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Thread: Help to ID this lens.

  1. #1

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    Help to ID this lens.

    As I was cleaning out a shelf of photo equipment and came across this lens hidden in the back. I vaguely remember buying it at a Garage/Tag sale years ago for only a few dollars. I'm sure that I put it on the shelf with intentions of putting it on a camera and testing it out, but just never got around to doing that. So yesterday I put it on my 8x10. Focal length I estimate to be around 13 inches and covers the 8x10 format at infinity. Image is interesting... very soft focus wide open but actually looks to be decently sharp when stopped down. The lens is definitely slower than the f/stop scale on the shutter. Front and rear elements have serial numbers printed on the outside and "LENS-JAPAN". Shutter is a Copal with "53" printed on it. My educated guess is that someone screwed in two rear elements from two wide angle lenses, one into the front and one into rear of the shutter. Now need to interpolate a correct aperture scale and shoot two test 8x10 negatives. Any other opinions?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails mysterylens.jpg  

  2. #2
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    First, measure the focal length and aperture to see if it's really an f/5.6 wide open. Could be a Frankenstein lens as you suggested, or damaged, or in the wrong shutter upsetting the spacing.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sawyer View Post
    First, measure the focal length and aperture to see if it's really an f/5.6 wide open.
    Rough measurements (didn't have a ruler with me at the time) put the max aperture between f/11-f/16. With no lens brand on the front elements, again makes me think "two rear elements from two wide angle lenses"

  4. #4

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    The shutter is from a Fujinon NW 150mm 5.6, and the rear cell looks like it might be the rear half of it, the serial number is correct for that anyway. The front lens looks just like the rear cell of the Fujinon SWD 90mm 5.6 that I used to own. The diameter of the 90mm cell should be either 80mm or 77mm if I remember correctly for the NSWD version.
    Jim

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by aphcl84 View Post
    The shutter is from a Fujinon NW 150mm 5.6, and the rear cell looks like it might be the rear half of it, the serial number is correct for that anyway. The front lens looks just like the rear cell of the Fujinon SWD 90mm 5.6 that I used to own. The diameter of the 90mm cell should be either 80mm or 77mm if I remember correctly for the NSWD version.
    Your post got me to gig up and take out my FUJI catalogue. Based on filter sizes and shapes: Larger set of elements probably the front elements of a 90 NSWS and smaller rear set of elements probably off a 125 or 135mm NW. Max f/stop measures in at about f/16. Based on GG image, this mongrel lens probably isn't worth shooting some test 8x10 negatives with.
    thanks...

  6. #6
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Could also be a plasmat with one positive element missing. You'd have to disassemble it to see. The shutter alone is probably worth more than the shutter with the lens.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  7. #7

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sawyer View Post
    The shutter alone is probably worth more than the shutter with the lens.
    Agree... I shot an 8x10 negative earlier today with the lens wide open. Was very difficult to even determine focus. On a Bokeh scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the mongrel lens as a 0.0. Will be putting the shutter up FS.
    thanks everyone.

  8. #8

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    And somewhere out there are the front groups of those two mysteries...

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Greg View Post
    Rough measurements (didn't have a ruler with me at the time) put the max aperture between f/11-f/16. With no lens brand on the front elements, again makes me think "two rear elements from two wide angle lenses"
    I think you are right -- and if they are Fujinon, they are not marked. Only the front elements were. And the black shutter means it's fairly recent.

    You can figure it out -- assuming they are Fujinon by looking at the shutter and the front and rear diameters of what you have.

    http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/byseries.htm

    The Fujinon NSW (they never made a NSWD) 90mm has a 67mm filter thread, but the 105mm is 77mm, for example.

    Whether you can use "them", as is?????????????

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    Re: Help to ID this lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Greg View Post
    Agree... I shot an 8x10 negative earlier today with the lens wide open. Was very difficult to even determine focus. On a Bokeh scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the mongrel lens as a 0.0. Will be putting the shutter up FS.
    thanks everyone.
    Depending on what lenses they actually came from, the front and rear might be quite valuable to some shutterbugs out there.

    If you tell us the front and rear diameters of the two groups, we can probably help you figure it out.

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