16 1/6" R.D Artar in Compur electronic

Amund · Jul 6, 2005

I`ve been offered this lens for $550, but I know nothing about that shutter, any input appreciated. Is it an ok deal?
And it does come without a retaining ring, are these hard to get?

Take a look here

Steve Hamley · Jul 6, 2005

I think it's a terribly bad deal. For one thing, the shutter seems to missing the battery holder (see the wires coming out of it?). This vintage shutter, if it is the one that uses a battery, uses an obsolete mercury battery. The 9V may work, but it's certainly kluged together and the shutter speeds would be suspect.

There also seems to be something going on at the edge of the glass visible in the first photo.

It would be an O.K. deal if the glass and shutter were perfect; with a likely broken shutter and suspect glass I'd pass. BTW, Midwest Photo Exchange has two 16-1/2 Red Dot Artars in different grades in Ilex shutters. I've actually seen both of them and they are both nice.

Steve

Steve Hamley · Jul 6, 2005

Oh yes, the retaining rings are probably hard to find used at a decent price, S.K. grimes can make you one for about $50.

Steve

jimgalli · Jul 6, 2005

The original battery for these was 4.5 Volts. Still available at Radio Shack by special order. I have 2 of these Compur's in use and I do like them. Also the rear thread is...........?? It's not the standard Copal 3 metric because the aluminum bushing is threaded over that factory thread. A flange could be problematic. You're probably looking at having one made custom which is about $80. It is a nice late Goerz Optical lens though.

eric · Jul 6, 2005

Man, good thing I read threads that probably have nothing to do with what I do but I learn so much from you LF'ers. When I worked at a still life studio back in the 80's, the manager told me "get Red Dots, you can't go wrong". I guess that is still true even today! I keep all this info in my long term memory back in the brain somewhere...

glbeas · Jul 6, 2005

I have one on my 300mm 5.6 symmar for my Korona. I took the battery case off and wired it to run on two AAA batteries and it works fine. The original batteries were a bit of a problem as they were hard to find and seemed to go dead at the drop of a hat. I mounted the batteries on the back of the lensboard so they are out of the way using battery holders from Radio Shack. I'd be leary about using a nine volt battery as it's twice the rated voltage and may well damage the solenoids or burn a transistor up in the timing circuit.

Amund · Jul 6, 2005

Thanks, I have emailed the seller with some questions about that shutter, so we`ll see...

Steve Hamley · Jul 7, 2005

Glenn Evans also has one in a "newly CLAed" Ilex, mint- for $600.

http://www.glennview.com/lens.htm

Steve

Amund · Jul 20, 2005

Update! Got the R.D Artar in question today. It`s in great condition, glass has some small cleaning marks, but that doesn`t matter at all. The shutter fires consistent, a tad slow but no problem.. Can`t wait to try it!

EDIT: With a fresh battery it`s suddenly almost a stop too fast, so I guess I`ll buy an AAA holder and feed it with a little less voltage....

16 1/6" R.D Artar in Compur electronic

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