Is this a desirable lens?

[venchka]

4 Inch f9.5 Goerz Apochromat Artar “Red-Dot” Lens
Lens Mounted In Syncho-Compur Shutter. Shutter Speeds From 1 Second To 1/500th Second And B.

Will it cover 4x5? With movements? I realize the shutter may be difficult/impossible to repair.

At what price does a Red Dot Artar become more desirable?

Thank you!

[Steve Hamley]

Wayne,

IMO, no except that Artars this short are relatively rare and may have some collector's value. They're generally considered to cover about 46 degrees, or have usable image circles about equal to their focal length.

The minimum focal length that Goerz recommended for 8x10 at infinity was 16-1/2", which seems a bit long, but who knows how they determined that spec; distortion, resolution, WAG...

Artars seem to have dropped quite a bit lately, with even 24" lenses selling very reasonably in barrel. The 30" and up lenses have dropped too, but seem to be faring a bit better, because in lenses this long their are few other options. I'd look at completed auctions on eBay since quite a number show up there. Of course, a clean factory mounted lens in a properly working shutter will bring quite a bit more than a barrel lens, especially if it's pretty and has original caps, etc.

There was thread on Artar value for a lady in CA named Kathy probably a 9mo-1yr ago. I bought a 30" RDA in barrel from her.

Cheers, Steve

[Dan Fromm]

Wayne,

As Steve said, a 4" process lens might just be usable as a taking lens at infinity on 2x3 and makes no sense as a taking lens at infinity on 4x5. At 1:1, sure, why not, but at distance no.

I know that some eBay vendors offer these lenses as taking lenses for 4x5, but those characters are crazy fantasists, if not out-and-out frauds.

Cheers,

Dan

[Mark Sampson]

The bad news is... that lens will cover 4x5 close up, not at infinity. You'd want an 8-1/2" Artar for movements at normal shooting distances. (The 12'' version has been a popular long lens for 4x5.) The good news is... Compur shutters are both very reliable and easy to repair.

[venchka]

It's good to have y'all around. I don't know nuttin.

I thought that the Synchro-Compur shutters were suffering from lack of parts.

This lens is listed at Cameta Camera. The quote above is all that they say about the lens. Thay make no claims about coverage. Therefore, I asked my question.

See how much I learned?

Thanks so much! Saved me from myself once again!

[Mark Sawyer]

It should make a very nice close-up/macro lens for 4x5, but the price would have to be pretty reasonable, as there are a lot of other nice cheap close-up lens options, (Eskofots, GR-II's, Ysarons, enlarging lenses...)

[venchka]

$189. I have a 105mm Tominon.

[Mark Sawyer]

My guess (it's just a guess) is that the Artar would out-perform the Tominon, but I'm not sure by how much. People seem to have widely varying opinions of the Tominons, especially those other than 127mm. The question is, do you do much close-up work and are you unhappy with your Tominon? (And is $189 burning a hole in your pocket?)

[venchka]

No. No. Definitely Not.

Grinning.

[John Kasaian]

You may want to look for a 203mm Ektar for your 4x5. They are out there in good shutters for under $200 if you look hard enough. Another fine under appreciated 4x5 lens is the 168mm Wollensak Velostigmat---sharp stopped down and wonderful bokeh wide open.

[venchka]

Thanks John. I'm good right now for longish focal lengths. Actually, unless I sell some under used little format lenses, my large format lens budget is gone. I was just curious about the 4" Artar from a wide angle for 4x5 perspective.

[Kirk Fry]

A nice 90mm angulon will be your target lens. Cheap, covers 4X5.

KFry

[venchka]

All roads seem to lead to 90mm Angulons.