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View Full Version : Is it a good lens? Officine Galileo Tergon 15cm F6.3



pierre506
28-Aug-2012, 00:48
Just found the lens.
However I could not find any information 'bout it.
There are the pix of it.79592795937959479595

pierre506
28-Aug-2012, 00:55
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One more pic of the lens.

pierre506
28-Aug-2012, 17:49
No one knows?

Jody_S
29-Aug-2012, 07:49
Military? Off an aerial camera? I've been trying to buy a Condor camera for a couple of years, just none at the right price, so I haven't had the chance to use one of their lenses and can't comment on quality.

Dan Dozer
29-Aug-2012, 07:54
According to Vada Mecum:

"Galileo, (Officine Galileo), Milan, Italy.
This seems to be a trade name replacing Koristika, qv.
The earliest use of the Galileo name seems to be pre-war, on Koristka items, and the name seems to have been adopted for all the products after WW2. They supplied numerous items for other camera makers, such as Condors and Ferrania's make and were exported regularly to the UK in the 1950's, and are seen from time to time at sales."


They appear to have made a number of different types of lenses, but the Tergon is not listed in the write up. They do list a Terog and a Tesog. They seem to be for Italian made cameras from the 50's.

Sevo
29-Aug-2012, 08:01
They were a reputable maker, and a successor is still in the optoelectronics business. Like the entire Italian optics industry, they pulled out of consumer products by the sixties.

By period and speed, and a press camera style focusing mount, I'd expect it to be a Tessar copy, but only you will be able to verify that...

pierre506
29-Aug-2012, 18:33
Thank you, Jody, Dan & Sevo,
I believe that the lens is for photogrammetry camera according to my research.
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pierre506
29-Aug-2012, 18:34
It's on the way to me.
I will check the lens structure and show more pix of it.

Dan Fromm
29-Aug-2012, 18:40
Thank you, Jody, Dan & Sevo,
I believe that the lens is for photogrammetry camera according to my research.


Possible, improbable. The material you posted seems irrelevant.

What is the lens mounted on?

pierre506
29-Aug-2012, 19:18
Possible, improbable. The material you posted seems irrelevant.

What is the lens mounted on?

No, it's certainly relevant.

I'm almost 99.99% sure about it.

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Jim Andrada
29-Aug-2012, 22:53
As I recall, "Officine" (Plural of Officina) is Italian for a workshop/smallish factory - maybe something on the scale of a car repair business or a blacksmithing establishment or someplace where business is run by a master craftsman plus assistants.

Sevo
29-Aug-2012, 23:47
No, it's certainly relevant.

I'm almost 99.99% sure about it.



These cameras were their last non-military, non-industrial product, made at least into the eighties, about 20-30 years after they made their last consumer camera lens. They were not that rare, the reference standard among archaeologists, widely used to document excavations - I would not be surprised if some were still in use, as there is no full substitute in digital.

OG may have started as a workshop in the 19th century, but by the mid 20th century they had grown into one of the biggest Italian optics makers.

cyberjunkie
30-Aug-2012, 00:32
Yes, "officina" has the meaning of the spanish word "tailler", if i remember correctly.
That's the common use of the word.
In this case, the plural is used, suggesting a broader meaning, of an industrial dimension, or even of a context of production of ideas/projects.
In fact, Officine Galileo (or "Galileo" alone) is the successor of Koritska, the biggest italian optical producer, active at the time Zeiss started the production of their famous anastigmats.
Most of the informations are available in the Vademecum.
Unfortunately a great part of Officine Galileo production was for militar and industrial applications, while pre-war Koristka production was very interesting, and in some cases very desiderable even by current standards (for example the "Ars" - latin for art - line of soft-focus lenses).
I don't think there are many informations, printed or online, about Galileo's production.

I own a few projection lenses which are of very high optical and mechanical quality. One of them is a f/1.2 "cannon", probably made for 35mm or 70mm movie projection.

cheers

pierre506
30-Aug-2012, 07:22
They were a reputable maker, and a successor is still in the optoelectronics business. Like the entire Italian optics industry, they pulled out of consumer products by the sixties.

By period and speed, and a press camera style focusing mount, I'd expect it to be a Tessar copy, but only you will be able to verify that...

Dear Sevo,
I got the lens this afternoon.
I thought that it might the a Tessar copy as you said. It might be changed a little according to my observation.
There are the pix.
7970779708

Dan Fromm
30-Aug-2012, 07:47
That a 150 mm tessar type, even an f/6.3er, will cover 5x7 at all, let alone with low distortion (that's what makes a lens photogrammetric) is a large surprise.

pierre506, thanks for showing us the camera.

cyberjunkie
18-Oct-2012, 07:26
A quick update to this thread:

It has little to do with the particular lens the OP purchased, but it could satisfy the curiosity of anybody looking for informations about the "Officine Galileo" brand.
AFAIK the company is still active, and makes optical components for ESA (European Space Agency).
It is a true pity that most post-WWII products were not made for photographic use.

The very big (and very fast) projection lens i have at home is of great mechanical quality.
I would like to test its optical performance as taking lens, but it's one of those beasts that need something more than an universal lens holder, to be affixed to a lensboard :(
I think it was originally made for a 35mm movie projector. I used it with a custom-made aluminium sleeve, which allowed to focus the lens with a Rollei P11 projector.
The P11 is gone, and the lens is sitting in a cupboard inside its box, close to its smaller Petzval siblings (Galileo and Koritska brand).

It is sad to see that the italian optical industry was still capable of making advanced products, after the distructions of the war. Though any optic must fit some kind of device... advanced photographic objectives need advanced cameras, made in large numbers. After the demise of the Rectaflex, all was left were a couple of large format brands with very limited export sales, and 35mm and MF cameras of cheap quality (and/or limited production).
Not enough to sustain a domestic production of high quality taking lenses.
More successful was the production of darkroom equipments and studio lights, in fact many early Durst and IFF enlargers are found with Galileo enlarging lenses... until Durst turned to japanese and german glasses :(

For those interested, more informations can be found on web pages in italian language. Google Translator isn't so bad at translating italian text, the result could even make some sense :)

Dan Fromm
18-Oct-2012, 08:03
Cyberjunkie wrote:


It is sad to see that the italian optical industry was still capable of making advanced products, after the distructions of the war. Though any optic must fit some kind of device... advanced photographic objectives need advanced cameras, made in large numbers. After the demise of the Rectaflex, all was left were a couple of large format brands with very limited export sales, and 35mm and MF cameras of cheap quality (and/or limited production).
Not enough to sustain a domestic production of high quality taking lenses.

Interesting. Funny that Angenieux, TTH (now Cooke), and Zeiss still survive in spite of a lack of camera makers in their respective home countries.

pierre506
18-Oct-2012, 08:13
Dear CJ,
Thank for the more information.
I used to think to try the lens or the camera before I got it.
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1, I used to think that I could try the 5X7 negative film fot it. However, it just eats the single sheet film holder which I don't have.
2, I also to think that I could move the lens to my Sinar 5X7 gear to try the Wet Plate. However, the lens' shutter,SYNCHRO-COMPUR, works badly. It can not be opened for a long time( no B & T). All speeds is at a same speed and sticky a little.
:mad:
Crying~

pierre506
25-Jan-2013, 04:36
Thank for the guys entered, especially Dan, Sevo, CJ, Jim, etc.
Just repaired the shutter.
Kodak 2402 Plus-X
8X10
Aperture: F18
Exposure time: 12s
D76 1:1
Developing time: 8m 15s
87962