Agfa Repromaster 213mm f/9.25 coverage

Young He · Mar 15, 2018

Hello all,

I just bought an Agfa Repromaster 213mm f/9.25 lens at an antique store. I have read some threads saying it will cover 11x14 by stopping down the lens a bit, but I was wondering if it could cover maybe 16x20 or 14x17 at less than infinity (maybe a few feet away for portraits or maybe still lifes). Thanks the help. I would not like any vignetting, but stopping the lens down is fine.

On a mostly unrelated note, how would you clean a lot of dust off of a lens (like the dust that settles on objects that have been sitting for months and maybe years)? I don't want to wipe it and have any particles scratching the lens.

Edit: just realized that since this was originally intended as a process lens for 1:1 (I think), the actual infinity coverage will be less than what is said? I don't know much about these things.

shutterfinger · Mar 16, 2018

From A Lens Collectors Vade Mecum:
"Repromaster" on 135, 150, 210 f9.0 and 240mm f9.5 lenses, and it seems as an f4.5/80mm of 6g/4c Gauss
design. This has an engraved iris scale, the others merely have on stop marked, for setting up the unit
perhaps and may have used a lever with external visible scale.

ransel · Mar 16, 2018

Wish I could help, but mine covers 8X10 with plenty to spare, so I would guess would cover 11X14. It is a very sharp lens.

JensH · Mar 16, 2018

Hi,

I own exactly this Repromaster 9.25/213 mm, it has stops down to f/45.
An impressive piece of glass, also known as Staeble Ultragon 213 mm.
It was used on the Agfa Repromaster repro stands to make copies in the 2:1 to 1:2 range on 30x40 cm film, IIRC.
So close-ups on 11x14" or even 14x17" film should be fine.
Counting the lens reflections it seems to be a wide angle 8g/6e design, not a plasmat like a Apo-Rodagon 5.6/300 mm.
There is also a 9.5/240 mm as shutterfinger said.

I did not find any information like data sheets, mtf or lens sections...

Best
Jens

May be you have already found this: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?77844-213-repromaster-11x14-coverage

AgX · Mar 16, 2018

As a side note:
Coverage typically is given for a general purpose lens at infinity, for a repro/macro lens at the typical distance/scale.
However with a large format camera already with portraiture one easily gets into the macro range.

Dan Fromm · Mar 16, 2018

Hmm.

A 213 mm lens that covers 11x14 at infinity has to cover 452 mm. 93 degrees. Since people don't tout these lenses as very inexpensive wide angle lenses for 8x10, not likely that they cover even 8x10 at infinity, let alone 11x14.

ic-racer · Mar 16, 2018

I just bought an Agfa Repromaster 213mm f/9.25 lens

I'm curious what you found the coverage to be.

Young He · Mar 16, 2018

Thanks for all the help. I have yet to measure the coverage of my lens, the coverage was just taken from some threads I found online. I guess the easiest way to measure coverage would be to use a box and have a large “ground glass” on the back?

Jens Hallfeldt said:
So close-ups on 11x14" or even 14x17" film should be fine.

What exactly do you mean close-ups? Like bordering macro ranges or a few feet away?

Dan Fromm · Mar 16, 2018

Young He said:
Thanks for all the help. I have yet to measure the coverage of my lens, the coverage was just taken from some threads I found online. I guess the easiest way to measure coverage would be to use a box and have a large “ground glass” on the back?

If you understand "circle covered" to mean "circle illuminated" that might work. But if you understand "circle covered" to mean "circle with minimum acceptable image quality at the edge" there's no substitute for measurement, i.e., shooting a target with film and measuring resolution on-film. Don't forget that minimum acceptable image quality depends on how much the negative is to be enlarged. Contact printing requires less image quality than enlargement.

I'm not completely sure that looking at the GG will give a good idea of the circle illuminated. This because years ago a friend had a 1.75"/2.8 Elcan lens that was sold as covering 6x6. He stuffed it into the front of a 2x3 Speed Graphic, looked at the image on GG and decided that it covered , in the sense of illuminated, 2x3. So I got me one of the lenses, mounted it properly on my 2x3 Speed Graphic and used it. On film it put no image in the corners.

JensH · Mar 16, 2018

Young He said:
Thanks for all the help. I have yet to measure the coverage of my lens, the coverage was just taken from some threads I found online. I guess the easiest way to measure coverage would be to use a box and have a large “ground glass” on the back?

What exactly do you mean close-ups? Like bordering macro ranges or a few feet away?

Hi,

I was thinking about the range this lens was intended to use, around 1:1 (2:1 to 1:2 on 30x40 cm), with 11x14" here a subject is around 28x35 cm, thats why I called it close up. Macro would be a better word...
Remember this is a wide angle lens - 75 deg. ? Just speculating as I have no data sheets at hand and don't own a 8x10" or bigger camera.

I found this 8x10" image with the 9.25/213 on flickr, looks fine, as far as we can judge from a small web pic:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22065841@N05/14603351296/

Best
Jens

Young He · Mar 16, 2018

Dan Fromm said:
If you understand "circle covered" to mean "circle illuminated" that might work. But if you understand "circle covered" to mean "circle with minimum acceptable image quality at the edge" there's no substitute for measurement, i.e., shooting a target with film and measuring resolution on-film. Don't forget that minimum acceptable image quality depends on how much the negative is to be enlarged. Contact printing requires less image quality than enlargement

Yeah; I mean minimum acceptable quality. However, I am fine with a bit of quality loss as it is unlikely that I will enlarge anything above 8x10.

Jens Hallfeldt said:
Hi,

I was thinking about the range this lens was intended to use, around 1:1 (2:1 to 1:2 on 30x40 cm), with 11x14" here a subject is around 28x35 cm, thats why I called it close up. Macro would be a better word...
Remember this is a wide angle lens - 75 deg. ? Just speculating as I have no data sheets at hand and don't own a 8x10" or bigger camera.

I found this 8x10" image with the 9.25/213 on flickr, looks fine, as far as we can judge from a small web pic:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22065841@N05/14603351296/

Thanks for the help. I will see what I can do.

JensH · Mar 17, 2018

Young He said:
Thanks for the help. I will see what I can do.

You're welcome,
if it doesn't cover enorgh, these lenses were also made as 1:9,5/240 mm and 1:9,5/270 mm - these are fascinating lenses for little money... just got me the 270 for 20 Euro (!) this morning:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/273099185701

Best
Jens

Young He · Mar 17, 2018

Jens Hallfeldt said:
You're welcome,
if it doesn't cover enorgh, these lenses were also made as 1:9,5/240 mm and 1:9,5/270 mm - these are fascinating lenses for little money... just got me the 270 for 20 Euro (!) this morning:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/273099185701

Best
Jens

Thanks. I might buy one if this lens doesn’t work.

Agfa Repromaster 213mm f/9.25 coverage

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