Apo-Ronar 485mm Lens

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I recently and very impulsively purchased a 485mm f/9 Rodenstock Apo- Ronar lens, single-coated in barrel. I knew when I bought it that it is a proces s lens very similar to the Apo-Artar, with a narrow angle of coverage. After purchasing, I did a few web searches, and only found reference to the 480mm Apo-Ronar, but nothing to the 485mm. It appears to be a fairly recent lens -- being marked as 'made in Germany'-- but there is no referece to it on Rodenstock's web page. Serial number is just short of 10,000,000.

Also, I notice that there are two markings for the apeture, one is standard f/ stop from f/9-260, and the other appears to be in mm, 2-50mm. There is also a small lever which appears to open a narrow slot between the elements, which I assume is for waterhouse type stops.

If anyone can tell me about the 485mm lens, I would appreciate it. I have read through comments on the 480mm, but am unclear if this is the same lens. Thanks in advance.

[Pete Andrews]

485 mm is 19", near enough, and 19" was a fairly commonly used focal length for process lenses. It's likely that this lens started out with the British or US market in mind.I wouldn't worry about the odd 5 mm difference in the focal length marking anyway, it's only a nominal figure. Most process lenses were measured for their true focal length to at least the nearest 0.1 mm, and were often supplied with a calibration certificate giving this figure. If you're lucky, someone will have engraved (read scratched) the true focal length on the mount or mounting ring somewhere.

Aperture markings in millimetres, and the auxiliary aperture slot are common features on a lot of process lenses. The slot was to take square or diamond-shaped apertures, which give better definition to the halftone dots created by screening.The Apo-Ronar has a coverage angle of about 48 degrees, which will give you an image circle diameter of 430 mm at infinity with this lens.

[Bob Salomon]

1978-79

"It appears to be a fairly recent lens -- being marked as 'made in Germany'-- but there is no referece to it on Rodenstock's web page. Serial number is just short of 10,000,000. "

Not that recent

[Ed Balko]

I have one of these myself. I fitted it to my Calumet C400 using a ca. 7" extension tube and am able to get a reasonable amount of rise and slide with this mounting. The lens certainly is sharp and I'm quite pleased with it. I recently used the Ronar to take some photographs of Manhattan from across the Hudson River, a distance a bit over a mile I'm guessing. In 16x20 prints it's possible to read the lettering on highway signs with use of a magnifying glass.

I found a front shutter (leaf blades, not a Packard) that screws directly into the 65mm threads on the front of the lens. The shutter front is steel so I've been able to hold gel filters over the shutter opening with refrigerator magnets. Not a terribly elegant arrangement but it does work.

[Pete Chipman]

Can you mount this on a 4X4 lensboard? Someone told me that I could, but it sounds a bit too big to do that. What's the diameter of the barrel?

Pete.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Pete--I am having Mr. Grimes mount the barrel on a Canham board (110x110mm or about 4 5/16"), and since the price is reasonable ($15) I can only assume that there is no problem and that the lens fits nicely. Email me off list in a week or so, when the lens is in hand, and I can give you more details.

[Pete Chipman]

Thanks, Jason.

I just picked up a APO-Ronar 480mm lens. So I'll probably be talking to Mr. Grimes soon. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Pete.

[Bob Salomon]

"It appears to be a fairly recent lens -- being marked as 'made in Germany'-- but there is no referece to it on Rodenstock's web page. Serial number is just short of 10,000,000. "

1979