Any Experience With Vintage Schneider-Kreuznach 90mm f/6.8 Angulon Lens

[Ian Grant]

There is a later version in Copal shutter, like @Ian Grant and I have. They are worth hunting for.

From the various PDF catalogues I have for Schneider LF lenses the US distributor began using Copal shutter long before we saw them in Europe.

I have the 1970 Schneider Professional Lenses review leaflet, (I sent it to Mike at Racific Rim), only Compur/Prontor shutters, and the Angulon range has been discontinued. So ours are amongst the very last. The preview lever makes it faster to use.

Echoing the "no movements" comments, and marginal corners anyway. I only had one, it was cheap and small though. I sold it after a found a super angulon, which is large but much nicer.

"No movements" is not quite true. I sometimes use little front tilt with my 90mm Angulon, but I have to use front fall to keep within the Image Circle.

My main 90mm LF lenses are an f6.8 Grandagon N, and n f5.6 90mm Super Angulon. The 90mm f6.8 Angulon is part of my lightweight LF kit along with a 135mm Symmar S, and a late US 203mm f7.7 Ektar, in a Graphic (Compur) #1 shutter, along with a Super Graphic.

Corner sharpness is excellent at f22, OK at f16 if it doesn't need to be critical. A lot of my use of the 90mm f6.8 Angulons has been hand-held, with HP5 I can usually shoot at f22, I would add mostly in Turkey & Greece.

Ian

 

[BrianShaw]

That lens, if I'm not mistaken, was primarily intended for hand-held press work. So movements, etc. may be a bit out of the intended use-case. It is what it is.

 

[Ian Grant]

This is from the 1934 BJP Almanac. New Goods section, note the coverage is 105º, the post WWII version covers 80º. The lens design doesn't change, rather the front cell barrel/mount, the elements are recessed leading to vignetting. I wonder if that was deliberate as Schneider were releasing the f8 Super Angulon lenses, and later also the f5.6.

That lens, if I'm not mistaken, was primarily intended for hand-held press work. So movements, etc. may be a bit out of the intended use-case. It is what it is.

There's nothing in 50s & 60s UK/US sales literature to suggest that. The 90mm Angulon became more popular in the late 80s as a lens to add to a light-weight LF kit for backpacking, and hand held use, the advent of wide access to the Internet 1994/5 just reinforced this.

Ian

 

[thinkbrown]

View attachment 424743

Hang on just a second, the angulon is convertible?

 

[BrianShaw]

There's nothing in 50s & 60s UK/US sales literature to suggest that. The 90mm Angulon became more popular in the late 80s as a lens to add to a light-weight LF kit for backpacking, and hand held use, the advent of wide access to the Internet 1994/5 just reinforced this.

Ian

Good point. thank you ...

 

[blee1996]

Maybe the old Angulon is a wide angle Dagor formula?

From Kingslake book: Angulons are reverse Dagors, and they are convertible (i.e. using only the rear group behind the aperture/shutter).

 

[abruzzi]

Here is my prontor variant:

Its an older lens than then @blee1996 or @Ian Grant but its still coated (the red triangle on the older lenses indicated this.) It has a T but top speed is 1/250. I never use 1/500 anyway, so I'm good with that.

 

[Ian Grant]

Here is my prontor variant:

View attachment 424748

Its an older lens than then @blee1996 or @Ian Grant but its still coated (the red triangle on the older lenses indicated this.) It has a T but top speed is 1/250. I never use 1/500 anyway, so I'm good with that.

Yes about 20 years older than our lenses. 1949/50. The Deckel factory was very badly damaged during WW2, so immediately after the war Gauthier Prontor shutters dominated (both companies were part of Zeiss). It's why the Zeiss Ikon SLRs with leaf shutters use Prontors.

I'm not sure when Schneider stopped adding the red triangle to indicate coating, my 1953.4 lenses still have it.

Ian

 

[David Lindquist]

It looks like Schneider stopped marking lenses with the inverted red triangle in the fall of 1955. I have in my notes two 90 mm Angulons seen on eBay. One has the triangle and one does not. Respective serial numbers are 4 360 251 and 4 410 661. Respective dates from Hartmut Thiele's Großes Fabrikationsbuch Schneider Kreuznach Band II are 12 September 1955 and 12 October 1955.

David

 

[outwest]

Here's mine on my Travelwide, older but no complaints. My other lens for the Travelwide is a 65 Super Angulon.

 

[Rod Klukas]

Image circle is about 180mm at F22. Better for 6x9 or 3.25 X 4.25.

See attached for 1939 info

Hope you find this useful.

 

[MarkS]

Emmett Gowin used a 90/6.8 Angulon on 8x10 to make portraits (and other photographs) in the 1960s. A lovely round image.