Hi,
Today I did a rare find.
I bought on a 'bric a brac' auction a big box with books and some kitchen stuff for 12 Euro. To my surprise the box turned out to be very heavy and when I got home I found on the bottom a part from a horizontal Linhof reproduction camera mounted with three Apo Ronar L lenses. They where covert with a lot of dust and dirt but after a bit of cleaning the glass looks unscratched. The lenses are F9-128/240mm, F9-280/360mm and F9-180/480mm and don’t have a shutter. Don’t know if they are coated. Does anybody know if I can use these lenses on a 4x5 camera or bigger, what type of shutter these lenses will fit or any other information on these lenses?

Lucas


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: prakticavlc2 on 2004-03-07 13:56 ]</font>

Congratulations on a very lucky purchase! I have the Rodenstock data sheets for the 1982 versions of the Apo-Ronars, and if you want I can scan it and send it to you, but it might take me a few days. Let me know.

The Apo-Ronars are process lenses, optimized for 1:1. Having said that, Rodenstock says they'll work fine for considerable enlargements and reductions. You can certainly use them at infinity, and some landscape photographers like process lenses because they're fairly small and backpackable.

They have four elements in four groups and the design limits them to a maximum aperture of f/9. Rodenstock recommends a working aperture of f/22.

Your 240 takes a #1 shutter, and will cover 4 x 5, with an image circle of 212mm at f/22 focused on infinity. The 360 takes a #3 shutter and will cover 5 x 7. The 480 also takes a #3 shutter and will cover 8 x 10. There should be no practical difficulty getting them mounted in shutters, but it may get expensive.

Of course, the big limitation is that you'll run out of bellows before you can use the 360 or 480, unless you have a view camera with lots of extension.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Dave on 2004-03-07 15:24 ]</font>

Quote:

On 2004-03-07 13:55, prakticavlc2 wrote: Hi, Today I did a rare find. I bought on a 'bric a brac' auction a big box with books and some kitchen stuff for 12 Euro. To my surprise the box turned out to be very heavy and when I got home I found on the bottom a part from a horizontal Linhof reproduction camera mounted with three Apo Ronar L lenses. They where covert with a lot of dust and dirt but after a bit of cleaning the glass looks unscratched. The lenses are F9-128/240mm, F9-280/360mm and F9-180/480mm and don’t have a shutter. Don’t know if they are coated. Does anybody know if I can use these lenses on a 4x5 camera or bigger, what type of shutter these lenses will fit or any other information on these lenses? Lucas <font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: prakticavlc2 on 2004-03-07 13:56 ]</font>

Good find, Lucas!

The lenses are all dialyte type, four elements in four groups, don't have enormous coverage. The 240 should cover 5x7, the other two 8x10. They are all coated, probably single coated, which is enough.

Rodenstock says that although Apo Ronars intended to be used at magnifications from 1:5 to 5:1 they hold their corrections well at infinity and are very usable as photographic objectives. They claim that an Apo Ronar gives better image quality, aperture for aperture, than a telephoto lens of the same focal length.

Using them isn't easy. You could use the 240 and 280 on a Speed Graphic, but the focal plane shutter may not give you as long a timed exposure as you'd like with one. The 240 and 280 might go in front of a #5 Ilex or #5 Betax. Ask Adam at http://www.skgrimes.com for advice on that. You could put any of them in front of a Packard shutter, sorry can't direct you to the manufacturer's URL.

I have a 600/9, stops to f/260, in my closet. I got it with the idea of building a large camera that incorporated a small Graphic or Graflex around it. No progress at all on that project, alas.

You could sell them on eBay. Use the main eBay site, not eBay.nl, and offer to ship worldwide. They should bring at least $100 each, possibly a bit more.

Cheers,

Dan

You can purchase new Packard-Ideal shutters, including flash synchronized ones and models actuated by a solenoid rather than a bulb, from:

http://www.hubphoto.com/photography-products.htm

They're not cheap, and may be of limited use for outdoor photography, especially with fast film.

Hello Dave, Dan and T.R. Sandford,

Dave, thanks for the offer but I did last night a search on the Rodenstock website and found the data on the Apo Ronars.

I also found examples of these lenses put in a shutter on the website of S.K. Grimes. I guess if I let them put the three lenses in a shutter it will cost around $1000. And a 8x10 camera $1200? That would be a expensive new hobby and my wife would kill me!

But I love the big format and the Apo Ronar seems to be a decent lens for it.

I know where I can get a shutter from a old repro camera for free that looks like a sort of Packard shutter with a solenoid. Perhaps that will work. I also saw a few websites with homemade 8x10 camera’s that looks like fun to build. So I think that’s the way I will go, the large format bug has bitten me! I have access to the scanner for it and I have a Epson A2 printer at home so I can go beyond contact printing.

PS
I was educated in the graphical arts, worked as a typesetter by hand, printer, repro photographer, studio photographer and for the last twenty-seven years as a graphical designer and found a picture of me, thirteen years old in 1965, working at school on the same horizontal Linhof camera these lenses where used on. Strange how things work out!

Lucas de Boer

Quote:

On 2004-03-08 15:55, prakticavlc2 wrote: Hello Dave, Dan and T.R. Sandford, Dave, thanks for the offer but I did last night a search on the Rodenstock website and found the data on the Apo Ronars. I also found examples of these lenses put in a shutter on the website of S.K. Grimes. I guess if I let them put the three lenses in a shutter it will cost around $1000. And a 8x10 camera $1200? That would be a expensive new hobby and my wife would kill me! But I love the big format and the Apo Ronar seems to be a decent lens for it. I know where I can get a shutter from a old repro camera for free that looks like a sort of Packard shutter with a solenoid. Perhaps that will work. I also saw a few websites with homemade 8x10 camera’s that looks like fun to build. So I think that’s the way I will go, the large format bug has bitten me! I have access to the scanner for it and I have a Epson A2 printer at home so I can go beyond contact printing. PS I was educated in the graphical arts, worked as a typesetter by hand, printer, repro photographer, studio photographer and for the last twenty-seven years as a graphical designer and found a picture of me, thirteen years old in 1965, working at school on the same horizontal Linhof camera these lenses where used on. Strange how things work out! Lucas de Boer

Lucas, if Dave is right -- I think he is -- you can at least put the 240 in a shutter. Look for a 127/4.7 Tominon from a Polaroid CU-5, DS-34, or DS-39(? there were several models of DS-3x cameras) in a Copal Press shutter. These shutters #1s and have a diaphragm, just what you need. $US 40 ought to get one for you, shipping included, from a vendor on eBay. They're fairly abundant. Don't get an MP-4 Copal #1 Press, they don't have a diaphragm.

Cheers,

Dan

Quote:

On 2004-03-08 16:35, Dan Fromm wrote: Lucas, if Dave is right -- I think he is -- you can at least put the 240 in a shutter.

I'm right about the shutter sizes they originally were sold with-- that's straight off the data sheets. I don't know if this means you can front-mount or otherwise adapt your barrel mount to a #1 shutter <i>post hoc</i>, but Dan will know more about this than I do.

I liked your story about the photo of yourself using the old process camera, like a picture of an old friend that you meet again 40 years later. It's cool how the darn things almost have a life of their own down the decades.

Hi
I agree with what Dan First suggested:
Sell them on eBay and let someone else have the problem. Further, Buy a good modern 8x10 lens/shutter and get enjoying LF photography sooner.
I had the same wife conditions you have spoken about and all I had to do was sell off all my odd ball photographic equipment to buy a Nikon F5 and a Schneider- Kreluznach 360mm lens and Compur #3 shutter (Both made in Germany). I have never looked back!
Harry
P.S. The 360mm works great on my 4x5 view as well. I only have to screw the rear element in from the back after the lens board is mounted.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2004-03-09 09:15 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2004-03-09 09:50 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2004-03-09 14:27 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2004-03-09 14:28 ]</font>

http://www.worldphoto.bravepages.com/
Lucas
You've indicated an interest in building view cameras. I have built two 4x5 views and one 8x10 view. One of the 4x5s is mounted with 30" bellows and the other has bag bellows. Take a look at my view camera photos and notes about building them on my web site.
Harry