Funny how your lens kit gets built. And added to continually. I started out like most folks willing to pay the extra bucks for the showier lenses. Dagors whether right or wrong get valued something like this:
Kern Gold Dot MC,
Kern Gold Dot SC,
Goerz Optical Co. and American Optical Co. SC Gold Rim, or Golden,
American Optical Co. SC,
and all the rest.
(notable exceptions are ANY Dagor 16" and longer, and Zeiss WA f9 which are through the roof!)
Lately the prices for anything gold have gone sort of crazy.
Ill share a few things Ive learned. In my kit I have several Dagor types that get used regularly.
355 Kern GD Schneider; is just superb. The excellence is in the contrast, not the resolution.
12 f6.8 American Optical Co. SC: This lens lives on the 7X17 camera. Its excellent, but not spectacular. Certainly delivers nicely for contact prints.
10 ¾ f8 Kenro K2. Built by Goerz Optical Co. and has the 8300000s serial #. I only paid about $70 bucks for it. It will just cover the 7X17 with a little movement.
9 ½ f6.8 Ive had several. The one Ive kept and use is not on the list of valuable Dagors. Its probably from the late 1920s but thats just a guess. Its non-US but Goerz factory made. It has the pot metal barrel that the black paint didnt stick very well to so its ugly. Somebody mounted it in a Wollensak chrome shutter. I paid $78 bucks for it, serviced the shutter, and its a solid excellent performer.
225mm f9.5 This is the wierdest of them all. It is cells from 2 early G-Claron lenses that somebody mixed up. The front is from a 240mm and the back is from a 210mm. I bought it from a fellow in the UK that was very apologetic about selling this lens that had no value. He realized it was mis-matched but didnt know what the rear cell was. I surmised, why not? Schneider sold its early Symmars exactly the same way. The triple convertible Symmars of about 1951 vintage are non symmetrical dagor type cells. I paid $49 bucks. In use, it is more spectacular than any of my normal Dagors except the 14 Kern. Resolution and contrast is identical to the Kern GD. And the extra 15mm made a huge difference in 8X10 coverage. I never seem to get in the edges. And yes, G-Clarons in the 10 and 11,000,000 serial nos are Dagor type.
8 ¼ f6.8 This is an early brass barrel lens from perhaps 1910 or so. $56. It lives in the case with the Kodak 2D that has the Packard shutter. I use it all the time and its just incredibly sharp and contrasty.
6 ½ f8 American Optical Co. WA SC. Embarrassed to admit Ive never even used it. How dumb is that.
150mm f9 Schneider G-Claron dagor type. The only drawback is that I havent yet got filters set up for the tiny 30.5mm front thread. In service, its just as nice as the 225mm and the 14 above. It covers 5X7 with generous movements.
4 ¼ f8 American Optical Co. non-coated WA. Havent used.
110mm Zeiss f9 WA Dagor. Awesome little lens. Too bad theyre so pricey. Id adore having the 18cm. Again, filters are difficult because its SO tiny.
My point if there is one is that some of the $50 - $80 lenses make photos just as good and often a lot better than the $2200 bells and whistles versions.
Kern Gold Dot MC,
Kern Gold Dot SC,
Goerz Optical Co. and American Optical Co. SC Gold Rim, or Golden,
American Optical Co. SC,
and all the rest.
(notable exceptions are ANY Dagor 16" and longer, and Zeiss WA f9 which are through the roof!)
Lately the prices for anything gold have gone sort of crazy.
Ill share a few things Ive learned. In my kit I have several Dagor types that get used regularly.
355 Kern GD Schneider; is just superb. The excellence is in the contrast, not the resolution.
12 f6.8 American Optical Co. SC: This lens lives on the 7X17 camera. Its excellent, but not spectacular. Certainly delivers nicely for contact prints.
10 ¾ f8 Kenro K2. Built by Goerz Optical Co. and has the 8300000s serial #. I only paid about $70 bucks for it. It will just cover the 7X17 with a little movement.
9 ½ f6.8 Ive had several. The one Ive kept and use is not on the list of valuable Dagors. Its probably from the late 1920s but thats just a guess. Its non-US but Goerz factory made. It has the pot metal barrel that the black paint didnt stick very well to so its ugly. Somebody mounted it in a Wollensak chrome shutter. I paid $78 bucks for it, serviced the shutter, and its a solid excellent performer.
225mm f9.5 This is the wierdest of them all. It is cells from 2 early G-Claron lenses that somebody mixed up. The front is from a 240mm and the back is from a 210mm. I bought it from a fellow in the UK that was very apologetic about selling this lens that had no value. He realized it was mis-matched but didnt know what the rear cell was. I surmised, why not? Schneider sold its early Symmars exactly the same way. The triple convertible Symmars of about 1951 vintage are non symmetrical dagor type cells. I paid $49 bucks. In use, it is more spectacular than any of my normal Dagors except the 14 Kern. Resolution and contrast is identical to the Kern GD. And the extra 15mm made a huge difference in 8X10 coverage. I never seem to get in the edges. And yes, G-Clarons in the 10 and 11,000,000 serial nos are Dagor type.
8 ¼ f6.8 This is an early brass barrel lens from perhaps 1910 or so. $56. It lives in the case with the Kodak 2D that has the Packard shutter. I use it all the time and its just incredibly sharp and contrasty.
6 ½ f8 American Optical Co. WA SC. Embarrassed to admit Ive never even used it. How dumb is that.
150mm f9 Schneider G-Claron dagor type. The only drawback is that I havent yet got filters set up for the tiny 30.5mm front thread. In service, its just as nice as the 225mm and the 14 above. It covers 5X7 with generous movements.
4 ¼ f8 American Optical Co. non-coated WA. Havent used.
110mm Zeiss f9 WA Dagor. Awesome little lens. Too bad theyre so pricey. Id adore having the 18cm. Again, filters are difficult because its SO tiny.
My point if there is one is that some of the $50 - $80 lenses make photos just as good and often a lot better than the $2200 bells and whistles versions.