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<p>[QUOTE="SuperDave, post: 2411828, member: 1892"]....they procreate. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]498587[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>So I snagged a lot of lenses appropriate to our needs as bellows coin photographers from Ebay. All but one are "problem" lenses, with internal haze or dust requiring disassembly/cleaning. It's a process I've been wanting to learn anyway, and when this lot came up on Ebay (from a seller local to me), I jumped on it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Top row is a pair of El Nikkor 75mm's flanking a 150mm El Nikkor. The latter is upside down, because I'm dumb. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> The dented one is the "good" lens of the bunch.</p><p><br /></p><p>Second row starts with two lenses having an interesting story. Max Ponder and John Best fled Germany in the 1930's when Hitler rose to power, and after the war sold photographic equipment in the US via agreements with German and Japanese manufacturers. In 1964, they chose to come up with their own brand name and start selling bespoke equipment. They chose the name "Vivitar" for their business, and as they say the rest is history. On the left is a 75mm f/3.5 P&B Anastigmat, and next to it a 50mm f/3.5. Near as I can tell, they are two of the only three lenses (there is also a 150mm) they ever branded without the Vivitar name. Next to them is a Wollensak 74mm f/4.5 Graphic Raptar.</p><p><br /></p><p>The bottom row is a Schneider Componon 50mm (the little brother to my Componon-S) and a Tominon 50mm f/4.5. This latter is going to rmpsrpms, so it won't be involved in what follows. Instead, it'll probably just be used to shoot <b>stupendous</b> stacked images we're all jealous of. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>In posts to follow I will be documenting the process of disassembly and cleaning, and before/after imagery using them to see what improvements are made in the lens' quality for coin imagery. I don't expect much of the P&B's for our purposes, but both contain a lot of glass because they're <b>far</b> heavier than any of the other lenses aside the 150. Although the Wollensak is not reputed well as an enlarger, it is apparently a rather nice "taking" lens with terrific bokeh (background blur) and down the road I'm going to explore that aspect. The Schneider should hold its' own in this crowd rather easily, possibly excepting the Nikons.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 75mm El Nikkors are the single most desirable lenses in their (under $50 used) price class, and should be capable of quality satisfactory to the most demanding among us. One or the other of them is going to become my "daily" bellows shooting lens, as the Componon-S needs to come off the bellows to shoot Crown-sized coins and the 75mm won't.</p><p><br /></p><p>There. Yet_another pan in the fire. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="SuperDave, post: 2411828, member: 1892"]....they procreate. :) [ATTACH=full]498587[/ATTACH] So I snagged a lot of lenses appropriate to our needs as bellows coin photographers from Ebay. All but one are "problem" lenses, with internal haze or dust requiring disassembly/cleaning. It's a process I've been wanting to learn anyway, and when this lot came up on Ebay (from a seller local to me), I jumped on it. Top row is a pair of El Nikkor 75mm's flanking a 150mm El Nikkor. The latter is upside down, because I'm dumb. :) The dented one is the "good" lens of the bunch. Second row starts with two lenses having an interesting story. Max Ponder and John Best fled Germany in the 1930's when Hitler rose to power, and after the war sold photographic equipment in the US via agreements with German and Japanese manufacturers. In 1964, they chose to come up with their own brand name and start selling bespoke equipment. They chose the name "Vivitar" for their business, and as they say the rest is history. On the left is a 75mm f/3.5 P&B Anastigmat, and next to it a 50mm f/3.5. Near as I can tell, they are two of the only three lenses (there is also a 150mm) they ever branded without the Vivitar name. Next to them is a Wollensak 74mm f/4.5 Graphic Raptar. The bottom row is a Schneider Componon 50mm (the little brother to my Componon-S) and a Tominon 50mm f/4.5. This latter is going to rmpsrpms, so it won't be involved in what follows. Instead, it'll probably just be used to shoot [B]stupendous[/B] stacked images we're all jealous of. :) In posts to follow I will be documenting the process of disassembly and cleaning, and before/after imagery using them to see what improvements are made in the lens' quality for coin imagery. I don't expect much of the P&B's for our purposes, but both contain a lot of glass because they're [B]far[/B] heavier than any of the other lenses aside the 150. Although the Wollensak is not reputed well as an enlarger, it is apparently a rather nice "taking" lens with terrific bokeh (background blur) and down the road I'm going to explore that aspect. The Schneider should hold its' own in this crowd rather easily, possibly excepting the Nikons. The 75mm El Nikkors are the single most desirable lenses in their (under $50 used) price class, and should be capable of quality satisfactory to the most demanding among us. One or the other of them is going to become my "daily" bellows shooting lens, as the Componon-S needs to come off the bellows to shoot Crown-sized coins and the 75mm won't. There. Yet_another pan in the fire. :D[/QUOTE]
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