Schneider-Kreuznach G-Claron 150mm f11

[xkaes]

I have a G-Claron 11/150 in use and I removed the glass elements for a cleaning, that´s why I´am knowing it is a four element lens and the reason is like I descriped..

But is it a WA G-Claron?

[Drew Wiley]

Could you post a picture of where the WA designation is printed, or at least describe the position, if on the same element as the 150 focal length designation or not? There is always the hypothetical possibility of a mismatched set.

[lassethomas]

The G-Claron 11/150mm is made of four elements in two cemented groups, similar to the Zeiss Protar, not the Doppel Protar, or the Rodenstock Perigon.
The different ist that the G-Claron is 100% symmetrical.
Angle of view is around 85°.
Very sharp when stoped down to f/22
Like all G-Claron it is apochromatic cerrected.
Guess Schneider tried to offer a wide angle lens for reprographic usage. The less speed is not a problem in reprographic usage.

The following six element G-Cs and G-Cs WA with air spaced elements are better corrected for colour work, upcoming more and more end of the 1960th.
I guess that is the reason why the fully cemented 11/150mm when only made in very small charges.

This is a well known process, Schneider changed the Angulon to the Super Angulon and the 6.8 Symmar to the 5.6 Symmar in the same way, both lens designs were renewed with airspaced elements.

I have a G-Claron 11/150 in use and I removed the glass elements for a cleaning, that´s why I´am knowing it is a four element lens and the reason is like I descriped.

It is a very interessting lens, I have a small Schneider collection with some prototypes and this is a gem of it.

If what you say is true about angle of view it should cover 5x7, even with a little movement.
Interesting. This I'll have to try

[arri]

But is it a WA G-Claron?

I think so because of the reduced speed, the only four lens elements and the large angle of view. But it has not the air spaced disign like the later G-Claron WA lenses, that it the different.

It is not engraved with "WA"

Schneider offered the airspaced 210mm G-Claron WA as the shortest focus. Maybe it were the only one the market accepted or needed. So it were senseless to offer a 150mm WA Claron when no one needed it.

Today the G-Claron lenses are much more interesting for us photographers and so the 11/150mm lens is interessting as an extreme small and light weight lens exspecially for 5x7" format.

Not really an important lens because of its very limitated availability.

[Drew Wiley]

It is entirely possible there were even custom design application tweaks. G-Claron was unfortunately a blanket MARKETING name for a whole category of close-range corrected lenses originally designed for retrographic use, but which subsequently branched off to cumulatively embrace several distinct optical designs. A few months ago I was looking at two side by side used 270's, both in shutter, one a WA, and the other, a typical late GC. They looked different even outwardly; and unfortunately, were both way too abused, scratched, and fogged up to interest me personally. The official brochure/spec catalog for even the last of the series still gave very conservative process camera specifications per image circle, angle of view, etc, rather than the far more liberal possibilities in general purpose photography like most of Scnheider's other LF lenses.

[Paul Ewins]

Arri, what's the serial number for your lens? I'm just wondering where it fits in the chronology.

[arri]

It is out of the same charge, only the last two numbers are different, I have the serial # 11 693 155 and it came in a f/9 barrel. The modern style one which were used from Schneider since the early 1980th, I guess.

Maybe the original barrel were one without an aperture because of the reduced speed of f/11

Reproduction lenses having the best performance at full open, in the graphic copy work, ratio 1:1, the stopping down is only for avoid a less of sharpness in case of a bended object.

In use as a taking lens it is necessary to stop it down for a better image quality because this lenses are not computed for oo work.

I used this lens for some pictures and at f/22 in 4x5" it is a pretty sharp and an perfect lens for a small and light weight wooden camera.

[Paul Ewins]

Thanks for that. It was from a batch of 600 lenses, so definitely not a prototype. Regardless of the barrel that it came in, we can probably regard the four element construction as typical for the 150/11 which makes it a very interesting departure from the rest of the G Claron range.