[LargeFormat] Wide field and Commercial Ektars

[Richard Knoppow]

-----Original Message-----
From: Les Newcomer <LNPhoto at twmi.rr.com>
Sent: Aug 10, 2005 5:56 AM
To: f32 Large Format Photography Mail List <largeformat at f32.net>, k4sb at niia.net
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] Wide field and Commercial Ektars

Very interesting. Does your '46 set say "Wide Field" or "Wide Angle" 
Ektar.   I have a 135 and 190 also from '46 that say Wide Angle, but 
these have a 000 serial number.

While I'm still in negotiations with the owner, I'm aware of a 14" 
Eastman Ektar.  Has all the markings and machining of a Commercial 
Ektar (bright mount of aluminum, style of engraving) accept its date 
code is EY (1940); hence the interest of the "Commercial" introduction.

   The Eastman Ektar is the same lens as the Commercial Ektar but is not hard coated. Rather, it is soft coated on protected surfaces. I am not sure of the exact date Kodak began to hard coat civilian optics but it is about 1946. The lens is still listed as the Eastman Ektar in the 1945 edition of the Kodak lens booklet. 
    Kodak changed the names of a number of its lenses c.1947. Prior to this they made two series of Kodak Anastigmat lenses, the 30 series, which were Tessars, and the 70 series, which were dialytes. The 30 series were discontinued about 1947 and replaced by Ektar lenses. The Ektars were not the same design and are of somewhat different focal length. The one exception is the No.70 Kodak Anastigmat, whcih was continued with the addition of hard coating as the Kodak Ektar,  203mm, f/7.7   Kodak also began calling its enlarging lenses Enlarging Ektars or Enlarging Ektanon rather than Projection Ektar or Anastigmats. Names like Anastar and Anaston for lower cost lenses were also introduced in about 1947. 
   I believe that Kodak lenses serial numbered 000 are prototypes. 



--
Richard Knoppow
dickburk at ix.netcom.com
Los Angeles, CA, USA