Barrel Apo-Ronar

I just acquired an impeccable barrel 480 mm (19 inch) Rodenstock Apo-Roar (f9 -260) that would have been cheap at 5 times the price D). I was surprised to find a scale on the side from 2 to 50mm that I have to assume is the diameter of the iris. I was also surprised to find a small lever that opens up a slot on the barrel that to allow a gel filter to be inserted between the two groups of glass. I has been a long time since I last saw such a smooth iris with eight blades providing such a ‘smooth’ aperture circle.

My first job is to attach this to a Linhof board to allow for use on my 4x5 Bi Kardan which might then be attached to the wooden lens-board of my 8x10 Burke and James

My second chore is to find an old bowler hat that I might line with black velvet to use as a ‘shutter’ as did my mentor on both his Pierce and Gandolfi some 55 years ago.

Anyone have any idea as to whether Grimes might be able to put this into a shutter, and at what cost?

Ken

I have no doubt it can be mounted in a shutter. AS to cost, it is a good thing you bought it cheap. I would think it would cost a few hundred dollars. You might also contact www.lensn2shutter.com. He specializes in such mountings.

Ken,
I bought this identical lens, also cheap, and sent it along with a Copal 3 to SK Grimes. They sent it back with an apology that this lens is mostly plastic, and of such peculiar construction that it will not lend itself to machine work to set it into any known shutter.
Also, I don't think a bowler would stay put, as the barrel tapers toward the front glass.

Wanna buy a really cheap 480 Apo-Ronar CL?

Actually, I set mine in front of a 6" Packard shutter, and it's a great lens.

Enjoy your bargain, though shutterless.

Ken, get yourself some black 4 ply mat board, some gaffers tape and cut yourself some lens caps. I've done this for all of the lenses I have that didn't have caps. Looks ok and works great.

My Ronar CL 480 APO is a nice lens that I shoot at F-90 all the time. At that kind of stop you don't need a shutter. I shoot with Efke 25 on the 8x10 and I can even go for a walk during the exposure!

Jim

If you can live without a lot of movements, a 480 mm lens can be used on 4x5 mounted in front of a #1 shutter. Without vignetting by the shutter.

Hint 1: the Polaroid MP-4 Copal #1 Press shutter, which has no diaphragm, is inexpensive and will do the job.

Hint 2: skgrimes can make an adapter that will hold your lens in front of a #1

I use an skg adapter to mount a 480/9 Apo Nikkor, obviously a better lens than the Apo Ronar because in light alloy instead of plastic, in front of a #1. But I shoot it on a tandem 2x3 Graphic.

Apo Ronar

Jim Noel said:

I have no doubt it can be mounted in a shutter. AS to cost, it is a good thing you bought it cheap. .

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Thanks guys....

Hefting this sucker... it is the heaviest lens I have ever held in one hand.... I can assure you there is NO plastic in this baby.. unless the lenses themselves..

I'll probably hang onto this in its "as is" state and check out its performance before making big hints in the hope that either Santa or the Birthday Faerie will come through. From what I see of the specs on the Rodenstock website,
I should not afraid to exposing through this lens at up to f-45.

Most of the negatives will be contact printed.

Ken

Ken, did you get a plain vanilla Apo Ronar or a Klimsch Apo Ronar? I ask because I've had a 600/9 Klimsch AR that weighed over seven (7) pounds. The glass was mounted in a lot of very high density brass.

Klimsch was a repro camera manufacturer, bought ARs in non-standard mounts. The glasses were normal ordinary plain vanilla Apo Ronar glasses, but the mounts had odd threads and the larger ones were very heavy.

For an example of odd threading, consider my tiny little 150/9 Klimsch AR. The regular one's cells are threaded to go, IIRC, into a #0. The Klimsch version's cells are too small to fit a #00. Unfair!

But yours will work on 4x5 hung in front of a #1. Thing is, it will probably need a support. To give you an idea of costs, the adapter for my 480/9 Apo Nikkor cost $135 a couple or three years ago. Today's price is probably higher.

Dan Fromm said:

Ken, did you get a plain vanilla Apo Ronar or a Klimsch Apo Ronar? I ask because I've had a 600/9 Klimsch AR that weighed over seven (7) pounds. The glass was mounted in a lot of very high density brass.

(snip)

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Dan,

I'm not sure how I might tell the difference. This lens is, BTW, off a 20 x24 inch repro camera. I had hoped to salvage the vacuum back (with pump) and the lights, but the guys with the acetylene torches were too fast for me. Looking at the Apo-Ronar on Rodenstock website I kinda get the feeling that this lens is "bigger". Hefting a 2 kg bag of sugar in one hand and the lens in the other, gives me the impression that 'my' lens weighs in at just above 4 pounds.

Ken

Ken, Klimsch Apo Ronars are engraved Klimsch.

I'm pretty sure that when I bought my 480mm Apo-Ronar it came in an Ilex #5 shutter. I don’t know if this was a custom mounting job on the shutter but the lens screwed straight in. I use a Sinar shutter so I never used it with the Ilex but that might be an option for you if you are determined to use a shutter.

Deckled Edge said:

Ken,
I bought this identical lens, also cheap, and sent it along with a Copal 3 to SK Grimes. They sent it back with an apology that this lens is mostly plastic, and of such peculiar construction that it will not lend itself to machine work to set it into any known shutter. <snip>

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You must be referring to a different lens: I also have a Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 19" f9, in barrel, and I can assure you that there is no plastic whatsoever in this lens. It is pretty hefty. In fact, I don't think the front standard of my Zone VI 4x5 will even be able to handle this lens - I haven't tried it though, bought it mainly for the 8x10.

I'm not sure what the diameter of your lens is, but you might try turning the shutter backwards and front-mounting it.
I made some cardboard rings that allow me use the same shutter on a couple of different lenses.
This works great with longer lenses, not as well with short lenses.

Ken, here's one in shutter: http://cgi.ebay.de/Apo-Ronar-1-9-60...oryZ8277QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

S.K. Grimes page.

Scroll down the page until you see 480mm, it claims it fits a copal #3 and picture shown in Compur #3

http://www.skgrimes.com/fits/index.htm

Or maybe this will help. The link below is a company that has the same lens for sale for a mere $1075 and it is mounted in a copal. It doesn't say which # it is, but maybe call them an inquire about it.

http://www.lensandrepro.com/USED/used-lgf.htm

The plastic referred to is injected around the cells to lock them in place after assembly and calibration. Not the elements themselves. That's my understanding. This would be for the CL version.

KenS said:

I just acquired an impeccable barrel 480 mm (19 inch) Rodenstock Apo-Roar (f9 -260). I was surprised to find a scale on the side from 2 to 50mm that I have to assume is the diameter of the iris. I was also surprised to find a small lever that opens up a slot on the barrel that to allow a gel filter to be inserted between the two groups of glass.
Ken

Click to expand...

Ken describes my lens exactly, but mine is labeled "CL". The SK Grimes page is for a different lens.
Ken, If yours is not the CL, go for it. If not, don't waste your time.

Dan Fromm said:

If you can live without a lot of movements, a 480 mm lens can be used on 4x5 mounted in front of a #1 shutter. Without vignetting by the shutter.

Hint 1: the Polaroid MP-4 Copal #1 Press shutter, which has no diaphragm, is inexpensive and will do the job.

Hint 2: skgrimes can make an adapter that will hold your lens in front of a #1

I use an skg adapter to mount a 480/9 Apo Nikkor, obviously a better lens than the Apo Ronar because in light alloy instead of plastic, in front of a #1. But I shoot it on a tandem 2x3 Graphic.

Click to expand...

Hi Folks,
I have a couple of Apo Ronars. One is an Apo 360 mm f9 in a Copal 3 Shutter. It is definitely Multicoated and it is a very sharp lens indeed. I am shooting on Sinar Equipment made up of several generations of hardware/ Norma,P,and F1 and 2 Intermediary standards. I work with a Betterlight Super 6K scanning back which will shred poor quality lenses.
I also have an Apo Ronar CL 480 f11 Single straw colored coating in the same barrel that you describe. The plastic parts are only used in the mounting of the linear aperture. The rest is aluminum so it will be lighter.
Because I do not need a shutter the barrel works well. This lens uses a half pitch 72 mm mounting nut. Both Cells are identical and thread into the barrel but they will not mount directly into the Copal 3 that I have. This lens
was intended to be used as a process lens and because of that it is highly
corrected for 1-1. Now this is where it gets interesting. One Cell has a thin
metal shim to separate the cells a small amount. I will get back to this in a moment.
The Rodenstock Factory sold Apo Ronars supplied in Shutters. These had cells that were spaced further apart to better correct for distance. These lenses were also multicoated because they were to be used on field cameras instead of process cameras. Other Apo Ronars that are sold on Ebay may have been retrofitted into shutters and these will be single coated and corrected for close up work. I have experimented with making images at infinity and only stopped down to where diffraction begins to make a difference... about f22.
Separating the cells improves the sharpness at infinity so I suggest that
increasing the distance between the cells on the 480 will improve the lens
for field work. The good thing is the 480 CL is lighter. I cannot speak for the Nikkors however I do know the G Clarons well. I used 2 for years when I shot film with a great deal of success, however, the Ronars are lighter and smaller and they outperform the G Clarons.
Grant