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alex from holland
24-Oct-2009, 08:03
Hi all,

i recently bought a box with some old photography materials.
In cluding thsi lens. I tried to find some info on the internet but thats very limited.
Its a very big lens and to compaire the size i placed a normal 50mm beside it.

Anybody who knows of this lens has any value ?

Thanks

Alex

http://upload.pbase.com/image/118639889/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/alex28/image/118639887/original.jpg

Dan Fromm
24-Oct-2009, 10:27
Yes. Probably a triplet (count reflections, if a triplet 4 strong reflections from the front cell, 2 strong reflections from the rear cell, and no weak reflection(s) from either), probably made, per P-H Pont's chronology, between 1940 and 1945, most likely in '40 or '41.

alex from holland
24-Oct-2009, 10:37
Hi Dan,

Thanks for the reply.
But sorry, but i don't understand te reflection story. What do you mean by that ?

Sorry, but i am from the "digital" age.
I only recently went back from digital to 4 x 5 pinhole and want to give wetplate a try.

alex

Steven Tribe
24-Oct-2009, 11:55
Reflections are the reflections you can see from viewing the front and the rear, alternatively. Use a small penlight a short distance away and you see the reflections from all air/glass/air interfaces.
Value? It is of value for someone with 8x10 format camera with a large lens board. There are many better known alternatives. This is another potential addition to Vade Mecum as they only talk about about the shorter lengths which are F3.5.

ic-racer
24-Oct-2009, 13:40
Are you thinking of selling? I'm looking for a 300-360mm process lens to experiment making some roughly 1:1 8x10 projection prints (its hard to crop contact prints ;)) . I have a lensboard with a 93mm hole. It looks like that lens might fit.

My Rodenstock 300mm does not have a flat field at 1:1.

alex from holland
24-Oct-2009, 13:50
Are you thinking of selling? I'm looking for a 300-360mm process lens to experiment making some roughly 1:1 8x10 projection prints (its hard to crop contact prints ;)) . I have a lensboard with a 93mm hole. It looks like that lens might fit.

My Rodenstock 300mm does not have a flat field at 1:1.

it's a bit bigger than 93 mm.. its aprox 108 to 110 mm
about selling, maybe. I first want to know what i have ;) .

Alex

Dan Fromm
24-Oct-2009, 15:18
ic-racer, it almost certainly isn't a process lens. f/4 is very fast for that application. It is probably a taking lens, made for an 18x24 camera with a roller blind shutter. Until I'm proven wrong, I say it is a triplet. And fast triplets can't be great and won't do what you want. Might be good for portraits, though.

Alex, Berthiot large format lenses in general and long ones in particular are too uncommon to have established values. The only way to find out what your Stellor worth is to offer it for sale on eBay.com. Not eBay.nl, it doesn't have the reach. And then you'll know. Beware of the sharpers who'll offer cash now. This board is infested with them.

ic-racer, which Rodenstock lens are you talking about?

Cheers,

Dan

ic-racer
25-Oct-2009, 06:36
Thanks Dan.

I have the Rodagon 300mm 5.6 (non high mag). Specs recommend 2x minimum (16x20!)
Works OK for 11x14 and 8x10 if stopped down to 16 or 22 but printing times can be long and diffraction seems to degrade image in side-by-side comparison to contacts.

The 'problem' is that at low mag, the field is no longer flat, so grain focus on the 4 edges falls on a different plane than the center. Focusisng with the enlarger head up and down and splitting the difference (like focusing a view camera) is a pretty good work-around to optimize the focal plane. Contacts are just so good, though that its tough to compete :)

I have a spare Valpa lensbaord so I thought I'd like to throw a cheap process lens on there for kicks and see what happens.

Dan Fromm
25-Oct-2009, 07:17
ic-racer, have you considered looking for a Staeble process lens? Intergon, Super-Intergon, Ultragon, Helioprint, ... I ask because some users like 'em and because as process lenses go they're usually quite inexpensive.

Also, have you pondered the comments that Bob Salomon often makes to the effect that the process lenses he markets are made to be used at f/22 and don't give best edge sharpness at larger apertures? He's probably right. A practical implication for you is to use a process lens longer than 300 mm for printing 8x10 negs at 1:1.

Good luck, have fun,

Dan

Dave Dawson
25-Oct-2009, 13:40
Hi, The words cheap, 360mm, and Rodenstock don't go together well in the same sentance:D


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/91705-Rodenstock-Apo-Ronar-9-360mm-14in_W0QQitemZ280406248795QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDE_Elektronik_Computer_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive_PM?hash=item414983cd5b

Cheers Dave

Louis Pacilla
13-Jul-2013, 12:39
Hi Dan,

Thanks for the reply.
But sorry, but i don't understand te reflection story. What do you mean by that ?

Sorry, but i am from the "digital" age.
I only recently went back from digital to 4 x 5 pinhole and want to give wetplate a try.

alex

Hey I find this funny. How quickly things can change. We all know Alex as one of the most active wet plate shooters around.

Dan Fromm
13-Jul-2013, 14:57
Since this thread has been resurrected, I can correct one of my mistakes. I speculated that the f/4 Berthiot Stellor was a triplet, was wrong.

The cross-section shown here http://www.collection-appareils.fr/accesnotices/html/lire_repertoire?repert=som_berthiot&marque=Som%20berthiot&modele=Catalogue&PHPSESSID=333965b3c0b5e4652c9d3802b532215d for the Stellor Serie Ia has a sort of a tessar front cell (biconvex and biconcave singlets in front of the diaphragm) and a pair of meniscii concave to the diaphragm at the rear. Four elements in four groups. 315 and 360s are f/4, shorter ones are f/3.5. The 360 is claimed to cover 8x10 wide open.