Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Heliar Lens

  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    20mins north of boston
    Posts
    499

    Heliar Lens

    I have the Vada Mercum on lens , I have gotten confused, I am researching a heliar lens I am looking at which nu8ber does one use as the serial number when the only numbers are on the shutter and on the lens ? So which is which !
    [The shutter serial number is 742773 and Lens serial number is 3012024. The shutter speeds are from 1 - 1/75; Aperture from f4.5 to 32. ]
    I thank you in advance for your help here!
    Lauren MacIntosh

    Whats in back of you is the past and whats in front of you is the future now in the middle you have choices to make for yourself:

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Van Buren, Arkansas
    Posts
    1,941

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Lenses and shutters are often of different vintage. To date the glass of a lens you need to use the serial number engraved on the lens barrels.

    In fact, even though leaf-shutters are shipped with lenses installed, they are not the lens, they are the shutter. The lens, technically is just the glass elements and barrels.

    When a person complains about his "lens" having erratic shutter speeds I chuckle. His "lens" is just fine, it is his shutter that is acting up.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    20mins north of boston
    Posts
    499

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Gene: I Thank you for your responce, now the problem will be to figure out the lens date, in the Vada Mercum 3012024 puts the lens about the 1947 ? but the vada mercum shows the heliar around 1900's !
    Lauren MacIntosh

    Whats in back of you is the past and whats in front of you is the future now in the middle you have choices to make for yourself:

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    954

    Re: Heliar Lens

    The Vade Mecum is right. The Heliar was in production by Voigtlander from the 1900's through at least through 1964 (follow this link: Http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/...tlandera.html). Your lens is probably an early single-coated model from 1947. A nice portrait lens. By the way, you might want to proofread your posts before you submit them.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Nuremberg Germany
    Posts
    1,048

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Lauren,
    the Heliar was made nearly sixty years long but your serial-number sounds like a late one. Up to 240mm the angle of view is 54°, the longer up to 480mm 45°. When the shortest shutter-speed is only 1/75 it could be a 300mm mounted in a Compound V shutter. The Heliar was popular in the field of portrait- and landscape-photography.
    Peter K

  6. #6

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Lauren,

    Heliars were produced from 1904 thru the 1970's, very well liked lenses. One of mine has serial #5,653,xxx. The Lanthars were 'heliars', so were the APO Skopars.

    Good luck with it.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Van Buren, Arkansas
    Posts
    1,941

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Fitzgerald View Post
    Lauren,

    Heliars were produced from 1904 thru the 1970's, very well liked lenses. One of mine has serial #5,653,xxx. The Lanthars were 'heliars', so were the APO Skopars.

    Good luck with it.
    REALLY?? I have a 24" Apo Skopar that I thought was a process lens like an Artar.
    This is very interesting, and makes me want to try the Apo Skopar out...it is
    mounted like a process lens, barrel mount, has aperture ring, but also has slot
    for waterhouse stops, just like most process lenses. Why would Voigtlander market
    two "names" in lenses, the Apo-Skopar and the Heliar with the same formula?

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Nuremberg Germany
    Posts
    1,048

    Re: Heliar Lens

    The Heliar was invented 1900 by Harting. It's a triple variation like many other lenses like the Tessar. As the name Heliar become famous, Voigtländer used it for many other triplet variations.

    The Apo-Skopar is a process-lens and was produced in many focal-lenghts from 50mm up to at least 1200mm. It's also a triplet-variation with glued front- and rear-part but not a Heliar, Dynar or Ektar. This are names of other triplet-variations.

    Peter K

  9. #9
    All metric sizes to 24x30 Ole Tjugen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    3,383

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Note that except for the very first few years, "Heliars" are really Dynars. The main difference is the order of negative and positive in the cemented outer cells.

    Also - for some reason the coverage is consistently stated for the original Heliar construction. The Dynar-type Heliars have more coverage!

    To confuse matters even more, "Universal Heliar" lenses are true Heliars thoughout the period.

    but Apo-Lanthars, like Heliars, were Dynars - and early Apo-Skopars were Oxyns (at least some of them), which has a front group like a Dynar and a rear group like a Heliar. Or was it the other way round?

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    8,470

    Re: Heliar Lens

    Quote Originally Posted by Gene McCluney View Post
    REALLY?? I have a 24" Apo Skopar that I thought was a process lens like an Artar.
    This is very interesting, and makes me want to try the Apo Skopar out...it is
    mounted like a process lens, barrel mount, has aperture ring, but also has slot
    for waterhouse stops, just like most process lenses. Why would Voigtlander market
    two "names" in lenses, the Apo-Skopar and the Heliar with the same formula?
    Gene, the Apo Skopar is a process lens. But it is a heliar type, unlike the Artar which is a dialyte type. There are also tessar type process lenses, 4/4 double Gauss type process lenses, 6/4 plasmat type process lenses, and more complex types of process lenses.

    That a lens was sold as a process lens has no implications for its design or for its performance at distance. That said, the Apo Skopar is not the only heliar type process lens and some of the others are very good at all distances. So give yours a try.

Similar Threads

  1. Trousse Parisienne Casket Lens Set
    By John Downie in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 14-Jun-2014, 18:32
  2. Kodak Master View Lens Boards
    By Michael A.Smith in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 15-Mar-2008, 06:15
  3. Mystery Lens and Lens board
    By Michael Graves in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 30-Nov-2007, 01:00
  4. Why the 135 mm lens 4 x 5 landscapes
    By Richard A Johnson in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 28-Feb-2007, 06:25
  5. Lens flair caused by filter?
    By Neal Shields in forum Lenses & Lens Accessories
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 28-Nov-2003, 00:46

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •