Petzval portrait lens?

**LFFB** · 3-Aug-2013, 21:10

Hi all,
I'm looking for a "Petzval Portrait" lens for 4X5. What should I check before I pay? Also there so many no name lens in E-bay; should I get a Voigtlander, Hermages, Dallmeyer or others? What are those letter stand for; like B, 3B and so on?

**davehyams** · 3-Aug-2013, 21:13

http://www.antiquecameras.net/petzvallens.html

letters stand for different things for different manufacturers.

buy until you find one you love, or 5 you love

**Jim Fitzgerald** · 3-Aug-2013, 21:13

Read and research! There are no easy answers. Find images that you like. There are many posts about these lenses. Find them and do the work yourself and you will be glad you did.

**Mark Barendt** · 4-Aug-2013, 06:11

You could just get in touch with somebody like Jim Galli that regularly trades in lenses like this and tell him what you are looking for and see what he's got.

**Vincent Pidone** · 4-Aug-2013, 10:16

Originally Posted by Mark Barendt

You could just get in touch with somebody like Jim Galli that regularly trades in lenses like this and tell him what you are looking for and see what he's got.

Or Eddie Gunks.

**Mark Barendt** · 4-Aug-2013, 10:29

Originally Posted by Vincent Pidone

Or Eddie Gunks.

Absolutely

And both can provide well seasoned advice about them.

**Jim Fitzgerald** · 4-Aug-2013, 10:35

Or read the many threads here that will answer 90% of your questions. Use the search function.

**pasiasty** · 6-Aug-2013, 06:58

You can choose from branded ones (Voigtländer, Dallmayer, Busch, Rose...) and see the lens details on the link Dave provided, or on http://www.cameraeccentric.com/info.html - but this is usually quite expensive, lenses sell over $200, and offers at $500 are quite common. Note that in the 19th century they considered the swirly bokeh rather unpleasant; as Petzvals swirl mostly on the edges, they were recommended for smaller plates than you probably will use today (why to buy a Petzval and have ordinary pictures?). I used a Dallmayer 1B 'Carte de visite' (6") on 4x5 (that it almost covered at infinity, with huge vignetting of course) and even on 5x7 (for still-life/macro).

The alternative way is choosing from no-name lenses. If you're lucky, you'll get one for $100; if you're even more lucky, it will be indeed a Petzval... They usually put the word 'Petzval' to any listing of an unknown lens in a brass barrel on eBay.

As many projecting lenses used to be of Petzval design, you can increase your chance with buying one. The drawback is, they seldom had a diaphragm or Waterhouse stop slot, so you may use it only wide open.