COLOR SKOPAR or SOLINAR/APOTAR ???

[ARCHIVIST]

OK, this is it - I am going back to a 6x9 folder. If not with a built-in RF then with a shoe mounted RF.

I am keen on the Agfa Record I & II as well as the Voigtlander bessa I.

I know the color skopar and the solinar lenses are good, but is one better than the other? If so, then why please.

I did have an Agfa Record II with an apotar lens some time back and it was very good indeed.

Your opinions will be most welcome.

Regards
Peter

 

[oftheherd]

If you scroll down you will find a thread named Agfa Isolette with Apotar lens at http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64234 which you may find interesting. I think you will find some with experience coming up to comment in this thread as well.

 

[MineSix66]

Here is a picture using the Agfa Record III with Solinar.Handheld and the second picture is a crop at 100%.

 

[huffy49]

Many say that the Solinar and Skopar are equivalent; a few claim the Skopar is a tad better. Both these Tessar designs are significantly better than the 3 element Apotar. You should also consider any 6x9 folder with a coated Zeiss Tessar, Schneider Xenar, or Kodak Anstigmat Special or Anstar lens. All are Tessar type (4 element) lenses and fine performers. Another good lens is the Kodak Anstigmat f/4.5 lens on Kodak 6x9 folders. Also a Tessar design, it's a nearly as good as the above; a cut above the Apotar and other 3 element designs.

 

[FallisPhoto]

OK, this is it - I am going back to a 6x9 folder. If not with a built-in RF then with a shoe mounted RF.

I am keen on the Agfa Record I & II as well as the Voigtlander bessa I.

I know the color skopar and the solinar lenses are good, but is one better than the other? If so, then why please.

I did have an Agfa Record II with an apotar lens some time back and it was very good indeed.

Your opinions will be most welcome.

Regards
Peter

The Skopar and Solinar are both 4-element lenses. Both are very good. Which is better? Well, it depends on the age of the lens. An older Skopar will likely have bubbles in the glass. Depending on which elements the bubbles are in, this might or might not have an effect on the photos you can take with it. A newer Color Skopar (without bubbles) is a very good lens indeed though. Just be aware that it is risky buying vintage Skopars, without the word color in front of it, sight unseen. Solinars are not nearly as risky, and are also very good lenses. I think the Color Skopar is slightly better, but to such a minute degree that you probably won't see a difference unless you blow the photos up beyond the acceptable limits for medium format or look at big enlargements through a loupe.

The Apotar is a 3-element lens. It is a good one, in fact it's one of the three or four best, if properly calibrated, but it's still a 3-element lens. This means you will get some problems (blurring and/or vignetting) in the corners if you shoot with the aperture wide open. If you stop it down to f/8 or smaller, it is almost as good as the Skopar or Solinar though -- not quite, but almost. When looking at the differences between photos from a stopped down Apotar and a Solinar lens, it is pretty much apparent that you've reached the point of big bucks for small differences.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Another good lens is the Kodak Anstigmat f/4.5 lens on Kodak 6x9 folders. Also a Tessar design, it's a nearly as good as the above; a cut above the Apotar and other 3 element designs.

Don't forget the Kodak Ektar. A real honest-to-god commercial Ektar is several cuts above any Tessar design. Only problem is, Kodak wasn't very honest. They named several lenses Ektars that really were something completely different. You have do research an "Ektar" before buying it in order to know what you are really getting.

 

[ARCHIVIST]

Thanks to all for the good information - most helpful and very much appreciated.

Regards
Peter

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Probably past time to be useful but for Archivist's interest I live in Western Sydney and have a Bessa I with the Color Skopar lens as well as one with the Vaskar. we could probably arrange to meet up and he can have a look.

 

[68degrees]

Don't forget the Kodak Ektar. A real honest-to-god commercial Ektar is several cuts above any Tessar design. Only problem is, Kodak wasn't very honest. They named several lenses Ektars that really were something completely different. You have do research an "Ektar" before buying it in order to know what you are really getting.

is the Ektar on the Signet 35 a real honest-to-god commercial Ektar?

 

[BW400CN]

This was a pre-war Skopar 4,5 10,5cm on a Voigtländer Avus - shoot wide open with Fuji Reala 100:


Voigtländer Avus 6x9 - Fuji Reala 100 von BW400CN auf Flickr

and this @ f8:


Voigtländer Avus 6x9 - Fuji Reala 100 von BW400CN auf Flickr