Heliar 15cm f4.5 Questions...

[mwr]

Hello all!

I recently received a 15cm f4.5 Voigtlander Heliar lens that dates to 1929-1933 in a Compur dial-set shutter. I have a few questions that will help me get started (apologies if these have been asked before…I did try to search the archives).

1. What size threads are on the front element (for filters)?
2. What size for front and rear lens caps?
3. What size board for mounting this lens & shutter?
4. What is the best lens hood for this lens?

Of course, any other advice on this set is welcomed...

Thank you all so much in advance!

James

[Arne Croell]

I can only answer for the post-WWII version, but its easy to remember, and at least optically they didn't change the LF Heliars from that time on except for coating.

Since the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy came out, everybody knows that the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42!

1) Voigtländers lenses didn't use threads for filters, they are made for slip-on filters. The slip-on diameter for the 15cm is 42mm. The visible threads are only for the retaining rings of the lens and do not conform to the standardized filter sizes. The thread on the 15cm is about 40.5mm diameter, but a 40.5mm filter does not fit! So you need a slip-on adapter - 42mm - for filters.
2) see 1) - 42mm
3)Copal/Compur 1 - 41.8mm hole size, or rounded 42mm!
4) one with 42mm slip-on size, of course!

The Heliar 15cm - the answer to life, the universe, and everything!

[ljsegil]

Same magical, mystical answers for the same questions for a 150/4.5 Voigtlander apo-Lanthar I presume? It's a bit confusing for me, as my daughter attends a college where everything is equally magically 47, close enough to 42 to cause some difficulty for this poor tuition and photo equipment check writer (I wish either $42 or $47 was the answer for any of those checks, but somehow in that circumstances the magical numbers always come up short on the zeros).
Thanks,
LJS

[Arne Croell]

Same magical, mystical answers for the same questions for a 150/4.5 Voigtlander apo-Lanthar I presume? It's a bit confusing for me, as my daughter attends a college where everything is equally magically 47, close enough to 42 to cause some difficulty for this poor tuition and photo equipment check writer (I wish either $42 or $47 was the answer for any of those checks, but somehow in that circumstances the magical numbers always come up short on the zeros).
Thanks,
LJS

For questions 1,2,4 it is still the same answer: 42 (mm)
For question 3, its a Compur 0, so 34.7=35mm (different universe, I guess)

And the 150mm Apo-Lanthar is also the answer to life, the universe, and everything (42mm for all measures listed)

[Ole Tjugen]

Arne, the 150mm Apo-Lanthar is also in a Compur 1 shutter!

[Arne Croell]

Arne, the 150mm Apo-Lanthar is also in a Compur 1 shutter!

oops, i read it as 105mm! Sorry, LJS. All the diameters for the Heliar and Apo-Lanthar 15cm are of course the same, only the 105mm has a different size shutter.

[Jim Galli]

He says it is a dial set so none of your formulas are any good. He'll just have to wait and measure. As to filter threads, there aren't any. Modern sized filter threads were not thought of for 35 more years. There were push on adapters but one of the best ways to update your lens for filters is to find a stepping ring that won't quite slide on and remove metal from the stepping ring until it is a nice tight friction fit on the outside of the barrel. Then you'll have a modern filter size like 58mm or ?? Once you've accomplished that you can buy a collapsible hood for the filter thread.

[Ole Tjugen]

Voigtländer was very early with the standard sizes, so there is a very good chance that the sizes are correct even for a dial-set shutter. A (1926) 105mm Skopar in dial-set shutter fits perfectly in a modern Copal 0!

[Arne Croell]

Voigtländer was very early with the standard sizes, so there is a very good chance that the sizes are correct even for a dial-set shutter. A (1926) 105mm Skopar in dial-set shutter fits perfectly in a modern Copal 0!

Yes. I do have an older 135mm Heliar in a dial-set Compur 1, and the thread diameter is the same as for a modern one size 1, so it will use the same size hole (not so sure about the thread pitch - the retaining rings are not fully interchangeable and bind after 1.5 turns or so). The filter slip-on diameter for that lens is 37mm, and the cell design looks the same as my postwar 150mm one. So my guess is that the slip-on diameter is also 42mm for the OP's older 150mm Heliar lens. As Jim points out, no guarantee, but quite likely.

[mwr]

Talk about a lot of helpful responses...thank you all so much. Arne...I hope to find out soon if 42mm holds the answers to all of my Heliar 150mm f4.5 questions!

Thank you again everyone for your thoughtfulness.

James