Question on lenses - Boyer, Darlot, Goerz, Zeiss, Voigtlander

[anton orlov]

Hi there,

I recently bought a few lenses and am trying to figure some stuff out, which made me turn to this forum after a while of being absent from the scene.

My questions are as follows for all the lenses listed:

• What is the circle of coverage?
• Is it worth shooting with?
• What is the approximate $ value? (wonder if I overpaid...)

Lens List:

1) Boyer 360mm F10 Apo Saphir
2) Boyer 150mm F4.5 Saphir
3) Carl Zeiss 80mm Planar in Graflex Synchro-Compur shutter
4) Goerz 1.5in (EFL 38.55mm) f4.5 Aerogor in Synchro-Compur shutter
5) Darlot pillbox meniscus (brass with 3 water-stop plates still in it and the lens is really much better looking than any I saw online)
6) Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 21cm f4.5
7) Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 24cm f4.5
8) Voigtlander & John in Wien und Braunschweig - this one is brass and has no other markings on it, missing the focusing crank, front element 2in and the whole thing is just over 4in in length

Any feedback on the questions above is appreciated :)

[goamules]

You've bought them, now you're going to have to do some of the work researching them. Each and every one will have information all over the internet and this forum. These are very broad questions that will take someone a lot of work to answer.

What did you pay for each? Are you going to shoot them? Or are you just looking for someone to fill in all the information so you can write your Ebay ads?

[Steven Tribe]

1) Boyer 360mm F10 Apo Saphir
2) Boyer 150mm F4.5 Saphir

Boyer has a good reputation and images have have shown here. Someone who has them will reply.

3) Carl Zeiss 80mm Planar in Graflex Synchro-Compur shutter

Is this a brass lens or the modern Planar?

4) Goerz 1.5in (EFL 38.55mm) f4.5 Aerogor in Synchro-Compur shutter.

Not my turf.

5) Darlot pillbox meniscus (brass with 3 water-stop plates still in it and the lens is really much better looking than any I saw online)

These are lovely - especialy if it has the original brass cap. Focal length is ?
These are perfect subsititute for missing 1840's Chevalier lenses on sliding box cameras!

6) Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 21cm f4.5
7) Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 24cm f4.5

Plenty of info at cameraeccentric.

8) Voigtlander & John in Wien und Braunschweig - this one is brass and has no other markings on it, missing the focusing crank, front element 2in and the whole thing is just over 4in in length.

Likely small petzval from after Voigtländer stared at Braunschweig. Little info on these. "Zweizoller" is the smallest size and has a focal length of about 6.5".
Used for Carte de Visite type sizes - up to 3 1/4 x 4 1/4" or as Voigtländer says " CdV, heads and children".

Others will add.
Prices are best found on completed listings on E*ay.
I share Garrett's opinion unless you got these as a job lot outside of an auction listing.

[imagedowser]

360 Boyer def covers 8x10 maybe 11x14 doesn't cover my 8x20 which is what I hoped for...

[Dan Fromm]

According to CEDIS-Boyer's fiches techniques, the 150/4.5 Saphir covers 58 degrees, 169 mm at infinity. The 360/10 Apo-Saphir covers 48 degrees, 320 mm at infinity.

Is either worth shooting with?

I have a 150/4.5 Sapir, I've tried it out and it is ok. I don't use it because it is in barrel and I don't have an adapter to front mount it and have other 150s that are better than ok. Some 150/4.5 Saphirs in barrel have cells that will go into a #1, others don't. Mine doesn't.

I have a 360/10 Apo-Saphir, use it. IMO a 360/9 Apo Nikkor would be a little better at apertures larger than f/16, but I don't have one and don't think the gain would be worth the cost of replacing my 360 Apo Saphir.

Steven, the Graflex XL 80/2.8 Planar is the modern one. Good lens, I believe, but I've never shot mine.

[David Lindquist]

Goerz 1.5in (EFL 38.55mm) f4.5 Aerogor in Synchro-Compur shutter: This is the Zeiss Biogon made by C.P. Goerz American Optical Co. under license. It was intended for aerial reconnaissance work using 2 1/2" X 2 1/2" film. It was also (during the 1960's) only intended for use by the U.S. military. Though I'd say that if the Soviets wanted one back then they'd only have had to go out and buy a Hasselblad Super Wide C. :-)
David

[anton orlov]

Thanks for the replies folks. I did find some info on here after I posted about a couple of them, but not all of them (especially the Voigtlander...) Plus, I shoot Rolleiflex mostly and even though I have shot LF before it's nice to know that there is a resource like this for basically beginners like me.

Zeiss Planar is indeed modern-looking and I wonder if it'll be good for 4x5 or will it not cover?

Darlot does have the original lens cap - I found a site that said that most of them have the original stops lost except for the one that was left in use - mine has three stacked in there, so I think I lucked out there (didn't even realize they were in there until I went to clean the glass and pulled out the element)

Boyer lenses - I have seen some image samples and they look pretty nice, but, yes they are barrel, so I am wondering if I should go back to the store and try to figure out if I can put one of the many many old wooden focal plane shutters behind it - also, would that obscure the light? Man, I'm pretty lost...

I am going to try to put that Goerz on my 4x5 one of these days - I understand it won't cover at infinity, but maybe I can get some cool effects while doing macro with it?

I am not looking to sell them (unless I really become strapped for cash), I think I'll sell one of my extra Rolleis before selling these. Plus I'm really looking forward to getting into wet-plate processes, so it'll be nice to shoot with some brass lenses. I wonder if the Voigtlander might cover 8x10... doesn't look big enough to me though and I don't have any stops to go with it... plus it is missing the focusing crank, so maybe that one might go up for sale, since I don't know if I want to tinker with it.

Cheers,
Anton

[Dan Fromm]

80/2.8 Planar cover 4x5? No. It might stretch to 2x3, but that's it. The lens was designed to cover 6x6.

The 38/4.5 Biogon covers 84 mm with decent image quality. Beyond 86 mm there's just darkness. No image at all, just dark. It is ok close up, there are better lenses for macro on 4x5.

The two Boyer lenses will cover 4x5 if mounted close in front of a #1. I wouldn't bother doing that with the 150, you should be able to get a decent 150 in shutter for less than the cost of an adapter. The 360 is worth using that way. Some 360 Apo Saphirs' cells are direct fits in a #1, take a look at yours. Mine's cells aren't.

[anton orlov]

Thanks Dan,

As I am going to be hopefully getting deeper into LF I guess I might want to sell some of those like the Goerz and the 150 Boyer... That will help me get some wet-plate gear. Too bad about the Zeiss 80 not being a WA - I guess it would be called a Biogon if it was, right? I have a soft spot for Planars because all my Rolleis have them and I absolutely love the images they yield (you should see some of the 30x30in silver prints I pulled from ISO 100 and below!). I doubt I'll be getting a 2 1/4 view camera though, so what else can I do with that Planar?...