20x24 Posted June 8, 2018 Share #1 Posted June 8, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all, I have been trying to get data on this lens Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Any info most welcomed! Thx Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Any info most welcomed! Thx ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/285410-mystery-lens/?do=findComment&comment=3534117'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 Hi 20x24, Take a look here mystery lens. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
luigi bertolotti Posted June 8, 2018 Share #2 Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) Welcome to the Forum ! Leitz Canada, from the first years of its establishment, made A LOT of test/prototype lenses, mostly for military (they tried, with a certain success, to enter the rich US Defense market): the 3 digits number is typical of such items : when the factory was sold to Raytheon -then Hughes- , several of those items were dispersed in several ways (they surely weren't military secrets...) and do appear regularly for sale at some dealers, of course mostly in US/Canada. Not all of those prototypes are photographics lenses… they made also items for other optical devices… how is the mount of the lens you have depicted ? Is there a diaphragm ? A focusing helicoid ? The engraving and finishing look curiosly "Old style"... if original, it must be one of the first items made in Canada, well before the several black lenses named "ELCAN" Apart the wide domain of Leitz Canada military items, the only reference to a normal Leitz product that I can imagine (considering focal and finishing) is a possible/vague relation with the Leica 72 half frame… some of them were built in Ontario… a 40mm f3,5 prototype "Elmar-like" could have a sense… but I have never read something about. Edited June 8, 2018 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
20x24 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted June 8, 2018 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Thank you so much for your response and your welcome Luigi! It totally makes sense, it is a strange little lens, at normal magnification ratios it is a good lens, but once you go past 1:1 this lens is extraordinarily sharp. The mount is also uncommon (I am including a photo). Please let me know if it reminds you of something you may have seen. Thanks again! :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Thank you so much for your response and your welcome Luigi! It totally makes sense, it is a strange little lens, at normal magnification ratios it is a good lens, but once you go past 1:1 this lens is extraordinarily sharp. The mount is also uncommon (I am including a photo). Please let me know if it reminds you of something you may have seen. Thanks again! :-) ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/285410-mystery-lens/?do=findComment&comment=3534256'>More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 9, 2018 Share #4 Posted June 9, 2018 No diaphragm…. long helicoid… a lens to project ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
20x24 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted June 9, 2018 Sorry I forgot to mention that it does have a diaphragm, just not numbered :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 9, 2018 Share #6 Posted June 9, 2018 Thank you so much for your response and your welcome Luigi! It totally makes sense, it is a strange little lens, at normal magnification ratios it is a good lens, but once you go past 1:1 this lens is extraordinarily sharp. The mount is also uncommon (I am including a photo). Please let me know if it reminds you of something you may have seen. Thanks again! :-) Hum.. so you have been able to test it as a taking lens : have you got an idea about its coverage when used for taking a picture ? I mean, does it cover a std. 24x36 frame ? Does it focus at infinity with a decent rendition ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 9, 2018 Share #7 Posted June 9, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I suppose the above ruler is scaled in inches...considering that, by logic this ought to be a sort of Elmar design of 40mm FL.... one can guess the position of the focus plane… not so far from the end of the long helicoid (which, I suppose, is not to focus the lens in itself, but just to secure it to some device) : given the presence of diaphragm (no scale… but this is a prototype) I lean towards an enlarging lens, or even a lens to be attached to some repro equipment; lenses for those kind of equipment were usually black… but once again, this is a prototype.. . Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
20x24 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted June 9, 2018 Repro lens sounds like the best guess. I have used it with a 4x5 camera using a scanning back, did not test at infinity. Very good coverage even with short bellows draw :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted June 10, 2018 Share #9 Posted June 10, 2018 An enlarging lens maybe? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 10, 2018 Share #10 Posted June 10, 2018 4"x5" ? And it covers the full frame ? Well, I'd say that a 40mm lens which acts like this is undoubtly for a repro/micro device. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Posted June 14, 2018 Share #11 Posted June 14, 2018 Hi Guys, In the world of macrophotography, although the usually quoted lenses in use during the 1950s were the Zeiss Luminars which were made in focal lengths of 16, 25, 40 and 63mm, there were also Leitz Summars and Milars available in similar focal lengths. They were often used in 5x4 and 6x9 cameras (my information is based on Linhof publications). Maybe this is one of these, but fitted in a helical mount for some special purpose? Susie Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyoung Posted June 14, 2018 Share #12 Posted June 14, 2018 It must indeed be a macro lens, especially in view of its performance quoted above. A 40mm 3.5 that was that small and covered 4x5 at any distance would be something I would have drooled over when I used a Sinar (and would have defied the laws of physics), a 75mm 5.6 Super Angulon wwas impressive enough. Gerry Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
20x24 Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share #13 Posted June 15, 2018 Hi All, just to answer a couple of questions. It absolutely covers 4x5 (technically 3x4 because the Betterlight scanning back has that size sensor) with moderate bellows draw, magnifications of 1;1 and higher. I also have a collection of Milars, Photars, Luminars etc and this lens looks very different BUT performs similarly. :-) Thanks for all the info, this forum is amazing!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 15, 2018 Share #14 Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) … I am intrigued by this lens… and the fact that you are well knowledged about Milars, Luminars & C and quote it as EXTRAORDINARY sharp at big repro ratios, on 4x5", makes me to speculate that maybe it was designed for a microfiche equipment… microfiches had(have) a format in the range of 4x5" (105x148 mm is the standard).. they need a very sharp lens, being used to archive finely written/printed documents (and drawings) … of course, nowadays they have been largely superseded by digital media… but in my "professional Youth" (first '80s) microfiches were a very common media in the engineering/manufacturing sector… thousands were produced… and there were specific systems to "store and retrieve" them in proper repositories. Edited June 15, 2018 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_livsey Posted June 16, 2018 Share #15 Posted June 16, 2018 … but in my "professional Youth" (first '80s) microfiches were a very common media in the engineering/manufacturing sector… thousands were produced… and there were specific systems to "store and retrieve" them in proper repositories. To comply with legislation a large volume of medical records were transferred to microfiche, again in the 80's. Recently for some research we asked for access, no machines left to read the records we were told. The law was complied with, the records were stored, no mention of being able to actually read them apparently. So much for analog being an archival medium 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 16, 2018 Share #16 Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) To comply with legislation a large volume of medical records were transferred to microfiche, again in the 80's. Recently for some research we asked for access, no machines left to read the records we were told. The law was complied with, the records were stored, no mention of being able to actually read them apparently. So much for analog being an archival medium .. and HERE IS where we Leitz' oldies lovers can solve real serious issues !!! Find on ebay this item http://www.summilux.net/documents/LeitzEpidiascopeVh2.pdf (time to time some appear for sale… and are superbly engineered devices… typically WORKING)… and you can projekt microfiches, take photos with any smartphone (*)… and get a trustable digital archive… (*) Leica --Huawei reccomended as for Leitz' specs from the '60s... Edited June 16, 2018 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_livsey Posted June 16, 2018 Share #17 Posted June 16, 2018 .. and HERE IS where we Leitz' oldies lovers can solve real serious issues !!! Indeed true, I should have been more precise, no reader machines left in the hospital, and should add no apparent desire to acquire one, we restricted the search to paper records. Currently the e-prescribing/notes roll out is proceeding, that should produce a really useful database search function, eventually Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 16, 2018 Share #18 Posted June 16, 2018 To comply with legislation a large volume of medical records were transferred to microfiche, again in the 80's. Recently for some research we asked for access, no machines left to read the records we were told. The law was complied with, the records were stored, no mention of being able to actually read them apparently. So much for analog being an archival medium Sheer laziness on somebody's part: http://www.microfichereader.co.uk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_livsey Posted June 16, 2018 Share #19 Posted June 16, 2018 Sheer laziness on somebody's part: http://www.microfichereader.co.uk Welcome to the NHS Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 16, 2018 Share #20 Posted June 16, 2018 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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