• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Beseler HD lenses really APO-Rodagons?

chip j

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
2,193
Location
NE Ohio
Format
35mm
I saw a 50mm 2.8 Besler HD lens described on E-Bay as an APO-Rodagon. Does anyone Know anything about this? I have 50 & 80 Rodagons and HDs; the HDs cost considerably more. I made a handful of prints (8x10) with the 50 HD a long time ago, and I did notice that it was unusally sharp.
 
I have both a Beseler HD and Rodenstock Rodagon. The Beseler is physically identical to the standard Rodagon, just re-badged. AFAIK, it is not an APO Rodagon.
 
Fred's depiction is also how I remember this to be. They were the 6 element Rodagons which are good, solid optics, generally. I have both the Rodagon and the APO and the APO shows a slight advantage at more extreme enlargements. Because they perform best close to wide open, they require a well-aligned enlarger to perform best with little forgiveness covered up by smaller ƒ stops..
 
Thanks, guys. But I still keep wonering why a rebadged lens cost more than the oringinal?
 
Not to be confused with a beslar POS enlarging lens...
 
Were the Beseler HD's Apo Rodagons or Apo Gerogons? I heard that the Beseler 8x10 lenses were Apo Gerogons. In fact, I believe that Bob Soloman told me that a few years ago.

The Apo Rodagons are Rodenstock's flagship enlarging lenses. In the same way that they don't repackage the Apo-Sironar-S lenses as 3rd party, I doubt that they would repackage the Apo Rodagons as 3rd party.
 
Thanks. Ithink Rodenstock did rebadge some high-quality optics under the Calumet name.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register