Mandler Heaven: pictures of, and by, lenses designed by Walter Mandler

DR Summicron also ?

2399372331_6ce8dba970_z.jpg
 
Really good pics, helen. The reflections in the hood of that car affect my brain like some kind of drug. Mesmerizing.
 
A virtually unknown Mandler design is the 75mm f2.4 Apo. Five or six lensheads were made and 2, maybe three were put into barrels and used. I had one for several years - very good lens!!!! Problem was that the glass used was very special - high index, experimental formula and it would have cost more than a Noctilux to produce. It was made in the early 80's (mine was in a 75f1.4 barrel). I know of one more + a lens head that last I heard was in Australia.
Still haven't figured out how to move stuff from Flickr to RFf - but if you go to our Flickr site and tag "Leica Apo Elmarit 75mm f2.4" there are pictures of the lens and with it.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr Mandler several times in Midland. Charming man - and what he did not know of optics - is probably not worth knowing!!!
I took the 75f2.4 to show to Kobayshi san at Cosina and they put it on their big optical bench. A whole crowd of lens designers gathered around and checked it out with loupes etc " Ohhh, this is a very good lens" after a while "This is a really, really good lens" and after some more testing "This is better than our equipment can show!!!!!"
In the end I sold it off, it was better than I could really justify - and I already had the 75f1.4 and the 75f2 Apo - and the VC 75f2.5.
 
Tom, thanks a lot for your input here ! :) I had never heard about that special lens before.
 
Tom A said:
I know of one more + a lens head that last I heard was in Australia.
Click to expand...

It's not in Australia anymore.

Tom A said:
I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr Mandler several times in Midland. Charming man - and what he did not know of optics - is probably not worth knowing!!!
Click to expand...

My father was an optical engineer and knew Dr Mandler and Ernst Leitz quite well, but I never met either of them.

Tom A said:
In the end I sold it off, it was better than I could really justify - and I already had the 75f1.4 and the 75f2 Apo - and the VC 75f2.5.
Click to expand...

In the end I did the same - I have the M 75/.4, the R 80/1.4 and some other lenses of equivalent focal length. The f2 Apo is better close up, and resolution at infinity would be well down on my list of properties I look for in a lens. But the main thing I noticed about the 75/2.4 is that it had a sufficiently different spectral transmission from most camera lenses that it had a very odd tonality in B&W and required filtration in colour.

The final tipping point was that I met a Leica collector who may have killed me if I hadn't sold it to him [I'm only half joking there], but who generously offered me an insane amount of money for it.

Marty
 
Last edited:
I have several Mandler lenses and like them all, but my favorite is the Tele-Elmar 135: so well behaved and smooth.
Taking advantage of its Visoflex capability, I tend to use the TE135 digitally.
te135c.jpg
bebox2c.jpg
 
Freakscene said:
It's not in Australia anymore.



My father was an optical engineer and knew Dr Mandler and Ernst Leitz quite well, but I never met either of them.



In the end I did the same - I have the M 75/.4, the R 80/1.4 and some other lenses of equivalent focal length. The f2 Apo is better close up, and resolution at infinity would be well down on my list of properties I look for in a lens. But the main thing I noticed about the 75/2.4 is that it had a sufficiently different spectral transmission from most camera lenses that it had a very odd tonality in B&W and required filtration in colour.


Marty, do you remember the serial number of yours? From what I found out, #1 was just a product test number, #2 and 3 where lensheads for testing on copy devices (only 6-7 aperture blades) and # 5/6 were put in 75f1.4 mounts. Someone at Midland told me that #5 was put in a shortened 90f2.8 mount. It was a very good lens - but collectors clamored for it and offering things like brand new Nikon Millennium kit + $1000's for it.
Never shot color with it - but in black and white it was deadly sharp. I suspect that the 752 Apo is close to it in performance - particularly close-up performance. Never had both at the same time, so it is a bit of a guess.
Mandler had a bit of a dry wit. We were having coffee in the Midlands canteen and he was explaining something about the 75f1.4 and the 180f3.4 and looked at me " Ach, you dont understand this at all!!!" I admitted that it was way over my head and he said "This is the problem, nobody really understands what I am talking about!".
He also stated that the 180f3.4 should have been sold without aperture blades and locked at infinity " That's when it is better than anything else - once stopped down and focussed close - it is just a very good lens". It was also the first time I heard about the M-mount version of this lens. Huge goggles that keyed in the 135 frame and magnified it to 180 mm view!
I have sen a couple - not pretty, but nice concept (supposedly 6 were made as a test and teaser for the US Navy.
Tom
Click to expand...
 
Tom A said:
Marty, do you remember the serial number of yours?
Click to expand...

It was #3 Tom. I had it adapted into a 75/1.4 mount without altering it. I think it had 7 aperture blades. It had a weird thread mount at the base of the head, which I assumed was some strange thread mount, but just turned out to be the internal threading Leica used for the optical module of their lenses at that time. Stupid me.

I lived in Europe for 6 months with no other income on what I got for that lens.

The 75/2 apo was definitely better close up, particularly at the edges, but nothing could touch the 2.4 at infinity.

Tom A said:
Mandler had a bit of a dry wit. We were having coffee in the Midlands canteen and he was explaining something about the 75f1.4 and the 180f3.4 and looked at me " Ach, you dont understand this at all!!!" I admitted that it was way over my head and he said "This is the problem, nobody really understands what I am talking about!".
Click to expand...

That's funny. I have some colleagues like this, but unfortunately, it does open you up to being accused of talking rubbish.

Tom A said:
He also stated that the 180f3.4 should have been sold without aperture blades and locked at infinity " That's when it is better than anything else - once stopped down and focussed close - it is just a very good lens". It was also the first time I heard about the M-mount version of this lens. Huge goggles that keyed in the 135 frame and magnified it to 180 mm view!
I have sen a couple - not pretty, but nice concept (supposedly 6 were made as a test and teaser for the US Navy.
Tom
Click to expand...

Here's why you need photographers as well as optical engineers. A 180 mm lens with no aperture that only works at infinity - useful!

Marty
 
Wow, Helen! Great shots! I love the one on the bus!

This is Dr. Mandler's Summicron 35 v.2 in action on some TRI-X pushed to 1600;

3257512885_5f8e6258cf_z.jpg


3349079371_106e53ded7_z.jpg


3295312354_da6fcff581_z.jpg
 
Tom A,
I'm willing to bet that the 180mm M mount lens was or still is at the Navy base in Keflavik, Iceland.
Back in late 2003, I was at the photo lab in Guam while on deployment and called my friend who had just become the lab supervisor at NAS Keflavik. Right then he was doing inventory of the gear he was being turned over by the person he replaced. He said "Phil, what's a L-I-N-H-O-F?" then listed a BUNCH of other very arcane gear, some old Leicas in there of course. He said a lot of it looked ugly but everything worked. The problem with that base was that it was a NATO hub and everyone from aircrews to frigate photographers had their hands on that stuff. Out in the North Atlantic salt spray, doing their jobs snooping on Soviet ships. (I've always wondered if they had extra special gear made for their intel photo teams or if they were allowed to purchase stuff like Leica. I guess finding a genuine Soviet military camera might be a cool thing to look for too...)

Phil Forrest
 
and, then, featuring K64...


Leica M6 + 50mm f/2 Summicron "tabbed" + Kodachrome 64
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]

for a moment there I started missing the K64
 
My contributions, from some of my favorite lenses...


Leica M9
Leica Summilux 75mm f1.4


the kodi - 75mm Summilux by slantface, on Flickr


the grasses - 75mm Summilux by slantface, on Flickr

Leica M9
Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 pre-asph


the conversation - bw - summilux by slantface, on Flickr


the eyes - color - summilux by slantface, on Flickr

Leica M4
Leica Summicron 35mm ver.IV


lake time by slantface, on Flickr

Leica M8
Leica Summicron 90mm f2 E55 pre-asph


coffee-table-statue by slantface, on Flickr

Sorry for so many photos...but I'm just now realizing how many of my favorite lenses were designed by Mandler!
 

Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55





Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55






Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55






Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55






Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55





Leica M8 + 90mm f/2 Summicron "pre-asph" E55
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom