Not sure if this is the best forum for this question...

[tjaded]

Hi all--
Hopefully this forum might have someone reading that has an opinion/knowledge on this...

I have an old Voigtlander Bessa that has seen better days. I took the lens off and was thinking about making a lens board to put it in a 4x5 (not sure WHICH 4x5, but one of them!) Does anyone know anything about these lenses? Are they liked or disliked or cared about at all? It's a nice looking lens and I would like to mess around with it after I find a good place to send it to for a CLA (so if you have any good places for that, I'd love to hear!) Anyway, it's a Voigtlander Skopar 3.5 f 10.5cm.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[Ian Grant]

Ole's the best person to answer this, but it does seem extremely unlikely that this 10.5cm lens would cover 5x4.

Also I think its meant to be a Skopar, Voigtlander lenses do have a good reputation.

Ian

 

[AgX]

Matt,

keep in mind that focus length is not all. Except for pinhole lenses (if one names them lenses too), one has to take account of their circle of coverage (in the focal plane).
System lenses are always, and lenses fixed into a certain body are mostly, constructed to just cover the area of the format in question.

In any such case try to find out that circle of coverage.(Which in first instance would mean absolute coverage. There also would be the issue of image quality at the edge of that circle. Keep also in mind that the extension has influence on that circle, and the chosen aperture on that quality.) With a lens fixed to a body it would be difficult to learn about the coverage without demounting it from the body.

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hi Matt !
I've been told that the lenses of the old Bessa's have a little extra coverage. So you may have a complete or near complete image from it on a 4x5.
As far as image quality is concerned, they give very good image. A friend of mine use it's Russian Moskva lens on his baby Linhof 6x9 camera and gets good images from it.
Of course, in this case, no coverage problems.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's a nice lens but nothing exotic--Voigtlander's version of the Tessar--but it won't cover 4x5" except maybe at fairly tight portrait distances and closer. You could use it on a 4x5" camera with a 6x9 or smaller rollfilm back.

 

[Nick Zentena]

OTOH if you like fuzzy corners it could be what you are looking for.

I wonder if it would be dreamy or just distracting?

 

[AgX]

Sorry, Matt!

I believed that you were having it on a postwar Voigtländer. I guess that will explain that I put my reply that way...

 

[wfwhitaker]

The Bessa's were good cameras and that lens is probably worth far more to someone who collects or uses the old folders. Unless the camera is trashed, it's possible you'd be better off to put the lens back on the Bessa, sell it and put the money toward a lens for 4x5.

 

[thebanana]

As far as cla's go, you might try Jurgen at
http://www.certo6.com/

He rebuilds old folders and might be able to offer you an opinion on the condition of your lens and camera.

 

[tjaded]

Thanks for all the replys. I guess I should have made myself more clear...I know it won't cover 4x5, I was just thinking about an interesting image from an older, non-coated, fuzzy at the edge type of lens. The Bessa is salvageable, it needs either a new bellows, or I would have to do some major patching up of the old one. I plan on making the Bessa useable, but I figured once I get a CLA on the lens, I would try it out on a 4x5 just for kicks....

 

[Ole]

I haven't tried Skopars on "oversize" flm, which is a bit odd since I've tried just about everything else...

But judging from other Tessar type lenses, and what happened when I "over-shifted" the Skopar on my Avus, the transition from sharp to fuzzy is really too abrupt to be pleasing. The (much cheaper) Voigtar triplets are much better candidates for "oversizing".

 

[tjaded]

Maybe it would be better on one of my smaller Speed Grapics....2 3/4 x something or other...

 

[genecrumpler]

105 coverage

I tried this with a 105 ektar lens from a 2x3 graphic. Very fuzzy corners. lens board had to be hand made. Not pretty. Leave the lens on the folder where it was designed to be.

If money is an issue pick up a decent Caltar or Greanor (sp?) Both produce excellent images on a 4x5. They are made by Rodenstocke. I just got a nearly mint 210 Caltar a couple of days ago from B&H for $299. I have not made any images with it, but when you are shooting LF the lens issues are mostly coverage. Diffraction at F22 takes care of most lens problems. Think pin hole.

I use to be a fanatic lens tester when I was using 35mm and MF. Since moving to 4x5, I don't bother with lens testing as nearly every thing out there is pretty much the same at F22-F32. Look at the huge table of tests of LF lenses on the LF forum.