Best Vintage LF Lens List

[Richard K.]

OK, a interesting recent post - Old lenses have turned me into an equipment geek... - has appealed to the pack-rat/collector/lover of vintage stuff in me and I'd like to acquire some of these older but good lenses (what did Timothy O'Sullivan use? Carleton Watkins?). Could those of you in the know post a list of such lenses (in barrel is fine) for a.)~ 8x10 format and b.) ~14x17/12x20 format ? From these lists I would hope that we could collate "The Top Ten" for each format, LF and ULF. That would be great and could be the basis for an interesting collection for those of us inclined to do so! Many thanks to you who will take the time and extend this kindness

If there's already such a best list published, please let mew know!

[Ole Tjugen]

What - you want to know the contents of my cupboard???

[Dave Wooten]

Do some research on the Globe lens.

[Gordon Moat]

http://dioptrique.info/sommaire/sommaire.htm

Contains a great deal of information on numerous lenses. Definitely not complete, and arguably a few mistakes, though overall a nice resource.

Do a search on this forum for Petzval, and you will come up with links to a few more websites dedicated to this early lens type. You might also find a list I am compiling to be of some interest, though it only deals with one manufacturer:

http://hbh.gordonmoat.com for Holmes, Booth & Haydens New York.

You might also search for Verito, and some manufacturers like Suter, Krauss, and Hermagis. The appeal of old lenses is the unique look they can provide, unlike some more modern designs, though I think Petzval type lenses are the most unusual.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[jenn wilson]

here's another site i found invaluable in my research:
http://www.allenrumme.com/lensdb/DBIntro-1.html

[Mark Sawyer]

I'm not sure everybody could ever agree on such a list, but just for fun, here's my idea of ten lenses that would represent the first hundred years of photography pretty well, and give one a nice range to choose from when working today:

1.) Darlot Petzval, (sharp in the middle, swirly on the outside! And you gotta have a Petzval...)

2.) Dallmeyer Rapid Rectilinear, (surprisingly sharp over the whole field).

3.) Any wide angle rapid rectilinear (They're quite sharp and have remarkable covering power. I've got a Neuhring 125mm that covers 8x10, and there are others just a nice).

4.) Cooke Series XV triple convertible. (You know you want one!)

5.) Heliar

6.) A long-ish Artar

7.) A short-ish Cooke Series V process lens (or another good process lens) for close-up work

And in the soft focus category...

(Soft focus lenses are where it gets sticky. There are soooo many completely different designs, and each has its own look, which changes with the f/stop, or h/stop, or diffusion stop... It's hard to relate a soft-focus Dallmeyer petzval, an Imagon doublet, a Cooke Portric triplet, a Verito, and a Velostigmat with the dial-in diffusion, as they're all so different in design and effect. And what about the Port-Land, the Pinkham & Smith's, the Struss lenses, the Persheids, the Universal Heliar, Kodak Portraits, The Eastman Portraits, the Portrait Plastigmats, the Portrait Unar, the Vitax's, the Variums... Who could say which deserves to be included and which left out?)

8.) A Verito (Probably THE classic soft focus lens, and finally starting to get the respect it deserves.)

9.) A Pinkham & Smith Visual Quality (No explanation needed.)

10.) A Cooke Series IIa Portric Knuckler (because I got one recently, after lusting for one for years!)


And just to cheat, I'll add:

11.) Something put together by the photographer himself/herself, because there's just something about it you won't get from a standard manufactured lens.

But really, lenses that would make anybody's top ten can (and do) make some terrible photographs, and mud-sucking clunkers can do the most wonderful things, if only we'd give them a fair chance...

[Mark Sawyer]

And BTW, this list would be for any format, just changing the focal lengths to fit.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"Could those of you in the know post a list of such lenses (in barrel is fine) for a.)~ 8x10 format and b.) ~14x17/12x20 format ? From these lists I would hope that we could collate "The Top Ten" for each format, LF and ULF. That would be great and could be the basis for an interesting collection for those of us inclined to do so! Many thanks to you who will take the time and extend this kindness "

It's very, very simple, they all say Rodenstock or Schneider on them somewhere. Every other manufacturer built and tried to sell garbage which is why they are all out of business.

Have fun with the research.

[Richard K.]

Wow, thanks for the replies thus far people, especially Mark! THAT is one hell of a great list to start with and that's exactly what I intend to do! I have one of those lenses already, just 9 more to go. Mark, again, I appreciate your effort, especially the annotations!

As an aside, DOES anyone know what lens(es) O'Sullivan or Watkins used?

[Richard K.]

I've heard that they're stubborn and hard to keep focused...