Well I Guess it is a Petzval After All

[Frank R]

I recently received a box of lenses. I examined each one to determine the lens type and clean them. After unscrewing the outer ring on one of them I found the lenses would not fall out as was typical. Then I noticed that the lenses were set in the tube crooked; they were jammed in place. I was pretty sure this lens was a petzval design but I could not tell for sure. And if the lenses were mounted in a crooked fashion, than they would give odd results. It was difficult looking through the glass to see if there was a ring that separated the elements. So I decided that the lenses needed a little persuasion from the rear to force them out. Repeated pressure applications did nothing. I decided that more force was necessary. I was concerned about chipping the glass around the rim where it met the tube if I did something wrong; but this old glass tended to be rather thick.

So I took a piece of wood to act on the rear of the lens. Tapping on the lens did not budge it, harder tapping did not budge it, but even harder tapping finally got results! As I examined the destruction I noticed that I busted just the inner lens (oh, now I remember, the air spaced elements are not thick like the cemented elements, actually they have rather thin edges). I then was able to confirm that this indeed had been a petzval lens.

I never did budge that crooked outer lens.

If anyone wants a lens tube and mounting ring with two of the three elements from a petzval lens its available for $10 plus shipping.

Sigh…

 

[reellis67]

Doh!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Wait! Test it first. You may have just invented the ultimate retro soft focus lens!

Next thing you know, people will pay hundreds for old projector lenses with one broken element.

 

[mark]

Has Jim read this? SHould we get the smelling salts?

 

[medform-norm]

Mounting flanges are highly sought-after items. I happen to know as I need one myself in the oddball size of 96.5mm and a metric size of 1 (european). What size is yours? (I mean the flange) And does it come off the tube or it that one piece I see on the pic?

 

[Frank R]

I was able to remove the mounting flange from the tube. It is 55mm in diameter. The closest thread size is approximately 32TPI.

 

[BrianShaw]

What a shame. I did something similar once (about 10 years ago)... and I still can't bring myself to talk about it. I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[jimgalli]

It's not that bad. I've fixed lots worse with a little glue then sold on Ebay.

 

[Frank R]

It's not that bad. I've fixed lots worse with a little glue then sold on Ebay.

Gosh Jim, it would take me a long time to glue all that glass back together. Might not be worth the trouble. Do you think the new buyer would notice?