[LargeFormat] lens list with values

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edward Meyers" <aghalide@panix.com>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] lens list with values


> The charts give lots of info on lenses from the 1940s and
up.
> I'm looking for lenses of the 1920s such as Zeiss Protar,
B&L
> Protars, Goerz Dagors and Double Anastigmats, etc. These
are
> missing from the charts, but are valuable lenses for large
> format. Ed
>
 Most of these lenses were made for decades. The Dagor was
patented in 1892 and made up to the 1970's. The Protar was
made in different versions (wide angle and convertible)
until at least 1950. Bausch & Lomb built Zeiss design lenses
under license from the mid 1890's until the outbreak of
WW-1. After that they continued to build Zeiss type lenses
and Compur/Compound shutters without the license since all
German property was seized by the U.S.Government.
  The Goerz Double Anastigmat, type A is the Dagor, the Type
B, the Celor. Goerz changed the names of all its lenses in
1900.
  The original German Goerz company was merged with
Zeiss-Ikon in 1926. Zeiss continued to build Dagors under
the name Zeiss-Goerz. The Goerz American Optical Co was
either independant from the start or became so very early.
Goerz American continued to build Dagor Apo Artar, Dogmar,
and other Goerz lenses until it was bought by Schneider
Optical c.1970. Schneider built Dagors for a time,
eventually farming them out to Kern Optical in Switzerland,
and continued Apo-Artars until about 1990.
  The price of old lenses depends very much on their
condition. The lenses mentioned are all usable and are
priced as user items not collector's items. The value of a
lens also depends on whether its in a barrel or a shutter.
If in a shutter the type and condition of the shutter will
affect the price.
  The point of this is that the market value varies
constantly and from place to place. Prices on eBay may or
may not reflect prices at local sales. It is impossible to
give more than a very rough hint at going prices. Like any
other used item lenses are worth exactly what someone is
willing to pay for them.
  I would say that with some notable exceptions the lenses
mentioned do not command high prices. They were made in
quantity and are available used in quantity. Something like
a complete Protar set complete with shutter, barrel, and
case, will command a high price partly as a usable set of
lenses but also as a collector's item. Some lenses have a
sort of cult following which jacks the prices up. Heliars
and especially Apo-Lanthars fit this catagory. Neither is
good enough to justify the prices sometimes asked for them.
  To be worth anything a lens has to have perfect glass. All
those blemishes which "don't affect the performance" do
affect it. Avoid lenses which are scratched, gouged, or show
signs of mishandling like dents. Separated elements can be
tollerated if the cement is only discolored a little in a
ring around the periphery. Recementing lenses can be
expensive since many cemented lenses are mounted in
burnished or spun-in mounts which require machine work for
removing and remounting the glass. Minor blemishes are
tollerable if the lens is cheap.
  No one is going to say that a 12" Dagor in a shutter
should sell for $250 US, it can't be done. How old and what
type is the lens. The price is high for a 1920's or 1930's
lens and low for a Kern Gold-Dot.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com