Protarlinse VIII 48cm/41cm f 6.3-45

**Robot** · 30-Jul-2007, 21:09

Yo! I just got this bad boy and was wondering the word on the streets about it. Appears to be in very good condition except for two small specs in the glass (one tiny - a pin prick, the other slightly larger).

Back side reads: Protarlinse f=41cm Carl Zeiss Jena Nr. 2473206.
Front reads: Protarlinse f=48cm Carl Zeiss Jena Nr. 918879.
Middle ring reads: 28cm f:6.3...45 mm 40...5

What would you use this on? Only 8x10 or larger? Ever on a 4x5?
Is anybody interested in purchasing it? Or trading something?
I have looked around a bit for information on this particular model, but haven't found much.

Thanks,

rbt

**Kirk Fry** · 30-Jul-2007, 22:58

The front and back serial numbers are quite a bit apart. This may have been assembled from two different lenses. (But I am not sure). It can be used on 4X5 to 8X10. Go try it , it could be very good. Does the shutter work?

K

**Ole Tjugen** · 31-Jul-2007, 03:47

That's a combined Protar VII (I assume it's a VII and that VIII was a typo); two slightly different cells giving a combined focal length of 250mm.

Yours has a different rear cell from the original - two 48cm's would give a 28cm f/6.3; your combination is a 25cm f/7! BTW, two Protarlinse's make one Doppelprotar.

There's no reason to worry about age differences and mismatched cells. The Protarlinse is a four-element complete lens with very good corrections, so it's not sensitive to mismatched cells in the way that most other lenses are. One of mine has two 29cm cells, one of which is old enough to be called "Zeiss Anastigmatlinse Ser. VII", the other one a "Zeiss Protarlinse Ser. VII".

**Robot** · 31-Jul-2007, 07:10

Thanks for the feedback. A little more about it, there is no shutter. The only thing the lens has is the aperture control. Am I missing a part of it? VIII is what the lens reads, it's not a typo on my part. Will the spots in the lens affect the lens quality much? So since mine has two differenct cells, how do I figure out what aperture I am using in the field, without having to do some calculation.

**Uli Mayer** · 31-Jul-2007, 08:16

According to Zeiss brochures your Protar lenses were to be used with barrel size "VIII".

There is a nice "aperture table" that will relieve you from computing the stops.
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...otar/index.htm

Cheers!
Uli

**Ole Tjugen** · 31-Jul-2007, 08:16

Weird.

Serie VIII is either an Apo-Tessar or an Apo-Planar; neither had cells which could be used alone. Nor were they made in the focal lengths you quote!

Wide open, it's f:7. One stop down from that is f:10, then 14, 20, 28, 40, 56, 80 and so on.

**Jim Galli** · 31-Jul-2007, 08:34

I concur with Ole. Weird. Can you lay it on a scanner and make a picture for us. Never heard of series VIII and Ole's explanation plus the mismatched serials makes the most sense.

BTW, the scale in mm is very useful. Wondering what the aperture is at any extension, any combi of singles or doubles; measure from gg to aperture ring in mm, then divide the number at the aperture ring into it. ie. your bellows from gg to aperture ring is 450mm and you are set at 45mm = 450 divided by 45 = f10

**Ernest Purdum** · 31-Jul-2007, 16:39

I have seen several engraving "typos". A "Wolensak" lens, and an "apoc-hromatic" lens are the two I remember off-hand. Maybe Series "VIII" is another example.