Projector lens DIY fun

Mr_Flibble

Mr_Flibble

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Early December I bought an old projector lens at a flea market in Amsterdam.

1454833_604245619623799_268375404_n.jpg

Most likely a projector lens rebranded and sold by the Ed. Liesegang company in Düsseldorf around 1900.

A little research leads me to believe it's a petzval lens. Great!
Unfortunately the rear crown element is missing. Bugger!
No way to focus it on a ground glass.

A little more research told me the front two elements alone form a doublet lens. Which...makes this lens a not completely useless acquisition.

So I removed the rear lens and tested the doublet with the ground glass on my Speed Graphic and a dark cloth drapped over the whole issue.
Turns out that works quite well.

A fellow Dutch photographer sent me an unused Speed Graphic lensboard and a few minutes with the dremel allowed me to mount the lens on the camera.

1526498_615901385124889_1263878572_n.jpg


I can focus from about 5" to infinity with it.

Haven't figured out the exact focal distance and f/stop value of the lens yet.
Focused at infinity, the distance from the doublet to the ground glass gives me about 250mm.
The diameter of the doublet is about 60mm

So the most basic calculation would give me 250 / 60 = f/4.166666.

Time to shoot some film with it.


As an alternative I bought a couple of bi-convex lenses with the right diameter from Surplusshed.com . Not sure if they're anywhere near the correct focal length, but I'm hoping it can serve as a replacement for the missing element. Hopefully giving me a complete Petzval formula again.


Why are we doing this again?!
oh yes.... FOR SCIENCE! 😀
 
Mr_Flibble said:
I can focus from about 5" to infinity with it.
Time to shoot some film with it. Why are we doing this again?!
oh yes.... FOR SCIENCE! 😀
Click to expand...

Nice find. I love to play with old barrel lenses on my Plaubel Makiflexes. Yesterday I removed a 250mm Rodenstock H5.8 Imagon (from it's Sinar Norma lensboard) and tested it on the Makiflex. That is also a doublet type of lens. I love it on the Makiflex! Dug around in the basement at Midwest Photo, looking for a suitable flange for the compound shutter on it, to no avail. This project you have looks like a lot of fun. Fun to use and fun to engineer and cobble together. I'll wager your new lens will produce some lovely images with that doublet on your Speed Graphic. Looks cool, too 😀
 
Nokton48 said:
Nice find. I love to play with old barrel lenses on my Plaubel Makiflexes. Yesterday I removed a 250mm Rodenstock H5.8 Imagon (from it's Sinar Norma lensboard) and tested it on the Makiflex. That is also a doublet type of lens. I love it on the Makiflex! Dug around in the basement at Midwest Photo, looking for a suitable flange for the compound shutter on it, to no avail. This project you have looks like a lot of fun. Fun to use and fun to engineer and cobble together. I'll wager your new lens will produce some lovely images with that doublet on your Speed Graphic. Looks cool, too 😀
Click to expand...

I miss rummaging through Midwest Photo's basement. Always some neat stuff to be found.

Rick, that's a good looking set-up on that rig.

PF
 
Thanks,

The replacement lens parts haven't arrived yet. So I might as well just try it out as a doublet.

Did some better measuring yesterday and it looks like the aperture is closer to f/5.6 than f/4+.
I can still work with that 😉
 
farlymac said:
I miss rummaging through Midwest Photo's basement. Always some neat stuff to be found.
PF
Click to expand...

Most FUN I ever had in the Midwest basement, was eating pizza and drinking beer, with Ron Wisner, My Linhof-friend Charlie, and the Boys from the shop, while we went through the drawers of the B&J Chicago lens bank buyout.

Now that was a HOOT. Found a mint exceptionally-rare 360mm F11 Kern-Arau Process lens (Sinar Norma lens), so I was beside myself. Ron made a huge pile of stuff for himself, mostly incredibly-rare Zeiss Protars, and such. He knew what every single item in those drawers were, with only a few exceptions. Those were the days. 😛
 
The two bi-convex lenses arrived to replace the missing crown element of the projector lens.
a 59.6 x 182mm and a 60.0 x 78mm from Surplus Shed.

The first one gives a similiar sized image circle and focus range compared to just using the doublet.
The second gives a smaller image circle and a shorter focal range. Should still work with a roll film adapter mounted on the Speed Graphic.

Need to test them a bit more in better light so I can get better measurements and focus.

If I'm lucky I can run the first test film through it this weekend. Just need a proper model to pose for me 😉
 
That´s the point why a Speed Graphic is on my wish list!
To use shutterless lenses - something that is only possible when you have a focal plane shutter.
Or if somebody knows an Ihagee/Voigtländer focal plane shutter in 9x12cm - that would be an alternative. I could use it on my Avus + Bergheil
 
Not particularly impressed with the test results. The replacement of the missing rear element isn't really cutting it

6x9 roll film adapter with Agfa Superpan 200

Just using the front doublet
Liesegang01.jpg


With replacement rear element
Liesegang02.jpg


Close-up as close as it'll go
Liesegang03.jpg
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Last week however I ran into a box full of projector lenses at a vintage car fair. I bought those for a song and I found that the rear element of one beat up lens fits on this Liesegang lens. So we're in for another test 😉

The lenses in the box were:
2 x Hermagis 130mm Objetif Cinema lenses (both need some internal cleaning)
1 x Gasc & Charconnet petzval type lens (surprisingly good shape despite damage/repaired lens tube and missing focusing wheel)
1 x unknown petzval with aperture (it needs a lot of work before it's usuable)
 
A few months ago I took the Liesegang lens (with replacement rear element from another Petzval) out for a spin when a friend and I were horsing around with some expired 4x5" sheet film.

Expired Fujifilm NPS
LF140703.jpg


We're getting there 🙂
 
Graflexes are FUN and very usuable. SLR viewing.

Remember press guys used to use the Graflexes handheld.

I used to collect them. Nowadays I am more entranced by the Makiflexes.

All of these cameras allow for large-format barrel lens fun and exploration.
 
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