Petzval?

Mikhail · Feb 4, 2007

Hello everybody!
First of all I'm sorry if my English is not perfect.
I have a question. Here - the Petzval formula:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Here - the formula of the lens I'm interested in, it is Steihel's Portrait Antiplanat ( Antiplanet?)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Does someone have experience with this lens? I need a lens, with will give the exact Petzval type image - very sharp in the center with soft corners and nice bokeh. I don't need one of the "soft" portrait lenses, which don't give sharp picture at all (like Imagon, Verito etc.). I'm also interested in a short and relatively small Petzval - I'm going to mount it
on my Pentax-67 via helicoid macro tube ( as I successfully did with 150mm Heliar). The Antiplanat has small rear element and it is nice because it will be easier to mount on the helicoid. But will it give me the exact Petcval-type character of the image?!

JG Motamedi · Feb 4, 2007

The Portrait Antiplanets are pretty rare and I have never seen one except on a collector's shelf (unused, sadly).

According Kingslake these were a modified version of the Petzval Portrait, but to me they look more like Petzval's Orthostigmat (another rare lens). From what I recall, they have a similar inward coma, so they should retain the sharp middle and fuzzy corners as the Petzval.

If you do buy the lens please post images! I would love to see what these lenses produce. If you don't buy it, please let me know who is selling it...

ineffablething · Feb 4, 2007

Here's a short one I'm selling currently. I've used it on both my Pentax 67 and my Rollei SL66.

William

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150087374083&rd=1&rd=1

Mikhail · Feb 4, 2007

William, from the E-bay pictures it is not clear - does this short Petzval (75 mm? - super short!) able to produce pictures with sharp middle area? Was the coverage enough for 6x7? BTW - is it written on the body that it is a Petzval lens or did you disassemble the lens to check its formula?

ineffablething · Feb 4, 2007

Hi Mikhail,

Yes, the scans I made are really bad. The center area is sharp. It does indeed cover 6x7 with the characteristic petzval center sharpness and dramatic curvatire of field. I counted the reflections to determine whether or not it's a petzval and I could tell by just looking through it. I've used a petzval or two in my day.

thanks,

William

jonw · Feb 10, 2008

I have possibly a similar lens, it is a Steinheil-Munchen Othostigmat f6.8 12cm in a Koilos shutter. Can anyone shed some light on this lens? Is it a Petzval? It's two lenses look like ((___)). Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks. Jon

jonw · Feb 10, 2008

Assuming this lens has 4 elements and they are ((____)), then my Othostigmat lens would be a rapid rectilinear lens!?? correct? Any thoughts on its coverage? Thanks. Jon

HerrBremerhaven · Feb 10, 2008

http://dioptrique.info/base/m/m_steinheil.htm

You can find out much more at this site. They also did tests on some of the lenses, including pictures showing some performance characteristics.

My feeling is that if you want a Petzval look, you should be using a Petzval type lens. That could be a 1/4 plate lens, like the Holmes, Booth & Haydens I use, or something later like the Gundlach projector lens made for Simplex 35mm motion picture cameras. The Gundlach is much smaller than a 1/4 plate lens, yet will cover 6x7 (cm). I have a Gundlach, which is a Petzval design, but I do not have a flange for it.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

Murray@uptowngallery · Feb 10, 2008

Jim Galli keeps coming up with small Petzvals for about US$85.

Dan Fromm · Feb 10, 2008

HerrBremerhaven said:
http://dioptrique.info/base/m/m_steinheil.htm

You can find out much more at this site. They also did tests on some of the lenses, including pictures showing some performance characteristics.

<snip>

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

Gordon, I like Eric's site. We're acquainted, by e-mail, and I count him a friend.

But the diagrams and charts he publishes aren't empirical, they're calculated from the lenses' prescriptions. He wrote the program, '030', that did the calculations. If you look around on the site, you should find a link for downloading it and documentation.

Cheers,

Dan

HerrBremerhaven · Feb 11, 2008

Thanks Dan, I must have missed that before. There is so much information on that site . . . really tough to go through all of it. In my opinion, one of the current best resources for ancient lenses.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

Ole · Feb 11, 2008

jonw said:
I have possibly a similar lens, it is a Steinheil-Munchen Othostigmat f6.8 12cm in a Koilos shutter. Can anyone shed some light on this lens? Is it a Petzval? It's two lenses look like ((___)). Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks. Jon

It's not a Petzval, it's an anastigmat somewhat related to the Dagor. Spelling "Orthostigmat" correctly makes it easier to find in searches. Note however that the name "Orthostigmat" has been used by others for other lens designs - as indeed the name has been used on several widely different Steinheil designs.

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"Antiplanet" and "Antiplanat" are different lenses. Neither look much like Petzvals.

Petzval?

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