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#11
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FWIW: See
http://www.medfmt.8k.com/mf/polaroid45.html "jjs" wrote in message ... "Bandicoot" wrote: I've always wondered if the Rodenstock Ysaron 127mm is the same design as the Ektar. [...] Interesting. I have a couple of those, too, from the Polaroid MP cameras that were thrown away around here. They were free so (silly me) I never seriously thought about actually _using_ one on a view camera! Perhaps Richard K. knows. Ektar design? |
#12
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Looking for Lens/shutter for Century Graphic
"Bandicoot" wrote in message ... "Nicholas T" wrote in message ... Richard Knoppow wrote: "ATIPPETT" wrote in message ... I have recently been given a Century Graphic minus a lens/shutter. I would like to build up a fully function system. What recommendations are there for Lens and where might I find a good selections? Mid-West comes to mind any suggestions would be appreciated. Alan Tippett When I restored a Miniature Speed Graphic recently I got a lens from one of the local camera sales so I can't comment on sources. The best of the older lenses for these cameras are the Kodak Ektar 101mm, f/4.5 and the Kodak Ektar 105mm, f/3.7. I've had a bad experience with a very early 101mm Ektar but the later coated one is what I expect from this lens. The 105mm lens is a version fo the lens used on the Kodak Medalist, a Heliar type with Lanthanum glass, in fact, I think the Medalist lens was the first one Kodak made with Lanthanum glass. Both of these are exceptionally sharp lenses. There are some more modern lenses which should be considered, The Rodenstock Sironar or Schneider Symmar and others of the right focal length. Avoid Wollensak Raptar and Wollensak made Optars like the plague, they are dogs. Kodak Supermatic shutters can be brought to life and are quite accurate and reliable when properly cleaned. The 101mm Ektar is fairly common and should not be too expensive. The lenses offered originally on the Century were Triplet types made, I think, by Wollensak. They also offered the Optar (a Tessar type) on the more expensive model. A second vote for a Kodak Ektar (127mm). I have one on my Crown Graphic and it's sharp as anything. It compares favourably with my Nikkor 90mm F8, not that I've done any tests. A bonus with my ektar is that it will fold into the camera. I've always wondered if the Rodenstock Ysaron 127mm is the same design as the Ektar. It looks much the same, and is the same size - and seems the sharpest of the Ysaron / Ysarex range of lenses. (Mine lives on a stand copy camera and only ever gets used for macro, I've never got round to trying it at infinity.) Peter I doubt it is the same design other than being a Tessar type. Considering its a much newer lens than the Ektar it may very well be excellent. Rodenstock made the last series of "Optar" lenses for Graflex. These say Rodenstock and "Made in Germany" on them. The earlier Optars made by Wollensak are poor lenses. Wollensak was capable of making good lenses and made some excellent ones but there is something wrong with both the Optar series used on Speed and Crown Graphics, their commercial Raptar equivalents, and with the Enlarging Raptar series. I am pretty sure this is a design error rather than a QC problem. I have no idea how such inferior lenses could have been chosen by Graflex. The 190mm, f/5.6 Optar, used on the Super-D Graflex camera is an exception, its a very good lens. The Tele-Optar and Tele-Raptar lenses are also quite respectible but the others are junk. AFAIK, Rodenstock has always made excellent lenses. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#13
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"Bandicoot" wrote in message ... "Nicholas T" wrote in message ... Richard Knoppow wrote: "ATIPPETT" wrote in message ... I have recently been given a Century Graphic minus a lens/shutter. I would like to build up a fully function system. What recommendations are there for Lens and where might I find a good selections? Mid-West comes to mind any suggestions would be appreciated. Alan Tippett When I restored a Miniature Speed Graphic recently I got a lens from one of the local camera sales so I can't comment on sources. The best of the older lenses for these cameras are the Kodak Ektar 101mm, f/4.5 and the Kodak Ektar 105mm, f/3.7. I've had a bad experience with a very early 101mm Ektar but the later coated one is what I expect from this lens. The 105mm lens is a version fo the lens used on the Kodak Medalist, a Heliar type with Lanthanum glass, in fact, I think the Medalist lens was the first one Kodak made with Lanthanum glass. Both of these are exceptionally sharp lenses. There are some more modern lenses which should be considered, The Rodenstock Sironar or Schneider Symmar and others of the right focal length. Avoid Wollensak Raptar and Wollensak made Optars like the plague, they are dogs. Kodak Supermatic shutters can be brought to life and are quite accurate and reliable when properly cleaned. The 101mm Ektar is fairly common and should not be too expensive. The lenses offered originally on the Century were Triplet types made, I think, by Wollensak. They also offered the Optar (a Tessar type) on the more expensive model. A second vote for a Kodak Ektar (127mm). I have one on my Crown Graphic and it's sharp as anything. It compares favourably with my Nikkor 90mm F8, not that I've done any tests. A bonus with my ektar is that it will fold into the camera. I've always wondered if the Rodenstock Ysaron 127mm is the same design as the Ektar. It looks much the same, and is the same size - and seems the sharpest of the Ysaron / Ysarex range of lenses. (Mine lives on a stand copy camera and only ever gets used for macro, I've never got round to trying it at infinity.) Peter I doubt it is the same design other than being a Tessar type. Considering its a much newer lens than the Ektar it may very well be excellent. Rodenstock made the last series of "Optar" lenses for Graflex. These say Rodenstock and "Made in Germany" on them. The earlier Optars made by Wollensak are poor lenses. Wollensak was capable of making good lenses and made some excellent ones but there is something wrong with both the Optar series used on Speed and Crown Graphics, their commercial Raptar equivalents, and with the Enlarging Raptar series. I am pretty sure this is a design error rather than a QC problem. I have no idea how such inferior lenses could have been chosen by Graflex. The 190mm, f/5.6 Optar, used on the Super-D Graflex camera is an exception, its a very good lens. The Tele-Optar and Tele-Raptar lenses are also quite respectible but the others are junk. AFAIK, Rodenstock has always made excellent lenses. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#14
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Looking for Lens/shutter for Century Graphic
"jjs" wrote in message ... "Bandicoot" wrote: I've always wondered if the Rodenstock Ysaron 127mm is the same design as the Ektar. [...] Interesting. I have a couple of those, too, from the Polaroid MP cameras that were thrown away around here. They were free so (silly me) I never seriously thought about actually _using_ one on a view camera! Perhaps Richard K. knows. Ektar design? Standard lenses on 4x5 press cameras were usually slightly wide angle. The standard lens for this format is 150mm but most press cameras came with 127mm or 135mm lenses. 4x5 is a bit of a stretch for Tessars of this focal length but both the Kodak Ektar and Zeiss Tessar make it when stopped down to about f/8 and are quite sharp all over at f/11. The Rodenstock Ysaron and Ysarex (I don't know the difference) are very good or excellent lenses and should do fine. Graflex's last gasp for the Speed Graphic was the Super Graphic and Super Speed Graphic, both came with Rodenstock lenses although I think some earlier versions of the Super Graphic may have had Wollensak lenses. A well designed Tessar type lens has about a 65degree coverage at maximum, they are not really wide angle lenses. For press use they were preferred to other lenses available at the time partly because of their greater speed (useful at least for the center of the image) and probably because they were a little cheaper. Any lens used on a rangefinder camera has to be essentially free of zonal spherical aberration and the attendant focus shift. Otherwise the rangefinder will not be accurate at all f/stops. I don't have a Rodenstock lens to check but the best of the others is the Kodak Ektar. A note: Ektar was used by Kodak as a trade name for its permium quality lenses, it is not a particular design. The Ektars used on press cameras and the Commercial Ektar series are Tessar types. The Wide Field Ektar is a double Gauss lens. The 105mm f/3.7 Ektar and the Ektar on the Medalist camera are modified Heliar types. The very first Ektar dated from 1936 and was the 45mm, f/2 lens used on the Kodak Bantam Special. This is a Biotar type lens. The 203mm, f/7.7 Ektar is a Dialyte (four element air spaced) type. There are Ektars of other generic types. Virtually all of the Ektar lenses are designed for color photography and are exceptionally well color corrected. Kodak was trying to sell color film and insuring its cameras would produce top quality pictures with it. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#15
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"jjs" wrote in message ... "Bandicoot" wrote: I've always wondered if the Rodenstock Ysaron 127mm is the same design as the Ektar. [...] Interesting. I have a couple of those, too, from the Polaroid MP cameras that were thrown away around here. They were free so (silly me) I never seriously thought about actually _using_ one on a view camera! Perhaps Richard K. knows. Ektar design? Standard lenses on 4x5 press cameras were usually slightly wide angle. The standard lens for this format is 150mm but most press cameras came with 127mm or 135mm lenses. 4x5 is a bit of a stretch for Tessars of this focal length but both the Kodak Ektar and Zeiss Tessar make it when stopped down to about f/8 and are quite sharp all over at f/11. The Rodenstock Ysaron and Ysarex (I don't know the difference) are very good or excellent lenses and should do fine. Graflex's last gasp for the Speed Graphic was the Super Graphic and Super Speed Graphic, both came with Rodenstock lenses although I think some earlier versions of the Super Graphic may have had Wollensak lenses. A well designed Tessar type lens has about a 65degree coverage at maximum, they are not really wide angle lenses. For press use they were preferred to other lenses available at the time partly because of their greater speed (useful at least for the center of the image) and probably because they were a little cheaper. Any lens used on a rangefinder camera has to be essentially free of zonal spherical aberration and the attendant focus shift. Otherwise the rangefinder will not be accurate at all f/stops. I don't have a Rodenstock lens to check but the best of the others is the Kodak Ektar. A note: Ektar was used by Kodak as a trade name for its permium quality lenses, it is not a particular design. The Ektars used on press cameras and the Commercial Ektar series are Tessar types. The Wide Field Ektar is a double Gauss lens. The 105mm f/3.7 Ektar and the Ektar on the Medalist camera are modified Heliar types. The very first Ektar dated from 1936 and was the 45mm, f/2 lens used on the Kodak Bantam Special. This is a Biotar type lens. The 203mm, f/7.7 Ektar is a Dialyte (four element air spaced) type. There are Ektars of other generic types. Virtually all of the Ektar lenses are designed for color photography and are exceptionally well color corrected. Kodak was trying to sell color film and insuring its cameras would produce top quality pictures with it. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
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