Looking for Vintage Wide Angle 5x7

[Two23]

I'm getting close to completing the work on my Gundlach Korona 5x7 (field camera), c.1925. I have some nice lenses 150 to 300mm for it, but am wanting something wider. I'd be happy with the 4x5 equivalent of a 90mm. (A 120mm/5 in. on 5x7?) Ideally lens would date from 1910--1930, and I'd like it to be in shutter (Compound, Volute, Koilos, etc.) I was looking at Dagors, but seems like those are generally more normal to portrait length. (Hpyergon is out of my price range!) So, what is out there that I'm likely to find?


Kent in SD

[mdarnton]

Wollensak series iiia. There is a nice 5x7 one on Ebay right now in a Betax shutter for a pretty good minimum bid. Its a good lens, towards the end of your specified period. Betax shutters are my personal favorite--instead of buzzing like an angry bee they purr like a cat. FL, which the seller doesn't know, is 108mm. The working speed is f/12.5 but there's a stop on the f/ pointer that you can remove inside to open it to f/6.8 or so for composition.

I haven't fit mine to my Korona yet because I need to make a recessed board for it. It won't work with a flat board.

[Two23]

That might work, but yikes--f12.5? The new bellows I have are much thinner than the old one. Might not need a recessed board, which would be a major plus.


Kent in SD

[Pete Roody]

120mm Angulon f6.8 Usually found in Compur 1 shutters.

[Michael Graves]

120mm Angulon f6.8 Usually found in Compur 1 shutters.

Agreed. Not much excess coverage for movements, but some. Be cautious, however. Quality control seemed to be lacking on those. I had three by the time I settled on one that was truly sharp from corner to corner. Another sleeper is the Weitwinkel 120mm 6.8. (At least I think I'm spelling that correctly. Probably not.)

[IanG]

I bought a 1913 120mm f6.8 CP Goerz, Berlin, Dagor a few months ago, it definitely covers 7x5 stopped down as Goerz claim. It was a very lucky find with a low BIN price £30 ($40) and it was obvious it had never been fitted to a lens board/camera. The tiny Compound shutter is as accurate as the day it was made,

The seller had two other lenses the same age but was asking much more, one was a 135mm the other 150mm I can't remember which way around but one was a Tessar the other a Steinheil. They must have been NOS and sat in someones collection.

Ian

[Louis Pacilla]

Another sleeper is the Weitwinkel 120mm 6.8. (At least I think I'm spelling that correctly. Probably not.)

Hey Michael
Yep it's Weitwinkel & pretty sure your speaking of the Hugo Meyers Weitwinkel Aristostigmat 120mm f6.3.

[IanG]

Hey Michael
Yep it's Weitwinkel & pretty sure your speaking of the Hugo Meyers Weitwinkel Aristostigmat 120mm f6.3.

I have one and tested it along with my 120mm Dagor back around February, I was looking primarily at contrast and included a 165mm f5.3 Tessar and a 135m Ihagee-Goerz Anastigmat (a dialyte), all the lenses are optically very clean. The Dagogor was way ahead of the Tessar in terms of contrast, the Ihagee-Goerz dialyte had lower contrast compared to the Tessar and the Hugo Meyers Weitwinkel Aristostigmat had the lowest contrast. But that's what you's expect as the number of uncoated air/glass interfaces increases.

Ian

[Dan Fromm]

Berthiot's 120/14 Ser. VIa Perigraphe #3. Covers 8x10. In barrel, can't be put in shutter but the barrel can easily be stuffed into the front of an Ilex #3. That's how I use my 60, 75 and 92.

[Two23]

I'm leaning toward the Dagor. I love Dagors! I use a 240mm c.1914 in Compound as one of my portrait lenses. I think I also have a 100mm Aristostigmat in Compound lying around somewhere. How do these two (120mm versions) compare?


Kent in SD