Trying to find out more about the Zeiss Jena S-Tessar 1:6,3 f=12cm

I picked up the following lens at a local thrift-shop, but I haven't been able to find very much information about it: Carl Zeiss Jena S-Tessar 1:6,3 f=12cm. Is this an enlarger lens, medium format, or 4x5 lens? I have an old cambo 4x5, and was thinking I might get 120 back to use with some of my front-cell focus mf folder lenses. I'm hoping that this new find might be a better match.

Made in 1939. The S- prefix occurs on a number of Zeiss lenses, e.g., S-Biogon, S-Distagon, S-Tessar, and is short for Spezial, special in English. It usually means that the lens is intended for use close up.

A 120/6.3 Tessar might just cover 4x5 at infinity.

As for putting it in a 120 folder's shutter, the cells might or might not fit. If they do the focusing scale will probably be badly off. But trying is cheap and until you've tried you won't know what it will do or whether what it does pleases you.

If you can shutter it and have a Cambo board that will accept the shutter, give it a try. Trying is cheap.

Nowadays lenses like this one -- almost but not quite known quantities -- are invitations to tinker and experiment.

strewdro said:

I picked up the following lens at a local thrift-shop, but I haven't been able to find very much information about it: Carl Zeiss Jena S-Tessar 1:6,3 f=12cm. Is this an enlarger lens, medium format, or 4x5 lens? I have an old cambo 4x5, and was thinking I might get 120 back to use with some of my front-cell focus mf folder lenses. I'm hoping that this new find might be a better match.

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Old thread, I know, but it popped up down below, so here we go. It's a great find, for sure, a very fine lens. The S stands for Sonder(-Tessar), which in the olden days indicated it had been especially selected among the best. I likewise own one, which by the way has a number less than 10 from yours. The lens cells should fit in a modern Copal/Compur nr. 0-shutter (mine does). I think I've only used it once, for a 9x12 Ektachrome abt. 10 years ago in Helsingborg/Sweden with my SuperGraphic. It's hard to see, but I have a feeling it j-u-s-t starts vignetting in the extreme corners. So it would probably be a perfekt fit for 6x9 rollfilm. The colours are spectacular! (sorry, my scanner is not operational right now)