On that certain auction site there are some examples of what I take to be pre-WW2 Goerz Dagors, a 6 1/2" f6.8 Ser III No1.
Its obviously uncoated & this site mentions focus shift on stopping down.
The said lens is currently in a B&L Volute shutter.
Is the lens worth bidding for in respect of its coverage & performance?

Quote:

On 2004-03-21 00:43, primus96 wrote: On that certain auction site there are some examples of what I take to be pre-WW2 Goerz Dagors, a 6 1/2" f6.8 Ser III No1. Is the lens worth bidding for in respect of its coverage & performance?

Dagors are wide angle lenses of a certain fame. I guess the 6 1/2 is designed for 5x7. Is it worth bidding on depends on the price. If you need a lens that covers 5x7 it might be worth trying for. I just did a search and found one claim that might give the lens enough coverage to just handle 8x10 if stopped down to f/45. If you're looking for a normal lens for 4x5 it's less exciting. Dagors are famous and draw higher then rational prices some times. Plus being wide they attract people looking for wide lenses for larger formats.

Go to google and search the large format news group. You'll find plenty of info on the Dagor.

There was no indication what format the lens was intended for. The auction photograph was unclear so I couldnt read the script on the lens ring.

Perhaps the Series III No1 designation may be a clue as to age. The creature is uncoated which, to my mind makes it pre-war.
The design dates from 1904. Is the 'Series III from before the time when Goerz became a part of Zeiss Ikon?

Quote:

On 2004-03-21 07:45, primus96 wrote: There was no indication what format the lens was intended for. The auction photograph was unclear so I couldnt read the script on the lens ring. Perhaps the Series III No1 designation may be a clue as to age. The creature is uncoated which, to my mind makes it pre-war. The design dates from 1904. Is the 'Series III from before the time when Goerz became a part of Zeiss Ikon?

All Dagors are wide lenses. Since it's 6 1/2 " which is the lenght of a normal 4x5 lens it must be for a format bigger then 4x5. That much I think is right.

You said it's labelled 6 1/2" that means to me it's US goerz and not one of the german made companies. The B&L shutter I think makes this more likely.

The various series are just different variations on the same basic design. I think all the III would be F/6.8. This may vary with either extreme end of the focal length range I don't know.

Check out Richards post in the following link:
<a href="http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&frame=right&th=bed7c49a74912e0&seekm=19990531220857.29555.00007275%40ng-fg1.aol.com#link2">google groups</a>


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"Dagors" suffer less from a lack of coating than most other designs, because they have very few (2) internal air/glass surfaces. This is one of the reasons for their great popularity in prewar years.

It used to be the conventional wisdom that all "Dagors" exhibit a shift in focus when changing apertures, even the last ones. It evidently went with the design. I've heard the same about "Protars."

I agree that a certain mystique has arisen with regard to "Dagors," along with claims that they produce images with desirable but unquantifiable qualities ("luminous," "plastic," etc.) I've heard this often enough, from people I respect, that I'm not prepared to dismiss it as pure superstition.

The question of whether it's worth bidding on seems to reduce to, what would I pay for this thing if I saw it in a shop window? If this answer is a positive number, put the bid in and abide the result, say I!

The lens will likely bring a good price due to it's reputation, but consider the Volute shutter as worthless except for the benefit of having a diaphragm, if it works. A Volute shutter, if it's original to the lens would date to the early 1900's.