A little bit of luck and a good book gets me a Protar VII

[Ole]

This is just a gloat, really...

I noticed a lens in an ebay shop which shouldn't exist: A 285mm f:6.3 Zeiss Protar. The shutter looked too small for it to be a 285mm f:6.3, but too heavily repaired to identify (!). Pictures of the front showed "Protarlinse F=285mm" engraved on the bezel, pictures of the back showed no engraving at all.

I got curious, and bought it.

The engraving on the rear cell is around the edge, and says "Anastigmat 1/12,5 F=285mm", no serial number but the same patent number. Which makes it two cells of different age but same type.

The only possible candidate is the "Serie VII" Doppel-Protar, two 285mm f:12.5 cells making a 160mm f:6.3 combined lens - and a far better lens than I thought I was buying (and the seller thought he was selling)!

 

[Capocheny]

Ole,

Good to hear...

Sometimes you do win a few!

Cheers

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Always nice when that happens.

 

[Jerevan]

The good book you mention - I assume it's not the King James Bible you are referring to. Is it the old "Ernste Hilfsbuch..." again?

It's always nice to do a little detective work and bag a bargain or two. Good on you!

 

[Ole]

The good book you mention - I assume it's not the King James Bible you are referring to. Is it the old "Ernste Hilfsbuch..." again?

Of course it's the "Photographisches Hilsbuch für ernste Arbeit" again. I forgot to mention it in the first post, but I'm glad to see that someone remembered!

It's a really useful books when dealing with old German lenses, and far more reliable (when dealing wit hold German lenses) than the Vade Mecum. The VM is great for old British lenses, although the last one of those I bought was described wrong in the VM...

 

[Whiteymorange]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer person, Ole.
Use it in health! and post some of yoru experiments with it.

 

[Claire Senft]

Dammit Ole, you got just what you deserved. Justice, dear Lord, sweet justice.

 

[jimgalli]

Congrats to a deserving fellow. Enjoy.

 

[Ole]

Thanks, all!

Oh - did I mention that the glass is pristine?

 

[Jerevan]

Well, some guys have all the luck, eh? Now, give us some photographs of it and with it!

 

[Mark Layne]

This is just a gloat, really...

I noticed a lens in an ebay shop which shouldn't exist: A 285mm f:6.3 Zeiss Protar. The shutter looked too small for it to be a 285mm f:6.3, but too heavily repaired to identify (!). Pictures of the front showed "Protarlinse F=285mm" engraved on the bezel, pictures of the back showed no engraving at all.

I got curious, and bought it.

The engraving on the rear cell is around the edge, and says "Anastigmat 1/12,5 F=285mm", no serial number but the same patent number. Which makes it two cells of different age but same type.

The only possible candidate is the "Serie VII" Doppel-Protar, two 285mm f:12.5 cells making a 160mm f:6.3 combined lens - and a far better lens than I thought I was buying (and the seller thought he was selling)!

Were you able to find a listing for 285mm? I couldn't find it in my catalogs, and my 6 element set has 29cm. It may fall between the 1891 and 1936 lists I looked at.
Mark