Aetna Actinar ... in bayonet mount?

[Earl Dunbar]

Last weekend I picked up a 135/4.5 Aetna Actinar lens in barrel mount. The only web references I've seen refer to it as an enlarging lens, but this one has a bayonet mount. It appears the bayonet mount fitting is added on to the lens, as the rear lens element is quite recessed. The rear (bayonet) section is the same style/manufacturing as the rest of the lens, so this isn't a 3rd party hack.

Not having an M mount body or fitting to testing, is it possible this lens was made for fitting onto a Visoflex? There's no focusing helicoid in the lens, so it couldn't really be used as a 135 taking lens on an M body.

Has anyone seen this configuration?

Oh... why did I buy it? BECAUSE IT WAS THERE!

 

[John Koehrer]

Earl,
Aetna was an importer of photo stuff in the early 70's when I got into the trade. Quality wasn't always their strong point.
The lens could be a bellows mount, 135's were used frequently in that manner.
You could have a T mount lens in your hands, Are you sure it's an M mount?

 

[Earl Dunbar]

No, I'm not sure it's an M mount. I hadn't thought of T mount. I'll do some more investigating.

 

[David A. Belew]

Hi Earl,
I wouldn't be surprized if it were in an Exacta mount. They made several lenses in Exacta/Topcon mount way back when...........