Alexz said:
Well, Kerry, just recieved the actual serial number of the lens in question: 10372025
According to your SN list, this dates back 79-84 years which contradicts what you said above that the ealiest Caltar-II N 90mm/6.8 could be from 1984, however all black shutter still fits into your claim of Rodenstock switching to all black shutters in 1982-84 time frame. Any comments ? BTW, is this lens multicoated (bearing in mind it supposed 1979-84 production time frame) ?
BTW, the front barrel label reads: Caltar II-N 1:6.8 f=90mm MC
Alex,
As Michael mentioned, the data in the serial number table has a rather course resolution and can only be used to determine
approximate date of production. That said, if you assume annual production was consistent from 1979 - 1984, a serial number of 10372025 would date to late 1983. However, I doubt if annual production was consistant - for the very reason that when Rodenstock began making the Caltar lenses Calumet immediately became their biggest customer. It stands to reason they had a jump in annual production to fulfill Calumet's orders. It is very probable that, for this reason, Rodenstock experienced a significant increase in annual production numbers the instant Calumet contracted with them to produce the entire line of Caltar lenses (both Caltar II-N and Caltar II-E/Caltar Compact). It is entirely possible that a Rodenstock-made Caltar lens with serial number 10372025 was made in 1984 - or at the earliest late 1983.
Also, the reason I stated "
It is common knowledge that Rodenstock has been making all the Caltars since 1984." is that 1983/84 was a transition period when Calumet was in the midst of changing suppliers. There was some overlap during 1983 and 1984 when they were phasing out old products and phasing in the new Rodenstock-made products. The 1984 Calumet catalog is the first that features the Rodenstock made Caltar II-N series, but it also continues to list the Caltar HR series (mostly made by Topcon, with the exception of the 210mm f6.8 Caltar HR wich is a re-badged Rodenstock Geronar - later called Caltar II-E and/or Caltar Compact). So, perhaps Rodenstock began making Caltar branded lenses for Calumet as early as 1983, but they did not show up in the Calumet catalog until 1984.
Also, dating of lenses based on serial numbers is a bit imprecise in general. The serial numbers are imprinted at the time the cells are manufacturered. It may be several months before they actually get mounted in a shutter, and then they are shipped to a dealer/distributor before they eventually end up being offered for sale. Schneider used to have some information to this effect on their web site, but I can't seem to locate it at present.
In any case, whether the lens in question was made in 1983 or 1984 makes little difference. It is a very early Rodenstock-made Caltar II-N, and as others have correctly stated, is definitely multicoated (bearing the "MC" imprint). In fact, I have never seen a single coated Caltar II-N (which makes sense as they all date from 1983/1984 or newer. Now , I have seen single coated Caltar S lenses - which were also made by Rodenstock back in the early 1970s (not to be confused with the Caltar S-II series that was made by Schneider from the late 1970s through early 1980s or the 215mm f4.8 Caltar Type-S that was made by Ilex from the late 1960s through about 1977). Again that time period (late 1970s - early 1980s) was very confusing as Calumet changed OEMs several times. All the gory details are in the View Camera article for those who are interested.
Kerry
