Kodak Color Printing Ektar Lenses?

[J Durr]

Any experience using the Kodak Color Printing Ektar Lenses?

I have the 70mm f4.5, the 87mm f4.5, the 130mm f5.7 and the 157mm f6.3

Use as a macro lens?

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Ian Grant]

I assume they are off a Kodak roll head printer, so use as enlarger lenses or macro lenses, if they have aperture scales etc.

When my local pro lab was downsizing around 20 years ago I was given two Durst turrets and their Schneider Componon lemses. Usually the apertures were locked with a grub screw. Terry the owner had explained to me years earlier that roll head printer lenses were carefully adjusted, you changed lenses for different colour print sizes by rotating the turret, focus was fixed. Each lens aperture was set so that the exposure time was identical regardless of the lens/print size.

So the 157mm lens might have been used for postcard sized prints and the 70mm for 10x8. Terry had once worked as a technician for Pavelle/Durst UK, his job had been the installation & calibration of the Durst roll head printers, which were made in the UK. The reason for a constant exposure time was due to reciprocity of colour paper causing contrast shifts if the exposure times changed. This was important particularly with Wedding & Social photography where there would usually be multiple images of different sizes off the same negatives, the prints had to match perfectly regardless of size. Obviously the actual exposure time and filtration varied depending on the negative density etc

There are some Ektar Printing lenses on eBay and they appear to have no aperture adjustment. If you can't adjust the aperture then they aren't much use.

Ian

 

[J Durr]

I assume they are off a Kodak roll head printer, so use as enlarger lenses or macro lenses, if they have aperture scales etc.

When my local pro lab was downsizing around 20 years ago I was given two Durst turrets and their Schneider Componon lemses. Usually the apertures were locked with a grub screw. Terry the owner had explained to me years earlier that roll head printer lenses were carefully adjusted, you changed lenses for different colour print sizes by rotating the turret, focus was fixed. Each lens aperture was set so that the exposure time was identical regardless of the lens/print size.

So the 157mm lens might have been used for postcard sized prints and the 70mm for 10x8. Terry had once worked as a technician for Pavelle/Durst UK, his job had been the installation & calibration of the Durst roll head printers, which were made in the UK. The reason for a constant exposure time was due to reciprocity of colour paper causing contrast shifts if the exposure times changed. This was important particularly with Wedding & Social photography where there would usually be multiple images of different sizes off the same negatives, the prints had to match perfectly regardless of size. Obviously the actual exposure time and filtration varied depending on the negative density etc

There are some Ektar Printing lenses on eBay and they appear to have no aperture adjustment. If you can't adjust the aperture then they aren't much use.

Ian

Thanks Ian. Very helpful.

 

[Don_ih]

Even with the fixed aperture, they could be used on macro bellows (if they will screw on). Everything is worth trying at least once.

 

[J Durr]

Even with the fixed aperture, they could be used on macro bellows (if they will screw on). Everything is worth trying at least once.

That is what I was thinking. I saw some samples of macro shots that looked really nice.

 

[Ian Grant]

It would be interesting to see what the lenses look like, any chance of a quick photo. Does it have aperture blades ?

Kodak's best lens for macro work is the 203mm f7.7 Ektar, they were sold here in the UK with the Kodak Specialist 2, an upgraded 2D half plate camera, it was never sold in the US. A modern coated Dialyte it's excellent from Infinity to 1:1, and quite cheap.

Ian

 

[J Durr]

 

[removedacct1]

The Color Printing Ektars are perfectly usable lenses on-camera. I have the 113mm mounted in a Supermatic shutter on 4x5 and the results can be superb. I removed the "stop" washer inside the lens. Here's an example photo made on Wet Plate Collodion (on glass) using that Ektar wide open.

 

[J Durr]

The Color Printing Ektars are perfectly usable lenses on-camera. I have the 113mm mounted in a Supermatic shutter on 4x5 and the results can be superb. I removed the "stop" washer inside the lens. Here's an example photo made on Wet Plate Collodion (on glass) using that Ektar wide open.

Wonderful image! If you get a chance please post a pic of the lens mounted. I want to mount a couple to use on my 4x5. Thanks

 

[removedacct1]

Wonderful image! If you get a chance please post a pic of the lens mounted. I want to mount a couple to use on my 4x5. Thanks

Thanks, glad you like it. As I say, they are perfectly capable lenses.

I can't show you the lens mounted to the shutter because its not mounted right now. There isn't much to see anyway: I simply used pieces of black masking tape to hold it on the front of the shutter. (There isn't an easy way to mount these to conventional shutters, but obviously I wasn't going to let that stop me)

 

[J Durr]

Thanks, glad you like it. As I say, they are perfectly capable lenses.

I can't show you the lens mounted to the shutter because its not mounted right now. There isn't much to see anyway: I simply used pieces of black masking tape to hold it on the front of the shutter. (There isn't an easy way to mount these to conventional shutters, but obviously I wasn't going to let that stop me)

No way! Thanks I will figure it out.

 

[Ian Grant]

Interesting that they used stop washers, thanks for posting the photos. I don't think these were exported to the UK/Europe, there were some items never imported, and in reverse we had some Kodak Ltd items never sold in the US. When I began (late 1960s) there were developers unique to the UK & Europe, Kodinal (Kodak's version of Rodinal had just been dropped, we had D163 not D72/Dektol, and so on.

I would use Thornton Pickard roller bling shutters with lenses like these, but they are quite rare in the US. Even Kodak Ltd sold them here in the UK, they are in the 1940 Kodak Professional catalogue.

The Color Printing Ektars are perfectly usable lenses on-camera. I have the 113mm mounted in a Supermatic shutter on 4x5 and the results can be superb. I removed the "stop" washer inside the lens. Here's an example photo made on Wet Plate Collodion (on glass) using that Ektar wide open.

I agree that's a lovely image.

Ian

 

[removedacct1]

Interesting that they used stop washers, thanks for posting the photos. I don't think these were exported to the UK/Europe, there were some items never imported, and in reverse we had some Kodak Ltd items never sold in the US. When I began (late 1960s) there were developers unique to the UK & Europe, Kodinal (Kodak's version of Rodinal had just been dropped, we had D163 not D72/Dektol, and so on.

I would use Thornton Pickard roller bling shutters with lenses like these, but they are quite rare in the US. Even Kodak Ltd sold them here in the UK, they are in the 1940 Kodak Professional catalogue.



I agree that's a lovely image.

Ian

Thank you Ian!
I don't think I mentioned this here, but these Printing Ektars are Heliar designs - at least some of them.

 

[ridax]

My 93mm Kodak Color Printing Ektar is not a Heliar; it is symmetrical.
All the yellowishness in its aged Thorium glass has cleared away under UV radiation in a weekend.
Thanks to that Thorium glass, the lens is (by the modern loose standards) apochromatic.
But it is definitely optimized for small enlargements (and nice for macro work); in 10x to 20x enlargements, it has no advantage in sharpness over a regular non-APO Componon. Componons also have more coverage.

 

[simplejoy]

Any experience using the Kodak Color Printing Ektar Lenses?

I have the 70mm f4.5, the 87mm f4.5, the 130mm f5.7 and the 157mm f6.3

Use as a macro lens?

Any suggestions?

Thanks

I have used a couple of those, however only on full frame digital, so I can't give you any information for analog use. If you want to see some images, you can at my flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/search/?user...ate-taken-desc&text=printing ektar&view_all=1

In my opinion removing the stop washers does not improve the quality of those lenses but (at least in my case) adds a lot in terms of fun factor. They produce really interesting bokeh (quite pronounced circles) and can have unexpected reactions to flare. I consider them reasonable macro lenses, if you find some in good condition.

Have you tried using them yet?

My 93mm Kodak Color Printing Ektar is not a Heliar; it is symmetrical.
All the yellowishness in its aged Thorium glass has cleared away under UV radiation in a weekend.
Thanks to that Thorium glass, the lens is (by the modern loose standards) apochromatic.
But it is definitely optimized for small enlargements (and nice for macro work); in 10x to 20x enlargements, it has no advantage in sharpness over a regular non-APO Componon. Componons also have more coverage.

Thank you - very interesting. While I've always echoed the voices online who claim that those lenses are Heliar designs, I just re-checked two of mine (72 mm and 91 mm) and I really can't find any indication for this being the case... Going by reflections I would think that they're actually something like 4/4 Dialytes. It's quite possible though that my eyes are missing something, but it would be interesting if there is any actual evidence (like someone who has taken them apart completely) for the Heliar design.

 

[J Durr]

I have used a couple of those, however only on full frame digital, so I can't give you any information for analog use. If you want to see some images, you can at my flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=192035898@N07&sort=date-taken-desc&text=printing ektar&view_all=1

In my opinion removing the stop washers does not improve the quality of those lenses but (at least in my case) adds a lot in terms of fun factor. They produce really interesting bokeh (quite pronounced circles) and can have unexpected reactions to flare. I consider them reasonable macro lenses, if you find some in good condition.

Have you tried using them yet?



Thank you - very interesting. While I've always echoed the voices online who claim that those lenses are Heliar designs, I just re-checked two of mine (72 mm and 91 mm) and I really can't find any indication for this being the case... Going by reflections I would think that they're actually something like 4/4 Dialytes. It's quite possible though that my eyes are missing something, but it would be interesting if there is any actual evidence (like someone who has taken them apart completely) for the Heliar design.

Thanks I know nothing about these other than what I read online. I plan on checking them out when I get another digital camera!