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Zoom lens for 4x5 or other large formats?


ellis_vener_photography

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Sean is correct, but I can't remember if it was a Schnieder or

something else. I remember photographers mounting that lens in a

shutter and using it as a camera lens.

If there was one made specifically for large format cameras it was

short lived.

Wouldn't it be neat to have a small, lightweight zoom of 90mm to

300mm with great resolution and costing about $300. However, a zoom

that size would be about the size of a bus and probably cost more.

It's nice to dream.

Doug

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  • 2 years later...

If you can find (or afford) it, take a look at R. Kingslake's History of the

Photographic Lens (1989, Academic Press), especially chapter 11, "Varifocal

and Zoom lenses". While most of the lenses he describes are Movie or Video

lenses, he does mention a few varifocal lenses for LF, such as one made by

Dallmeyer in the 1890s. It also seems that a number of the early portrait

lenses were varifocal. Of course, none of these lenses would be terribly high

quality, compared to a modern plasmat, or even a cheap 35mm zoom.

 

As I recall, somewhere on SK Grimes's webpage he shows the front mounting

of some sort of LF zoom lens.

 

In any case, if interested, the Kingslake book makes a great read! I just

finished it.

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Dallmeyer made a lens called the Adon, which was originally

designed to be used as a supplementary lens (add-on) to be

used in front of another lens to increase the focal length, but they

found that the lens provided a decent image by itself (by pre

1890 astigmatic standards, at any rate) and was then marketed

as a variable focal length lens. You varied the bellows length to

vary the focus and varied the distance between the elements to

focus. Interesting in its own way....

 

Cheers, DJ

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  • 1 month later...
I have a similar Plaubel Tele Peconar to the one at skgrimes.com but haven't front mounted it to a shutter. I can't find much information on this lens but it seems to be of variable focal length. I am in the process of making a webpage on this lens because of my fascination with it. I use it on a Speed Graphic but I don't have enough bellows to use it at all settings. I don't know if it could be considered a zoom but it's very versatile. When I have more info on this I'll post it. This photo is of the same lens at skgrimes. Mine has numbers from 3 to 8.<div>003utW-9916484.jpg.b25135553d87162e793ab73395b8648b.jpg</div>
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I still don't think the Tele Peconar is a zoom but a variable focal length telephoto. If it could be focused and the focus followed the change in focal length it could be considered a zoom. From my initial tests I've determined that the approximate focal length when set to "3" is 9-5/8 inches and when set to "8" it is about 55 inches!! Needless to say, my Speed Graphic doesn't have the bellows draw to fully use this but I will find a way. The most I've been able to use it is at setting "5". What is interesting is the design in which the barrel extends. At setting "3" the front elements are further apart than the rear. At setting "8" the front elements are closer to the rear.
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