French madness - World's biggest (photographic) lens?

[Steven Tribe]

In his summary of minor French lens makers, Corrado D'Agostini talks in his enjoyable book about Benoist & Berthiot. He writes:

"At the Universal Expo in 1900, it introduced an Aplanatic lens with 1 meter diameter and a 2 meter focus, weighing 381 kilos and cut from a piece of glass weighing 530 kilos."

His source is a L'Industrie Francaise des Instruments de Precision report from 1901.

I wonder if it actually worked -an F2 aplanat?

[Leigh]

They designed it for a point-and-shoot, but the project never got off the ground.

- Leigh

[Vaughn]

The lens for this must have come close...

http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/mammoth.html

[BarryS]

The lens for this must have come close...

http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/mammoth.html

Something's always bothered me about that photo. The lens looks like it was added in a retouching job. Maybe the actual lens didn't look that impressive, or maybe it wasn't mounted when they took that photo.

[E. von Hoegh]

In his summary of minor French lens makers, Corrado D'Agostini talks in his enjoyable book about Benoist & Berthiot. He writes:

"At the Universal Expo in 1900, it introduced an Aplanatic lens with 1 meter diameter and a 2 meter focus, weighing 381 kilos and cut from a piece of glass weighing 530 kilos."

His source is a L'Industrie Francaise des Instruments de Precision report from 1901.

I wonder if it actually worked -an F2 aplanat?

An Aplanatic lens - http://www.optics-online.com/mnp.asp is not an Aplanat.

[Vaughn]

Something's always bothered me about that photo. The lens looks like it was added in a retouching job. Maybe the actual lens didn't look that impressive, or maybe it wasn't mounted when they took that photo.

That has always bothered me, too.

[Bob Salomon]

A few years ago, in the 90's, an Arab sheik had Hasselblad and Zeiss make a one of a kind lens for his nature work. That lens was hung over the Hasselblad booth at Photokina and it was longer then the showcase! And it fits a recent camera!

[C. D. Keth]

They designed it for a point-and-shoot, but the project never got off the ground.

- Leigh

That deserves one of these.

[Richard Wasserman]

I remember seeing photos of that—it was quite impressive to say the least. What was it, something like a 2500mm f/2?

A few years ago, in the 90's, an Arab sheik had Hasselblad and Zeiss make a one of a kind lens for his nature work. That lens was hung over the Hasselblad booth at Photokina and it was longer then the showcase! And it fits a recent camera!

[Jac@stafford.net]

A few years ago, in the 90's, an Arab sheik had Hasselblad and Zeiss make a one of a kind lens for his nature work. That lens was hung over the Hasselblad booth at Photokina and it was longer then the showcase! And it fits a recent camera!

Here it is: http://www.juliuselias.com/wp-conten...ss_1700_01.jpg

And about the mammoth camera - an unretouched version: http://www.pubsignshop.com/media/pdsp-tc2528-04.jpg