carl zeiss jena 196mm protar lens help

[sgelb]

I just got this zeiss protar brass lens.. looks v similar to many others I have seen on the web, but full info on the web seems to be missing..

carl zeiss Jena 85138
protar f/9 196mm

sadly there is some separation on the rear element.

seems to me to go from f/8.8 to 45 or so. III is marked clearly on the aperture ring. I found info on a protar 8.5cm and a IIIa all of which seem very different than this one.

Ive heard these can cover 8x10 and that they are from pre-1920 kind of time frame.

anyone have any idea on how to get it on a board for a speed graphic? could it fit into a copal? I dunno Im a total beginner with all this antique lens and shutter stuff!!!

ive also heard these can screw into a graphex, but it didnt work on mine.

[sgelb]

please help.. i have looked at 5 manuals, none list this lens.

serial dates it to 1906 or thereabouts.

[Ole Tjugen]

You have a Protar f/9, also called a IIIa. Angle of coverage is about 90 degrees. It's one of the asymmetric ones, meaning the front and rear cells are different even if both are 2 cemented elements.

A Speed Graphic is a good way to use these lenses, you just need a board with the correct size hole!

The "III" on the barrel is the barrel size, not the lens type. It won't fit in any shutter without expensive adapters.

[sgelb]

do you know where I could get a board for it?

It came with a speed I just bought. but it doesnt look like there was any board with it.

[Ole Tjugen]

No idea about boards.

I use only three boards on my Anniversary speed Graphic - one has a 150mm Tessar, the other a 240mm f:4.5 Heliar in sunk mount, the third one has a tiny little universal iris lens mount which I use for everything else:

[Gene McCluney]

Midwest Photo Supply (MPEX) sells new graflex boards. These may or may not fit your camera depending on age. However, they can usually source boards for graflex cameras. Now, depending on whether you got a flange with your lens or not, will depend on how easy it will be to mount to a lensboard. In any case, you will have to have a custom sized hole drilled, as the only pre-drilled boards are for lens in shutter in the common Copal sizes.

The Iris universal mount that Ole has is a very elegant solution, but one that is expensive and very rare in the size Ole has.

[CP Goerz]

Separation is to be expected on CZ lenses of this and many other vintages, the IIIa is one of the best designs they made IMO. The coverage is good for 8x10 and has better corners than both the IV and V series lenses, brighter too.

[Ole Tjugen]

The Iris universal mount that Ole has is a very elegant solution, but one that is expensive and very rare in the size Ole has.

Eh yes ... I have only seen this one in this small size, and I found it in a bow of "miscellaneous camera junk" I bought because there were nine good cable releases in it. I didn't know what to do with it until I got the Speed Graphic and discovered it would fit if it was rotated 15 degrees from straight. Finding one that fits a 6" board is easy, finding one that fits a 4" board is practically impossible.

[sgelb]

toosen takk ole. so I need to buy a new board and have it custom drilled?

stephen