PDA

View Full Version : Need help with lenses



Diane Maher
22-Apr-2007, 19:04
I visited a former photo studio locally and found a lot of lenses. Some of them were enlarger lenses and I will put those in another thread. Can anyone tell me anything about these lenses, like what format they might cover?

Goerz Dagor Ser. III f/6.8; 7 in. No. 2

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/4.5; 16.5 cm in Compur shutter.

Wollensak Varium 19 in. f/4; No.5 Studio shutter (this one has a Packard shutter attached to the back of the board.)

Voigtlander and Sohn; Wien, Braunschweig (old brass lens); 7 (at the top of the barrel, closest to the lensboard); it has a slot for Waterhouse stops. Waterhouse stops- what are the numbers at the top on the paddle handle?

Carl Zeiss Jena Protarlinse VII f=69cm; f/6.3 on a Compound shutter

Diane

Ole Tjugen
22-Apr-2007, 19:35
The dagor is good for at least 70 degrees, so the 7" will cover 5x7" with movements.

Tessar 165mm was made for "postcard size", or 10x15cm. Covers 4x5" with movements.

Wollensak? No idea.

Voigtländer: That's an old one! If it's a #7 of whatever type, it will be a big brasss thing made to cover 12x16"... The numbers at the top of the "paddle handle" are - numbers. It's much safer to assume that they don't correspond to any known aperture numbering system, but are just numbers to tell the stops apart.

The "Protarlinse" is a Protar, each cell is a Protarlinse. Top notch convertible lenses. f:6.3 means that both cells ghave the same focal length of 690mm, for a total focal length of 345mm. That one should also cover more than 12x16"!

Gene McCluney
22-Apr-2007, 19:37
The dagor might cover 8x10 stopped down.

The tessar should cover 4x5 with a little movement room.

The Varium would be a nice head and shoulders portrait lens for 8x10, but might cover 11x14.

Hard to tell on the old Voigtlander lens....how big is it?

The protarlinse 69cm should cover 11x14 if my info is correct.

I am just learning, so don't take all my comments as gospel.

Diane Maher
22-Apr-2007, 19:53
I have a few more:

Kodak Anastigmat no. 35; 10 in. f/4.5

Goerz Dagor f/6.8

CP Goerz Am Opt. Co. Dagor 9 ½ in. f/6.8; No. 3 Acme shutter

Schneider Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 5 cm; f/2.8 (there are two of these – maybe for a stereo camera?)

And here are the Enlarger lenses too:

Eastman Projection Kodak Anastigmat 7 ½ in. f/4.5

Wollensak Enlarging Raptar 90 mm f/4.5 (has a W inside of a C on the lens)

Kodak Enlarging Ektanon f/4.5 161 mm (has an L inside a circle on the lens)


Diane

Diane Maher
22-Apr-2007, 19:56
Thanks Ole!

The brass lens, the Varium, and the Protarlinse are all on 9 in. boards.

Gene, the brass lens has a front diameter of 5 7/8 in. (approx.)

Diane

erie patsellis
22-Apr-2007, 20:18
Diane,
Sounds like you've been having fun, any chance of some pics?


erie

Jason Greenberg Motamedi
22-Apr-2007, 20:30
The Wollensak Varium is a relatively uncommon soft focus triplet, probably made in the 1920s. The 19" f4 was designed for 11x14, but will in fact cover about 62 degrees (14x17). It is slightly better corrected than most other SF lenses. I find that a Varium open wide has about the same amount of halation and diffusion as a Verito at f5.6. These don't come up for sale very often, but I did notice a 19" f4 which sold on eBay a few months back.

And, as I am sure you see, it is a pretty huge lens. I have the slightly faster 16" f3.5 model, one of my favorite lenses.

Jim Galli
22-Apr-2007, 20:34
I visited a former photo studio locally and found a lot of lenses. Some of them were enlarger lenses and I will put those in another thread. Can anyone tell me anything about these lenses, like what format they might cover?


Diane

Goerz Dagor Ser. III f/6.8; 7 in. No. 2

This will cover 6 1/2 X 8 1/2 nicely.

Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/4.5; 16.5 cm in Compur shutter.

4X5 lens. Yawn.

Wollensak Varium 19 in. f/4; No.5 Studio shutter (this one has a Packard shutter attached to the back of the board.)

Now this is a lens for your 11X14 Century 8 Studio camera when you get one. It needs a giant camera just to hold it up. It was a Cooke Triplet type and is sort of softish wide open and can be sharp stopped down. Besides the softness, the depth of field at f4 is millimeters and the bokeh is excellent.

Voigtlander and Sohn; Wien, Braunschweig (old brass lens); 7 (at the top of the barrel, closest to the lensboard); it has a slot for Waterhouse stops. Waterhouse stops- what are the numbers at the top on the paddle handle?

This is probably a Euryscope Rapid Rectilinear before they started putting the name on. They were in a fuss about patent issues and the earliest rapid rectilinears didn't say anything. Just the number. I have a similar #2 like that. I could tell from a picture of it. Gorgeous lens! A number seven is like 26" or something. It would probably cover 14X17 nicely. I have a #6 and of course would love it if a #7 came along. Actually iirc I have #2 #5 #6 having recently sold the #4. That picture of mine in the View Camera Magazine was done with the #6.

Carl Zeiss Jena Protarlinse VII f=69cm; f/6.3 on a Compound shutter

This is actually a 15 1/2" lens that is a convertible with 2 69cm (27") components. Protar VII's that large are rare and desireable. It would cover 14X17 with movements. I have one of the very earliest ones in the brass 2 piston shutter which is pretty unreliable.

wfwhitaker
22-Apr-2007, 20:52
Diane,

The 9" boards would go on the Century 8x10 which I think you mentioned they have also.
Get that camera. And get the Varium and the Voigtlander lenses with it.

Diane Maher
23-Apr-2007, 05:18
Will,
I have to wait until I get paid this week before I can buy the camera/lenses from the guy. One of the lights that he has plugs into the front of the camera. The camera also has a thing that lets you do two images on a 5x7 sheet of film as well as an 8x10 back. I told him I was interested mostly in the cameras and lenses. I'd have to let him know about any of the lights. They are big too.

Diane Maher
23-Apr-2007, 05:20
Diane,
Sounds like you've been having fun, any chance of some pics?


erie

Not yet. I didn't take my digi camera with me yesterday. I thought about it though. I was like a kid in a candy shop. :D

Diane Maher
23-Apr-2007, 05:38
Would any of the smaller lenses in these lists be able to accept a Series 7 filter adapter?

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

wfwhitaker
23-Apr-2007, 07:58
...One of the lights that he has plugs into the front of the camera. The camera also has a thing that lets you do two images on a 5x7 sheet of film as well as an 8x10 back.

I'm reaching a bit here, but it's not unusual on the old studio cameras to see what looks like an electric plug at the front of the camera. That would be the flash sync. (Yes, it was the standard to use household electric plugs for sync connectors.) Don't confuse it with the A/C line!! :)

Sliding backs were common on studio cameras both for the economy of making two images on one sheet of film and so that the photographer could quickly make two exposures before the kids he was photographing got too restless. Not so useful today. On my Agfa the film backs won't attach directly to the camera, but to the sliding carriage which in turn attaches to the camera. Don't know if that camera works the same way, but if you get it, don't leave any parts behind.

I don't know what aspect of photography attracts you right now, but for me, if I could keep but one large format camera, it would be my 8x10 Agfa Studio 5A. For still life/portraiture you just can't beat it. Absolutely rock-solid. And you can hang just about any kind of interesting lens on it. No, you can't take it backpacking and it's lousy at architecture. But for working inside in a controlled environment, it's the top.

-Will

Diane Maher
23-Apr-2007, 09:23
I'm reaching a bit here, but it's not unusual on the old studio cameras to see what looks like an electric plug at the front of the camera. That would be the flash sync. (Yes, it was the standard to use household electric plugs for sync connectors.) Don't confuse it with the A/C line!! :)

Sliding backs were common on studio cameras both for the economy of making two images on one sheet of film and so that the photographer could quickly make two exposures before the kids he was photographing got too restless. Not so useful today. On my Agfa the film backs won't attach directly to the camera, but to the sliding carriage which in turn attaches to the camera. Don't know if that camera works the same way, but if you get it, don't leave any parts behind.

I don't know what aspect of photography attracts you right now, but for me, if I could keep but one large format camera, it would be my 8x10 Agfa Studio 5A. For still life/portraiture you just can't beat it. Absolutely rock-solid. And you can hang just about any kind of interesting lens on it. No, you can't take it backpacking and it's lousy at architecture. But for working inside in a controlled environment, it's the top.

-Will

Will,
I do a lot of landscape stuff, but I keep signing up for portraiture workshops. I want to learn more about that aspect of photography. As for attaching the backs directly to the camera, I know the 8x10 back will attach directly to it, but the 5x7 I believe is attached to the sliding back.

Jim Noel
23-Apr-2007, 09:52
What a wonderful find.
Access to such great old equipment at reasonable cost is almost unheard of. It reminds me of the portrait studio I used to hang around in the 1930's.
I am extremely envious.
Jim

Diane Maher
26-Apr-2007, 04:59
Erie,
You asked for some pics. Here is one of the whole lot of lenses I picked up yesterday.

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yn88wn&outx=640&quality=70

Diane Maher
26-Apr-2007, 05:33
One more lens to ask about:

6 1/2 x 8 1/2 Crown Anastigmat Series I in a Bausch and Lomb shutter. It was on a horizontal enlarger in this guy's basement. Any idea of coverage on this one?

Thanks again to all who have replied.

Diane

wfwhitaker
26-Apr-2007, 09:02
Hey, that Voigtlander looks nice from here. You know, I might start confusing you for Galli... :)

Can't help you with the Crown. The Lens Vademecum only acknowledges the existance of an anastigmat under the entry for Crown Optical. No details are given.

Diane Maher
26-Apr-2007, 10:36
Hey, that Voigtlander looks nice from here. You know, I might start confusing you for Galli... :)

Can't help you with the Crown. The Lens Vademecum only acknowledges the existance of an anastigmat under the entry for Crown Optical. No details are given.


LOL! :D :D :D

Jim Galli
26-Apr-2007, 13:06
Wow! Awesome haul :D:D !! Wish it were me me me. Especially the big Voigtlander which I DO NOT have. You won't like it. Trading fodder. The Crown is about 99% likely a Wollensak Series 1 convertible. It'll be 10" and will cover 8X10 with marginal movements at f64. It is a 2-2 + 2-2 design similar (unconfirmed...I have to cover my tracks these days) to the Cooke convertible. I really like this lens. The page on my web site about the 13" Conley lens (http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Conley/1114Conley.html) is the 8X10 version of this lens. It's probably a keeper. A lot of glass in there eating up contrast so you have to be selective where you use it. Pics no. 13, 14 & 15 on the Per Volquartz workshop page (http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/EasternSierraWorkshopOct2006/PerVolquartzWSsierras.html) were done with a 10" Series 1 lens exactly like yours.

Diane Maher
26-Apr-2007, 19:59
Wow! There are lenses that Jim Galli doesn't have? :D ;) Sorry, I couldn't resist.

What is the big deal about Dagor lenses?

Ole Tjugen
26-Apr-2007, 22:50
What is the big deal about Dagor lenses?

Beats me...

In its day it was the best compromise between performance and price: The four glass/air surfaces meant relatively low flare for an uncoated lens, and the three elements per cell gave a reasonable degree of correction. Corrections would be better with four elements (e.g. the Protar VII), but the difficulty of aligning and centering four elements makes a huge difference in production costs (read: rejection rate).

Air-spaced elements are easier to align, but have two more surfaces per cell which gives lower contrast.

The Dagor is the "classical" 3+3 lens. Others include the Protar IV (Zeiss Jena only, B&L Protar IV is a different thing), Zeiss Amatar, Schneider Angulon, and numerous others.

Personally I prefer the look of Amatars to Dagors... :)