The most incredible lens I've ever seen!

[ebayecellar@gmail.com]

Thanks for looking.
I have this lens from an estate sale that I need to identify.
The person who owned it was a JPL employee and may have picked it up from there.
I've posted a youtube video here:

http://youtu.be/glpI6J00Uqc

This lens is simply HUGH! Weight is 11lbs. and looks to be some type of process lens. However, projecting an image and measuring the distance from the image to approx center of the lens, the focal length is approx 9 inches, 222mm or about. The image circle appears to be about 11 inches. The lens max f stop is 5.6. Most process lenses are f8 or slower. This lens does have a ring that moves from an undefined point to a 1:1 mark. So maybe it's a copy lens of some type.
So if you can, watch the video, and let me know what you think.
Thank you,
Ecellar

[Dan Fromm]

It is from a copier. Pretty useless. I've always thought these things were made by Schneider, could be badly mistaken since I have no evidence to support the belief.

[cdholden]

I've always thought these things were made by Schneider, could be badly mistaken since I have no evidence to support the belief.

"Made in Germany" has to count for something. Granted, it isn't the only lens to come out of there, but at least it rules out a few others by process of elimination.

[TheDeardorffGuy]

Your lens called Hugh is from a high end copier. It most likely will not focus at infinity. American Scientific strips these and motors from dead copiers. When they have them they retail up to 10.00 http://www.sciplus.com
Heres another place that has these http://www.surplusshed.com/

[Douglas Henderson]

I have a lens very much like this, picked up from a Shuttterbug ad back in the 90's. Indeed, it is heavy. I estimated the focal length as around 210mm. My father-in-law mounted it to a lensboard and I experimented with using it as a 5x7 enlarger lens on an ancient Beseler enlarger (jerry-rigged with a cold light) that looked more like a big drill press.

It couldn't project a sharp resolution of the edges of 5x7 negatives. So as nice as the glass looked, it wasn't useful for 5x7. But as a 4x5 enlarger lens, yes, it would work fine--if your ceiling is high enough.

[Louis Pacilla]

"The most incredible lens I've ever seen"


You may be surprised to learn that your lens is about average in size & weight for some photographers .After all, there are no small 18" f4 Petzvals.:)

Sadly for you though size & weight do not always go hand in hand with the value of a lens. I may be wrong but I DON"T believe this to be a big money lens. Mostly because it's not collectible & has little practical use for making images. That said it should attract some interest from optic nut's if you put it on eBay with no reserve & let them figure out the value.

[Asher Kelman]

Thanks for looking.
I have this lens from an estate sale that I need to identify.
The person who owned it was a JPL employee and may have picked it up from there.
I've posted a youtube video here:

http://youtu.be/glpI6J00Uqc

This lens is simply HUGH! Weight is 11lbs. and looks to be some type of process lens. However, projecting an image and measuring the distance from the image to approx center of the lens, the focal length is approx 9 inches, 222mm or about. The image circle appears to be about 11 inches. The lens max f stop is 5.6. Most process lenses are f8 or slower. This lens does have a ring that moves from an undefined point to a 1:1 mark. So maybe it's a copy lens of some type.
So if you can, watch the video, and let me know what you think.
Thank you,
Ecellar
Some process lenses seem much heavier than others. I have Carl Zeiss Jena 375 mm f 9.0 Apo Germinar which weighs 4.5 lb, twice the weight of a 450 f 9 APO Germinar. It also has extra rings. One for lp/mm and the other has a clutch mechanism, (which I think is related to planned use at a particular magnification ratios), with the scale in percent.

Being heavy can come from 3 explanations: heavier glass from using heavy metals in the glass chosen, larger lens because of the larger aperture and use of extra lens elements in the design. So, although this lens mystery is f5.6, already, a justification fro extra weight, it is still overweight. How does one explain the control ring settings? Perhaps there's an extra lens element. I wonder whether adjusting this ring optimizes lens spacing slightly for specific magnifications copying drawings/plans.

The fact that the lens seems to be designed for actually using 5.6 to 8.0 must mean that they only need ~ 0.5-1" of DOF, enough for a circuit board without needing a lot of extra lighting.

The respected Red Dot Artars at this focal length are common and so inexpensive, a 12" f 9.0 being just ~ $300 or less. The extra light capturing of this mystery lens in offset by the huge impractical weight, for most purposes. Still, if this lens is made for super resolution, infrared or UV, it might be interesting.

Asher

[Corran]

Neat. I'd bid on it to mess around with...

[TheDeardorffGuy]

"How does one explain the control ring settings? Perhaps there's an extra lens element. I wonder whether adjusting this ring optimizes lens spacing slightly for specific magnifications copying drawings/plans"

In a former life I was a optical tech. Its a zoom lens for 1:1 and reducing. Or maybe enlarging. In my first post, surplus these bring maybe 10.00 and with some respacing are used by hobbiest for home made spotting scopes, Solar furnaces, Wide field telescopes. They can be used as an zoom enlarger lens.





Some process lenses seem much heavier than others. I have Carl Zeiss Jena 375 mm f 9.0 Apo Germinar which weighs 4.5 lb, twice the weight of a 450 f 9 APO Germinar. It also has extra rings. One for lp/mm and the other has a clutch mechanism, (which I think is related to planned use at a particular magnification ratios), with the scale in percent.

Being heavy can come from 3 explanations: heavier glass from using heavy metals in the glass chosen, larger lens because of the larger aperture and use of extra lens elements in the design. So, although this lens mystery is f5.6, already, a justification fro extra weight, it is still overweight. How does one explain the control ring settings? Perhaps there's an extra lens element. I wonder whether adjusting this ring optimizes lens spacing slightly for specific magnifications copying drawings/plans.

The fact that the lens seems to be designed for actually using 5.6 to 8.0 must mean that they only need ~ 0.5-1" of DOF, enough for a circuit board without needing a lot of extra lighting.

The respected Red Dot Artars at this focal length are common and so inexpensive, a 12" f 9.0 being just ~ $300 or less. The extra light capturing of this mystery lens in offset by the huge impractical weight, for most purposes. Still, if this lens is made for super resolution, infrared or UV, it might be interesting.

Asher

[photobymike]

Cool.... looks like a process camera lens....

[Mark Sawyer]

Sorry, but if this is "the most incredible lens" you've ever seen, you just haven't seen many lenses. (*yawn*) :)

[jayabbas]

I have this same lens and indeed it is made by Schneider as it was purchased by me new in the box at Aero Salvage here in Phoenix some 20 years ago. Paid 12.00 I too thought it to be some sort of copy lens.

[Asher Kelman]

I have this same lens and indeed it is made by Schneider as it was purchased by me new in the box at Aero Salvage here in Phoenix some 20 years ago. Paid 12.00 I too thought it to be some sort of copy lens.


What on earth did you buy it for!

So what did you use it for, Jay? Did you get any pictures?

Asher

[ebayecellar@gmail.com]

Mark,
Do you get your JOLLIES belittling other people?
If so, everybody already knows it.
If not, why waste your time?
Good day,
Ecellar

[goamules]

No, Mark makes his living helping others learn to take photographs. Everybody knows he's very helpful and patient. But we're not patient with hyperbole that is intended to spin up a sale.

[jayabbas]

What on earth did you buy it for!

So what did you use it for, Jay? Did you get any pictures?

Asher

Well I saw that blue & white box ,opened it up and saw that lens and the mind went somewhere else( 20 years ago I would buy almost anything new and shiny in boxes). I actually have a lensboard for my Norma that fit the lens. It made great show-n-tell at my sons grade school -- big camera + big lens + big tripod + upside down image = lots of kids with open mouths and wide staring eyes. I also made copies of a poster my daughter dreamed up for a school dance we were hired to photograph. It also makes a good technical prop in self promo shots.

[Asher Kelman]

Mark,
Do you get your JOLLIES belittling other people?
If so, everybody already knows it.
If not, why waste your time?
Good day,
Ecellar

First, I don't know your name. I honestly believe that unless you are already known by your photography, real name is a must, especially if you're announcing one of the most unusual lens on the planet! Here, a lot of folk with "handles" have exchanged pictures and even been on shoots with many others here. So more often than not, people know who is standing behind their mask and who will stand behind a lens that they sell here.

I took your offer seriously as I'm on the look out for new lenses for my work. However, it turns out that your lens is not anything very special, unless you can demonstrate that it works for all wavelengths to include UV and IR and/has a fabulous MTF and coating. However, there's no evidence of anything except hype.

Important aspects of photography include openness to new experience and exclusion of whatever is not needed for the shot. So at first you were given the opportunity to present your lens, but then, once it appeared to have no imaginable relevance to all sorts of work done here, your lens has no value and your hyperbole was deflated.

Photographers have to be brutal or else they would buy everything shiny that's offered and not be able to throw away pictures that don't work. No one wants to be rude, it's just that no one wants air blown up their arse either!

Asher

[Mark Sawyer]

Sorry, Stokely, but as the first line on the forum's home page states, this is a "Non-commercial community of large format photographers". You're a professional commercial dealer over-hyping a product on your first post, the equivalent of a telemarketer calling at dinner time.

This is generally considered "bad form".