suitable shutter.

Ian

[Luis-F-S]

I have 11 Dagors from the 3 WA and from 6" to the 14" Kern MC. They're what I use from 4x5 to 11x14.

[Luis-F-S]

I am the new owner of some old glass......9.5" F 6.8 Goerz Dagor. What have you done with your Dagor?


They're not all old quite a few were made into the 1980's

[DG 3313]

My lens serial number is something like 7712##. I read that it was made in about 1948. I would love to see few photos made with a Dagor (old or new) if anyone would like to share.

It is not in a shutter yet. The glass is very good but, the aperture needs to be worked a little to loosen it up.

[IanG]

A 1948 Dagor will be coated so should be excellent. i think there's an image sharing thread with images shot with Dagors but I can't spot it.

The honest answer is you can't tell whether an image has been made with a a Dagor, a coated Tessar or most coated/MCmodern lenses, well not with B&W anyway.

162084

162083

Both with my 12" Dagor.

Ian

[Dan Fromm]

Why limit this discussion to lenses made by Goerz? Other makers made Dagor types, some of them extremely similar to Goerz' own.

[karl french]

Various Goerz Dagor (and Doppel Anastigmat Series III) shots. 94mm, 6 1/2 WA, 8 1/4, 12 GD & 14"

https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=26027328%40N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=dagor&view_all=1

[DG 3313]

Thanks for sharing......."anything Dagor" shared would be appreciated.....my lens happens to be a Goerz. I like the look of a Cooke series II that I got from Ari last year. I was just wondering if Dagors have a "Dagor" look to them like some of the other lenses........I'll put some film behind it this weekend.....I hope.

[Dan Fromm]

The honest answer is you can't tell whether an image has been made with a a Dagor, a coated Tessar or most coated/MCmodern lenses, well not with B&W anyway.

Ian

Ian, you are a dangerous heretic and will have to be suppressed. Everyone knows that lens design types have easily discernible signatures. Everyone.

Cheers,

Dan

p.s., I'm a Certified Ignorant Barbarian Insensitive to the Fine Points®. I took the course, passed the exam and have the certificate. I can't see the differences either, will have to be suppressed too.

[DG 3313]

I shot two 5x7 negatives and like what I see....this lens has a signature....I agree with you Dan......

"Everyone knows that lens design types have easily discernible signatures. Everyone".

[Dan Fromm]

Next time I'll have to make sure to turn sarcasm on/off visibly.

[John Kasaian]

Off topic but this thread made me remember the first time I saw a Dagor lens was over 50 years ago at Knott's Berry Farm. There was an old time portrait studio and the camera used for taking the souvenir portraits was an 8x10---I don't remember the make but I remember the lens was distinctly labeled "Dagor."

[DG 3313]

John,

Not off topic at all.....I hoped for dialog just like this....positive and personal. The first Dagor I saw was the one I bought two weeks ago for $100. (at a camera swap-meet). I am interested in seeing and hearing more from Dagor users like Karl French, IanG and you.

[IanG]

My experience with Dagors is they are good usable lenses, they don't have the "unique discernible signature" which some look for in lenses like Heliars which is the rendering of out of focus area, the mythical Bokeh not a word I personally like to use.

Instead with a Dagor you get a lens that gives good all-round performance with a large sharp image circle when stopped down, I'll qualify tat because the illuminated image circle is the same wide open or stopped right down, it's the area of acceptable sharpness that increases.

It's the large coverage which meant Dagors became "Cult" lenses sort after by ULF photographers. After all my 120mm f6.8 Dagor would be a Normal lens on a Quarter plate camera, a slight wide angle on a 5x4 and a reasonable wide angle lens on a 7x5 or half plate camera which it just covers stopped right down. The other factor is like the Zeiss Protars with only two internal air/glass surfaces even an uncoated Dagor (in good optical condition) will give good contrast and is not really prone to flare.

Ian

[Daniel Unkefer]

Here's a recent test Cedar Swamp Dawes Mid Ohio

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/762/21072049485_5657d09e2f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/y74Lb2)makiflex #6 (https://flic.kr/p/y74Lb2) by Nokton48 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/), on Flickr

Plaubel Makiflex, 120mm barrel mount Schneider Angulon at F16 15 sec 6x9cm Foma 200 roll film Legacy Mic-X Replenished