Red Dot Artar 14" f9 at Infinity?

[neil poulsen]

I know that when properly stopped down, a 355mm G-Claron behaves well at infinity.

Can the same be said of a 14", f9 Red Dot Artar?

[Lachlan 717]

For which format, Neil?

[neil poulsen]

Primarily 4x5. A bit of 8x10.

[Vaughn]

Don't have to stop it down much for the beauty at infinity...the lens is designed for it. But not a whole lot of wiggle room for 8x10.

[neil poulsen]

That is very nice. Weren't they optimized for "near" distances? I've heard that they were a choice lens for product work.

I just purchased one mounted by S. K. Grimes in a Compur 2 shutter. It was listed for a very reasonable price on eBay, and it was described as being in excellent condition. I have a feeling this lens will be a gem.

For my use of 8x10, not much wiggle room is needed.

[Vaughn]

Not the "Red Dots". They have been optimized for far distances. And I will assume the S.K.Grimes knew how to space the elements properly in the shutter to insure that.

I use the 19" and the 24" Red Dots for 8x10 and 11x14 for landscape work -- sharp as a tack. No shutters like you lucky dog!

[Dugan]

From what I have read, only the 'pre-RD' Artars were optimized for closer focusing than infinity.

[neil poulsen]

Not the "Red Dots". They have been optimized for far distances. And I will assume the S.K.Grimes knew how to space the elements properly in the shutter to insure that.

I use the 19" and the 24" Red Dots for 8x10 and 11x14 for landscape work -- sharp as a tack. No shutters like you lucky dog!

I'm kind of stunned not to have known that. Makes me wonder about past buying habits, etc.

Thank you for correcting my false impression.

[John Layton]

...so if I were in the market for a 450mm Fujinon-C, but my current needs were for 5x7, then I might be at least equally well served by a 19" Red Dot Artar?

[David Lindquist]

I have a Goerz Optical Co. price list dated 10/10/67. It has the comment "For maximum RED DOT ARTAR performance order should specify the principal magnification ratio to be employed if other than factory setting." This price list then shows the factory settings for the barrel mounted and shutter mounted Red Dot Artars. The settings for the barrel vs. shutter mounted 14" RDA are respectively 8:1 and 10:1, so not much difference. Other focal lengths show a greater difference between barrel and shutter mount.

For sake of completeness: Focal lengths 4" through 12" barrel mounts were set at 10:1 and shutter mounts were set at 20:1. The 16 1/2" RDA was set at 3:1 for the barrel and 10:1 for the shutter. Both the 17 3/4" and the 19" RDAs were set at 3:1 and 8:1. And the 24" RDA settings were 2:1 and 5:1.

In addition to the barrel mount, this price list shows the 14" RDA available in a No. 4 Acme shutter or a No. 3 Electronic Compur. A 1970 price list shows the No. 4 Acme and the No. 3 Copal as the available shutters.

A circa 1967 leaflet I have on the Red Dot Artar indicates that the 14" at infinity covers a "plate diagonal" of 11.9 inches; at 1:10 reduction it covers 13.1 inches.

So that's what Goerz Optical Co. has to say. No personal experience with this lens; I'm not surprised that practical experience of others (see Vaughn above) shows it can cover 8 x 10 at infinity, albeit without much to spare.

I saw that lens on ebay, nice looking example and relatively late production by its serial number.

David