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Thread: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

  1. #11

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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Thanks for the correction, Lou.

  2. #12

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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Mr. Shiu is correct- you remove the front group of the 150mm Symmar to make it a 265mm lens. Opinions vary on the optical quality of the rear element alone, but you'll soon find out for yourself. Looks like you have good find!

  3. #13

    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sampson View Post
    Mr. Shiu is correct- you remove the front group of the 150mm Symmar to make it a 265mm lens. Opinions vary on the optical quality of the rear element alone, but you'll soon find out for yourself. Looks like you have good find!
    Yes use the green f/stop scale for 265mm rear cell only. BTW an orange filter in front of the shutter will improve and refine optical transmission through the rear group
    Flikr Photos Here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/

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  4. #14

    Join Date
    Feb 2021
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    48

    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    What I recall about the Symmar is that when you use the rear group alone, it's an appealing soft focus look when not stopped down much.

  5. #15

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    Jul 2006
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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Quote Originally Posted by elkriverscott View Post
    In the olden days I shot 35mm for a living and recently decided to go to large format and happened upon a B & J Grover commercial view. Mono rail in original box.
    Looks great, nice lens and accessories, perfect bellows. What size did I buy. 5X7 or 8X10. How do I tell? Thanks for reading.
    P.S. Are the lens and shutter usually sold separately?

    No idea what I'm doing but having a great time.

    Attachment 215073

    Attachment 215074Attachment 215075

    Attachment 215076
    I think that is a Prontor shutter. It looks like the Prontor logo on the right front, photo 4. Has anyone seen a dial-set Prontor? The lens serial number indicates circa 1961-62. The 1962 Symmar brochure on cameraeccentric shows the 150 mm Symmar came in a no. 1 shutter but doesn't list what shutter choices (if any) were available.

    I was surprised to see the 150 mm Symmar came in a no. 1 shutter; I would have guessed no. 0. Looking a bit further I see the 150 mm Symmar-S came in a no. 0 shutter.

    On edit: Googling this turned up an image of a dial-set Prontor with a Dallmeyer oscilloscope lens.

    Does anyone know when the plasmat formula Symmar was introduced?

    David
    Last edited by David Lindquist; 20-Apr-2021 at 10:45. Reason: Additional information.

  6. #16

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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    The first Schneider Symmars were f/6.8 designs; similar to a Dagor, I believe. Those were replaced by the "convertible" Symmars (as seen here) in the mid-1950s. I've used several of those lenses over the years; all of them were in Compur shutters. That lens series was replaced by the Symmar-S line in about 1972. I once had the introductory brochure for the Symmar-S lenses (long gone) where Schneider mentioned eliminating the convertible feature in order to improve optical performance. I've used both convertible Symmars and Symmar-S lenses and they are fine performers... never had a chance to do an A-B comparison, though.

  7. #17
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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sampson View Post
    That lens series was replaced by the Symmar-S line in about 1972. I once had the introductory brochure for the Symmar-S lenses (long gone) where Schneider mentioned eliminating the convertible feature in order to improve optical performance.
    symmar_s_72.pdf

  8. #18

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    Re: No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

    Thanks Oren, that's the one. When I got hired at Kodak in 1984 the English version of that brochure (along with a bunch of other ephemera) was in the desk they gave me. I still have some of those papers...

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