Where to look for information on LF (mainly) lenses

https://1drv.ms/b/s!AggQfcczvHGNgqBn...h4MgA?e=GZYk6h is an annotated list of links to articles, manufacturers’ catalog, and other sources of information on lenses and a few cameras, mainly large format. It has links to sources of information on 35 mm and roll film cameras too, but its focus is large format.

Like all such lists it is incomplete. I know this so maintain it. As I come across sources that I think are of interest I add them to the list. If you have a source you’d like me to add, please ask.

The list is stored on my OneDrive. It is not archived. I may eventually post a copy of it on archive.org, which won’t archive files on OneDrive.

Microsoft has changed the link once so far, may do it again. When I become aware that this has happened I’ll update this post. If the link above doesn’t work for you, please complain.

I just (11/7/2017) clicked on the link. Something has changed in Firefox, the browser I use. If you don't see a set of bookmarks at the left of the pdf -- it should show them when it is opened -- tell your browser to download it and open it with adobe acrobat reader. This will get the bookmarks, which are the list's index. If you use MS Edge, you'll also have to download the pdf to use the index.

Thanks Dan!

Thank you so much Dan, especially for saving the cameraeccentric archive of catalogues. Anyone with an interest in industrial history regarding photographic lenses (like me) owes you big time.
David

David, I'm glad to provide a link to the cameraeccentric catalog collection but I can't take credit for saving it on archive.org. Several other people did that long before the thought crossed my mind.

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

David, I'm glad to provide a link to the cameraeccentric catalog collection but I can't take credit for saving it on archive.org. Several other people did that long before the thought crossed my mind.

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In any case thank you for making it readily available to me!
David

Updated 5/28/2017 to include links to information on shutter repair. This was prompted by Charles Monday's posting a number or repair manuals on his Google Drive. My list has links to the manuals he posted, also to Graphic press and Graphic SLR user manuals that he posted recently. Thanks, Charles, for doing the work and giving me the idea.

I'm having a problem with OneDrive, have to get a new link to the list every time I update it. Check the first post in this discussion for the current link.

Thank you, Dan, very much appreciated :)

I've updated the list a bit. The most important update is probably a link to my piece on center filters, which includes a table mapping lenses by names and attributes to recommended CF(s) and suggests CFs for lenses whose makers said nothing about them.

Very good pages! Thank you Dan

Yes, all of the hard work that you have put forth in not only assembling...
But, also 'maintaining' this valuable, reference listing -- Is truly, greatly appreciated!

Thank-you Dan! :)
Regards,

-Tim.
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Article on Ilex lenses added.

Thank you very much for this very informative and rigorous treatment of Ilex.
David

DAN!! The description of the Lens Vade Mecum alone was worth the price of admission. My money back in full. Love it.

David, Jim, thanks for the kind words.

David, I wrote the Ilex piece because I was housebound for the first half of the year -- kitchen renovation project gone very badly wrong -- and was bored.

Jim, I know you're infatuated with the VM.

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

David, Jim, thanks for the kind words.

David, I wrote the Ilex piece because I was housebound for the first half of the year -- kitchen renovation project gone very badly wrong -- and was bored.

Jim, I know you're infatuated with the VM.

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Say Dan, why don't you add on a new room next. Then during that project you could do a similar piece on C.P. Goerz Am. Opt. Co./Goerz Optical Co., Inc. It could have a complete and rational list of serial numbers with years of production, the "real" story of the origins of the "Golden Dagor" and a bit on Schneider's reasons for buying the company in the early 70's. (Somehow I doubt that it was because they felt Dagor sales were eating in to their Symmar sales.) I feel sure the company records are somewhere in a storage unit in Hoboken...
David

David, if you want to read it, write it.

Cheers,

Dan

Very useful. Thank you for the hard work Dan Fromm

I'm tired of directing people to books. Too much typing. The books I recommend for closeup/photomacrography and that are generally recommended for LF photography are now in the list. No links, none is available as a free e-book.

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

I'm tired of directing people to books. Too much typing. The books I recommend for closeup/photomacrography and that are generally recommended for LF photography are now in the list. No links, none is available as a free e-book.

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Dan, you are a legend! (Yes, yes, Jim: You, too :) ... and QT: LFphoto.info is THE nicest forum out there! I always enjoy logging on, or just looking in, thank you all for making this forum what it is!!!)

Link to information on Berthiot catalogs revised. I replaced the links to on-line catalog with links to an article on Berthiot's LF anastigmats. It has links to all of the on-line Berthiot catalogs I'm aware of.

Thank you

Many thanks! I fell into the Fujinon rabbit hole ;) Now I can ID lenses for sale. In addition, I found that I like some of the front barrel designs with moderate filter size, but a physical design that somewhat shades and protects the front element. Back to shopping!

I’ve tried to bundle the lens info on largeformatphotography.info into a searchable and filterable list and joined that together with my representation of the ANI film holder specs here:

https://lf.animaux.de

Other resources might follow ;D

Interesting. Like all such lists, it seems incomplete.

If you want to improve it, try adding actual maker of rebadged lenses.

incredible work Dan, thank you!

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

Interesting. Like all such lists, it seems incomplete.

If you want to improve it, try adding actual maker of rebadged lenses.

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Such a list can never be complete. However a lot of stuff has been added in recent months —> https://lf.animaux.de

I’m happy to add stuff if you provide a source.

Alex

A very handy list of lists Dan! I sure value your work put into it.

Hi folks ! Thanks a lot for this thread and for the links given here. On the other hand I still wonder why it is so hard so find technical informations (coverage mainly) about american large format lenses. I own and use a few of them and I think that they deserve to be better known. Dann, is there a place on the Internet dedicated to the american lenses with specs and a bit of history ?

Dan,

I missed this great source when I was moving 2 years ago.

Good work Dan.

Very hard for me to read the green watermark, which I think says 'Uploaded June 2019'

I down loaded it. Acrobat DC is more useful than PS.

Thank you!

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Originally Posted by Laurent L

Hi folks ! Thanks a lot for this thread and for the links given here. On the other hand I still wonder why it is so hard so find technical informations (coverage mainly) about american large format lenses. I own and use a few of them and I think that they deserve to be better known. Dann, is there a place on the Internet dedicated to the american lenses with specs and a bit of history ?

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Laurent, there's no single source. If you write one (bilingual, of course, with a French and an English version), I'm sure that Henry Peyre will be happy to put it on galerie-photo.com.

Hint: I've written the definitive, until someone does the job better, source on Ilex lenses. A link to it is in the list, as are links to Brian Wallen's site on Kodak lenses and links to Wollensak and B&L catalogs. There are also links to catalogs of other less well-known unitedstatesian lens makers' catalogs. You could start with them.

Tin Can, the watermark says "Updated June 11 2019." Sorry, I can't choose the color.

Thanks for your work Dann ! yeah I do understand that the informations sources are scattered all over the Internet and that gathering them would take a life time of two... The definitive large format lenses "bible" is something yet to be... However, I'll try to gather as much lenses specs as I can to submit them to the website "animaux.de"

This is interesting!

https://animaux.de/blog/technik/bitm...arzweiss-alle/

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Originally Posted by Laurent L

Thanks for your work Dann ! yeah I do understand that the informations sources are scattered all over the Internet and that gathering them would take a life time of two... The definitive large format lenses "bible" is something yet to be... However, I'll try to gather as much lenses specs as I can to submit them to the website "animaux.de"

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Laurent, if you want to read it, write it. You might urge Bernard Sulmon, who posts on galerie-photo.info as Photo-collector, to make one. Based on his prior work, the result will be incomplete, will be posted ,on cjoint.com and will disappear a day or two after being posted.

I've looked at https://lf.animaux.de/lenses, but not critically. People who like that sort of thing will like it. I think the effort put into it could have been better used writing catalogues raisonnes by maker, as Eric Beltrando and I did for Boyer and I did for Ilex (mainly modern lenses) and Berthiot. But since the effort wasn't mine I really can't complain or criticize.

As far as gathering sources goes, I've done a reasonable but far from perfect job. I've missed some catalogs, have found others that I didn't think were worth the trouble of adding to the list. My list is quite weak on obscure makers, e.g., most English lens makers, most Italian, the one or two Swiss firms, and of course minor German firms. And it has virtually nothing -- just a few links to lists of links that others have compiled -- on pre-anastigmat lenses.

If you want what its author claims to be a nearly exhaustive list (I see it as incomplete and riddled with errors), ask Henri Gaud, who posts on galerie-photo.info as Nestor Burma, for a link to his list. Allen Rumme has posted a list of lenses at http://www.allenrumme.com/lensdb/DBIntro-1.html. It is focused on his interests, is incomplete, partly because of that, and contains errors. As I keep on saying, none of these things is perfect.

I used to use this website "www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/large_format_lenses" as a good resource when looking to buy a lens .
Apart from details of the lenses construction and filter thread size it also detailed lens coverage and available movement on different formats .

Now when you click on the link
( eg . https://www.schneideroptics.com/info...4,5-105mm.html )
It automatically redirects you to https://schneiderkreuznach.com/en .

Luckily I have found it still on the Way back machine ; http://web.archive.org/web/201604131...format_lenses/

I have posted this in the main thread , but thought I'd post it in this one in case anyone is looking for information on Schneider lenses .

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Originally Posted by neilt3

I used to use this website "www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/large_format_lenses" as a good resource when looking to buy a lens .
Apart from details of the lenses construction and filter thread size it also detailed lens coverage and available movement on different formats .

Now when you click on the link
( eg . https://www.schneideroptics.com/info...4,5-105mm.html )
It automatically redirects you to https://schneiderkreuznach.com/en .

Luckily I have found it still on the Way back machine ; http://web.archive.org/web/201604131...format_lenses/

I have posted this in the main thread , but thought I'd post it in this one in case anyone is looking for information on Schneider lenses .

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All the info about Schneider Lenses should be in here too: https://lf.animaux.de/lenses

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Originally Posted by animaux

All the info about Schneider Lenses should be in here too: https://lf.animaux.de/lenses

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Thanks for the link .
Handy that you can select what format you want the lens for and it filters out the unsuitable ones .
Very helpful .

Glad it’s useful to you!

https://www.arnecroell.com/docter.pdf

Look for
arne croell lenses
There is more

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Originally Posted by NormaN

https://www.arnecroell.com/docter.pdf

Look for
arne croell lenses
There is more

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Thanks for the tip. Please read the list, it has links to most of Arne's very useful articles, including to the one you mentioned.

As you'll read at the top of the list, I'm well aware that it is incomplete. That's the nature of lists. So when you find something you think I should add, please tell me. It would, though, be kind if you check whether your find is already in the list.

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Originally Posted by Dan Fromm

Thanks for the tip. Please read the list, it has links to most of Arne's very useful articles, including to the one you mentioned.

As you'll read at the top of the list, I'm well aware that it is incomplete. That's the nature of lists. So when you find something you think I should add, please tell me. It would, though, be kind if you check whether your find is already in the list.

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Hi Dan
Sorry did not see the link in the very beginning.
Thank you fr the work!
Regards
NormaN