270mm f/9 Apo-Gerogon for Bronica S2A

I recently picked up a Rodenstock 270mm f/9 Apo-Gerogon lens with the

thought of using it on my Bronica S2A. I have the bellows 2 for the

S2A, along with a whole batch of blank screw-in lens boards. I know

the Apo-Gerogon is a process lens of some sort, and is not well

adapted to mounting in a shutter for use as a large format lens. It

mounts in a 50mm flange, so should not be hard to adapt to one of my

lens boards. In the past I have mounted a variety of lenses on my

S2A, in some cases with some nice results. I was wondering if anyone

had any experience with this lens (lovely piece of glass in new

condition - just could not turn it down for $50) - I don't know if

there is a system other than the FP Bronicas that would support the

use of lenses like this. Thanks

Stephen Poe

Try it out. What do you have to lose? You're lucky to have blank lensboards.

It was designed for copying flat artwork for printing and engraving, but process lenses often perform well at infinity, so they are popular for landscapes.

On the other hand, why use a 270/9.0 lens on a Bronica? There are good lenses that are a stop faster or more and not too expensive in that focal length range for Bronica S-mount, like the 200/4.0 Nikkor or 300/5 Komura, and I think there is a Komura or Zenzanon 250mm lens.

One of the best things I have done for my Bronica "enterprise" was to buy a dozen aluminum lens boards @$10 each a few years ago - a machinist up in Canada made a batch of them, nicely anodized and all. I have given a few to friends, but hoarded most of them for lens projects. Maybe it is time for someone to run off another batch.

I have been using a 20cm f/4.5 Leitz Telyt on my bellows - it has worked well, but having the S2A and the bellows leaves me always looking for something new. It is just so easy to do.

Stephen

If you're looking for interesting projects, maybe try a 360mm/5.5 Schneider Tele-Xenar--nice lens, not too costly, and should work, and probably better than the alternatives. Check www.schneideroptics.com to see what the rear diameter of the lens is.

I've adapted a 500/5.5 Tele-Xenar, but that required more machine work. I had Steve Grimes make an adapter tube to attach it to the Komura Type 2 helical (normally takes 300mm, 400mm or 500mm heads). I probably paid around $250 for the lens and $200 for the tube, and it's a great combo for lots less money than the comparable Hassy lens or one of the rare Nikkor teles for Bronica.

Look for portrait lenses of around 8-10 inches. There was a 9"/f:4 Wollensak Verito that would be great for the Bronica. I have a 250/4.0 Heliar that I use on the S2A as a portrait lens.

The 270/9.0 will work, but I don't know that it really will be interesting.

<img src="http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/photo/ng2003.jpg"><P>

Correction: The Heliar is a 240/4.5. Here's a sample shot around f:22.

Stephen,

the Apo-Gerogon 9/270 is a 6-element process plasmat, stop down to f11-16, and the then very good quality is not a surprise since you are using just the very center, a few percent only, of the total image. I am using such process lenses over a wide range of focal lengths on a SL66, nice to have the focal-plane shutter and built-in 50mm bellows of the Rollei.

Those lenses were made for professional applications, and stopped down a bit they perform very nicely.

Best

Joerg