Enlarging and Copying lenses

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What is peculiar about enlarging, copying, or photo copy lenses that might make them unusable for camera use? I use focal plane Graflex cameras and I have seen lots of these lenses at shows for good prices. I bought a 111mm Kodak tele FluoroEktar f1.5 for $12. Even if it is unusable it is gorgeous. The glass must be 3" across. It will cover a 2 X 3 with a little space to spare. I also have a Kodak 21.25" f11 Ektanon. It is beautiful too and was only $20. Again, I bought them because I couldn't help myself, and because they were so beautiful. So anyway, can I use them for shooting photos? Also does anyone know what it is that makes a FluoroEktar different from an Ektar, and what does it mean when they add "anon" to the end of Ektar etc.

-- Mick Ridout (m.ridout@worldnet.att.net), February 24, 1998

Answers

Just a guess on the meaning of "FluoroEktar": It sounds like the kind of name that might have been used for a lens with one or more fluorite elements. I'm not an optical engineer, but from what I've read, fluorite is a crystalline material which is occasionally used in place of optical glass for certain purposes. It's supposed to be difficult (and hence expensive) to produce, but enables the designer to minimize certain aberrations which are difficult to correct using conventional glasses.

-- Rob Rothman (rrothman@riag.com), March 02, 1998.

As long as your back shutter in the Graflex is in good shape, find a few Graflex lensboards and start shooting with them. You might be surprised. My standard lens for my 8 x 10 used to be a 12 inch Goerz-Robertson that came off a lithographers camera. It had Waterhouse stops (lets see a thread start on that one). Wide open was f8, had stops for f11 and f16. I used a Packard shutter, so everything was at 1/25th. Worked fine.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), September 11, 1998.

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