40mm from the 40s/50s?

[hankchinaski]

Did 40mm lenses for MF exist in the 40s/50s or maybe 60s?
I know of a 58mm for Koni and Mamiya cameras but nothing more.

 

[ic-racer]

Good question, interesting to find out. Most know the Rolleiwide from 1961 was only 55mm.

The 38mm Biogon for Hasselblad 6x6cm was from 1954 I believe.

A 41mm Meyer Double-Anastigmat from the 1930s that covers 2"x2" shows up in a search.

 

[hankchinaski]

Good question, interesting to find out. Most know the Rolleiwide from 1961 was only 55mm.

The 38mm Biogon for Hasselblad 6x6cm was from 1954 I believe.

A 41mm Meyer Double-Anastigmat from the 1930s that covers 2"x2" shows up in a search.

Thanks! Would you know how these Biogons are versioned, meaning, how to find an old one?

 

[John Wiegerink]

You pretty much have to buy a Hasselblad SWC to get that 38mm Biogon lens. I have seen just the lens show up on very rare occasions.

 

[Dwight Anderson]

Fujita made a 52mm f3.5 in the mid fifties, also sold as a Kaligar, for their medium format SLR. Adapters were made to mount on a Hasselbad.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Fujita made a 52mm f3.5 in the mid fifties, also sold as a Kaligar, for their medium format SLR. Adapters were made to mount on a Hasselbad.

Yes, I forgot about that one. I can't remember if it would cover 6X6 or not. Still would cover 645 format, I'm sure.

 

[Dwight Anderson]

Here's a shot of my Kalimar Six Sixty

The 52mm covers 6x6 just fine, the image is a little soft, but I was shooting with a slow shutter speed.

 

[xya]

Some more suggestions are here https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/506124-ultra-wide-6x6-lens/ . Mamiya made a 50mm for the Press/Universal system. There is a Mir 45mm for Kiev, not to forget the 30mm Fisheye, which is ultrawide on 4.5x6.

 

[nosmok]

There are copies of the 38mm Biogon made for aerial cameras (mine is branded Goerz-American Optical) in barrel, but they are a lot of trouble to get to work. Mine is mounted to a Baby Speed Graphic with no bellows, and only because I put the thing together do I accept its quirks.

 

[etn]

Thanks! Would you know how these Biogons are versioned, meaning, how to find an old one?

There are only 2 1/2 versions of the Hasselblad/Zeiss 38mm Biogon.
It was introduced in the Hasselblad SWA in 1954.
In 1973 the T* multicoating was added, however the optical formula remained the same.
That lens remained unchanged until 2001 when the 903SWC production ended.

In 2001 the lens needed to be redesigned, as some of the glass contained lead and arsenic. No go by the new environmental standards! The camera with the new lens became 905SWC, easily recognizable at its CFi style. It was produced until 2006.

There was a lot of debate back in the day whether the 905 was inferior or not to the 903. It's really splitting hair in my opinion.

Note that the lead/arsenic issue was a problem to the workers and the environment, not the users of the SWC! Don't hesitate to buy one and use it, it's a wonderful camera. As Sirius puts it, an SWC will be detrimental to your financial well-being (a 905SWC even more so), but definitely not to your health

 

[etn]

About the cameras themselves:
Although the 38mm Biogon remained vastly unchanged over the years, the lenses did not.
The most beautiful in my opinion is the SWA, perhaps not the most usable.
The SWC and early SWC/M had a C-style lens with shutter/aperture interlock.
Late SWC/M and 903 had CF-style lenses and B60 filter thread. Those are the best from a usability point of view.