Fwd: [LargeFormat] cult lenses

[Les Newcomer]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Joseph O'Neil <joneil@multiboard.com>
> Date: Mon Jun 2, 2003  12:01:00  PM US/Eastern
> To: largeformat@f32.net
> Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] cult lenses
> Reply-To: largeformat@f32.net
>
> At 11:41 6/2/03 -0400, you wrote:
>> What are Dagor, Cooke, Dallmeyer, Goerz, Dallmeyer, and Wollensak 
>> lenses and
>> why are they held in such reverence?  I was checking out Dagor77's 
>> auctions.
>> What a character!
>
>         Personally I dunno.  I used to have a 135mm, wide Field Ektar 
> - the "classic" everyoen raves about.  It was a very nice lens to be 
> sure, and when I bought it many moons ago, modestly priced.  Today,t 
> heya re quite pricey, IMO>
>
>         I later sold it, and bought a brand new Rodenstock Sironar -N, 
> 135mm.  IMO, having used both, the new Rodenstock is the superior > lens.
>
>         Some old lenses are wonderful.  I currently use an old 8.25 
> inch , F9 red Dot Goerz APO Artar.  Very nice lens.   Very sharp.  I 
> picked it up dirt cheap form a local darkroom clossing up and 
> dismantling thier process camera.
>         But it is very dark to focus at F9,  and the price of ones on 
> Ebay is outrageous, IMO.  Again, for the extra money, go buy a brand 
> new Rodenstock or Schneider 210mm.
>
>         My personal speculation on how these "cult lenses' got thier 
> reputations is guys liek me woudl find an old process camera being 
> trashed and junked, go in, grab the lens dirt cheap, try it out,a nd 
> then report "wow, this thing is great" .  And a lot of these old lenes 
> are/were.
>
>         You  might get some good deals off ebay, but first you ahve to 
> worry about the condition of ht lens - I ahve seen some real dogs at 
> camera shows going for a pretty penny.  then, with any used lens, you 
> either have to pay to have it mounted in a shutter, or have the 
> shutter sent off for cleaning & recalibration.
>
>         So go to Calumet, look up the price of a brand new 210mm 
> comapred to any used 210mm on Ebay, factor in the above conditions, 
> and maybe some fo these old classics aren't always the deal they first 
> appear to be.
> joe
>


I agree with Joe until you get to the 10" WF on an 8x10.  I don't think 
there's anything new out there that can touch it in its price range.  
Can the new lenses out perform it?  Sure.  But if I recall some 
magazine did a head to head comparison and said the WF has more 
resolution that you need and slightly less contrast than a new one.  So 
I get enough sharpness and detail in the shadows.

In the 2x3, 4x5 format, the 80 and the 135 gets beat by several lenses. 
  And this comes from a guy that owns a 135mm WF serial EO 000.  
Actually it doesn't say Wide Field, this one was a pre production 
prototype that said "Wide Angle"