Widest Pre-War Lenses

[hlpgtf]

Hi,

Did anyone make any lenses wider than 28mm before WWII (and thus before coating for the most part) for 35mm format? The widest I have found are the 28mm lenses built by Zeiss, Leica, and Fed for their rangefinders. Thanks.

 

[sevo]

The Russar is rather far from being pre-war, though - it was released in 1960, and the design family as a whole dates back to the late forties.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Isn't the 21mm Biogon the oldest production 21mm, from 1954/55? The 25/4 Topogon may have antedated it: I'm not sure, but that's 25mm not 21mm. The Topogon was a 4-glass, 4-group symmetrical, and the contemporaneous 25/4 Nikkor was the same.

Cheers,

R.

 

[varjag]

The Russar is rather far from being pre-war, though - it was released in 1960, and the design family as a whole dates back to the late forties.

To nitpick, Rusinov defended his dissertation on the design in 1940, and first Russars (air recon lenses) went in production in 1941. None of that was in 35mm of course.

I think Roger nailed it with Topogon. Zeiss had prototypes for 35mm going down to 15mm back then, but not mass produced.

 

[sevo]

To nitpick, Rusinov defended his dissertation on the design in 1940, and first Russars (air recon lenses) went in production in 1941. None of that was in 35mm of course.

I think Roger nailed it with Topogon. Zeiss had prototypes for 35mm going down to 15mm back then, but not mass produced.

Well, the Perimetar seems to have been produced in a small run of fifty a decade earlier, before the war. The other pre war Zeiss experimental wides were individual prototypes, usually not even camera mounted. http://www.marcocavina.com/articoli_fotografici/CZJ_Perimetar_Sphaerogon_Pleon/00_pag.htm has more information on them.

 

[Sonnar2]

you need to read this!

 

[kds315]

I just recently found a 26mm HYPERGON, designed by Emile van Hoegh around 1900 - does that one count?

 

[mynikonf2]

Many thanks...

Many thanks...

you need to read this!

Many thanks for this link, an incredible amount of research information here.