Steinheil Lens

[Brian Bullen]

I picked up this little lens yesterday at a local camera show and wondered if the lens masters could help with identifying exact type, date of manufacture, and coverage. Barrel reads Steinheil in Munchen No 40176 , focal length is ~24 inches. Front and back are symmetrical, the element diameter is 1 3/4" and inside aperture is 1 5/16". Each element is a cemented triplet. Overall length (with hood) is 2 1/4".
I'm assuming it's a wide angle aplanat because of the small size and my estimation of max aperture is F 18. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Dan Fromm]

Cemented triplets do not an aplanat make.

A pair of cemented doublets, each element biconvex, an aplanat makes, at least in the VM's cross section of a Steinheil aplanat. See http://www.dioptrique.info/base/n/n_aplanat.htm for a number of aplanat cross sections and here for cross sections of a number of lenses with six elements, some of them pairs of cemented triplets.

Good snag! Inexpensive, I hope.

[Brian Bullen]

Cemented triplets do not an aplanat make.

Dan,
Thanks for the reply and the great link. Wonderful resource that I clearly need to study up on.
I thought I'd add a photo of one of the elements.

[Arne Croell]

I picked up this little lens yesterday at a local camera show and wondered if the lens masters could help with identifying exact type, date of manufacture, and coverage. Barrel reads Steinheil in Munchen No 40176 , focal length is ~24 inches. Front and back are symmetrical, the element diameter is 1 3/4" and inside aperture is 1 5/16". Each element is a cemented triplet. Overall length (with hood) is 2 1/4".
I'm assuming it's a wide angle aplanat because of the small size and my estimation of max aperture is F 18. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Actually, it could be an Aplanat despite what Dan said, although its generally true that they are 4/2. My (German) Steinheil book places your serial no. in 1894-1895. It also lists a number of "Weitwinkel-Aplanat für Reproduktionen" lenses with a 6/2 construction and a max. aperture of 1:15 around that time. They came in focal lengths of 360, 450, 600, 780, 970, 1220, 1420, 1700, and 2000mm. So the 600mm would fit your description. The Orthostigmats, which are the most well known 6/2 lenses from Steinheil usually have much larger openings (f/.6.8-f/12) and most were made later.

[Dan Fromm]

Oh, dear, wrong again. Thanks, Arne, for the correction.

[Brian Bullen]

Arne,
Thank you, exactly what I was looking for.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that wide angle aplanats occasionally had the 6/2 configuration, but after searching the web I couldn't find any information at all. Was Steinheil the only maker or are there other wide angle aplanat/rectilinears out there with a 6/2 design?

[Arne Croell]

Arne,
Thank you, exactly what I was looking for.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that wide angle aplanats occasionally had the 6/2 configuration, but after searching the web I couldn't find any information at all. Was Steinheil the only maker or are there other wide angle aplanat/rectilinears out there with a 6/2 design?

I don't really know about other manufacturers. In the Steinheil book this specific one, essentially an Aplanat version of a w.a. process lens (thats what the German name I quoted above means), is the only 6/2 Aplanat. Their landscape w.a. Aplanats are 4/2.

[Brian Bullen]

Arne,
Interesting stuff, thank you very much!

[Brian Bullen]

In case anyone is interested, I tried this lens out on my newly finished 18"x24" and it covers wide open at infinity with ease. With full rise, about 5 1/2", there is no darkening of the corners. Looks pretty sharp overall.
Makes me wonder what the largest negative this lens could cover?

[sultanofcognac]

I have an Aplanat 14 Lin(?) that says Steinheil in München No 9237. Can you date this? It also has three Waterhouse stops. I'm considering on placing it onto evilBay but don't know anything about it, nor what sort of outcome to expect from the auction.

Thanks,

johnny