Many lenses available on the used maket have the Linhof logo on them, of couse they are Schneider or other brand lenses. Did Linhof actually "select" and "reject" and get superior examples of common lenses, or did they just contract for enough lenses that they could have them custom engraved? What is the real story?
Linhof did indeed select the best lenses. I don't know which facilities the selection processes took place, but they were implemented.
Back in the 1950's the Linhof selection process was indeed of some benefit to the customer. I think I can confirm this from what we've seen in looking at lenses from that era.
There's a story that I heard about the 47mm f/8 Schneider Super Angulon. For years Linhof rejected nearly every single lens they inspected. It took Schneider time to sort out building that particular optic. Or so the story goes. Schneider didn't seem to have this problem with it's other early Super Angulons. It was limited to just that 47mm, for some reason.
I also believe that by the 1960's, with the exception of just a few optics, Linhof Select might not have meant what it did earlier.
Originally Posted by Gene McCluney
The older 90/6.8 Angulon is another that seems reliably better if you get a Linhof select version, though it is certainly possible to find examples without the Linhof seal of approval that are fine.
They still did that in the nineties. I saw the setup when I attended a workshop at the Linhof factory in 1991 or 92. They used a "projector" made by Rodenstock with the lens to be tested as the projection lens for test patterns (Siemens star) while the lens was rotating. You could see the projected images on a large wall and they demonstrated certain lens aberrations and defects with samples they had. Pretty cool. They said that they still rejected a certain amount of lenses, but didn't give any names or exact numbers. They told a story that apparently by accident a lens they had already rejected was sent again to them by the manufacturer, with the sticker "not for Linhof"...
Yes they still test and label lenses from Rodenstock and Schneider that have passed their tests.
i have a very nice 150 Xenar black copal labelled by Linhof, that is estremely good !
i first bought it just for the copal...
Sinar does the same thing for Rodenstock lenses labeled Sinaron.
The "Linhof Select" system as explained in a Linhof Report circa 1975 involved the purchase of lenses that were then "thoroughly examined and checked to make sure they correspond to the most critical tolerances and to guarantee their perfect functioning with the corresponding Linhof camera." After this process was completed the lens was engraved with the Linhof name and "transferred to the other production departments for final assembly, mounting, and rangefinder coupling" with a particular camera. I assume that's the same thing that's done today (except for the rangefinder coupling with the 2000/3000 Technika cameras since those cameras don't have a rangefinder).
If a Linhof Select lens is bought on the used market, unaccompaned by the camera to which it was originally mated, obviously any benefit derived from the original matching of lens with camera is negated. And while having closer tolerances may have been important when the lens was new, I would think that usage of an older used lens over a period of years would tend to negate that benefit as well. So I doubt that an older used "Linhof Select" lens performs any better than an otherwise identical "non-Linhof Select" lens just because of the inspection process it went through many years ago at the factory. But since testing of that theory is virtually impossible, who knows.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
for what it's worth, i had 3 110-XL lenses, two standard and one linhof select. tested all three extensively, kept the linhof select version. ditto for my 58-XL, though the sample size was only two.
certainly not a large enough population to make any definitive claims, but that was my experience. as they say, ymmv.
---Scott
www.srosenberg.com
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