Jack Dahlgren
21-Oct-2009, 22:39
Just picked up a 135mm Symmar-S to replace the Paragon Anastigmat that came in my old Speed Graphic. I've been wanting to replace that lens for about 25 years but never got around to it until now. I checked the serial number of my new lens against Schneider's list of serial numbers and found that the lens was new in the mid-80's.
But then I looked at the progression of serial numbers by year and thought it would be a simple matter to chart the number of serial numbers issued per year. Here are the results:
http://Zo-d.com/stuff/images/schneider_lens_production_per_day_based_on_serial_number.png
The general curve (increase, then decline) is what I'd expect, but the amplitude is higher than I imagined. Schneider was a giant.
Anyway, I thought this may be an interesting historical footnote and I expect it would be similar for any other company which produces medium/large format lenses, though the Asian producers probably start and peak later due to their 35mm format lenses.
But then I looked at the progression of serial numbers by year and thought it would be a simple matter to chart the number of serial numbers issued per year. Here are the results:
http://Zo-d.com/stuff/images/schneider_lens_production_per_day_based_on_serial_number.png
The general curve (increase, then decline) is what I'd expect, but the amplitude is higher than I imagined. Schneider was a giant.
Anyway, I thought this may be an interesting historical footnote and I expect it would be similar for any other company which produces medium/large format lenses, though the Asian producers probably start and peak later due to their 35mm format lenses.