a couple of shots with a very old brass B&L

a couple of 4x5 shots with an old brass B&L lens probably back around 1890 or so not really sure, aperature is around f8, warning this thing is soft.

 

this lens is pretty hard to focus too but i think it would make a really cool portrait lens

 

this lens will cover 8x10 but i tested it on 4x5 to see how it would do.

 

just about a lot of those lenses from that time are on the soft side, but yet there were a few tack sharp , need to do some shooting with 4x5 and a 6x9 back on it .
Have one Busch Deteciv apalant # 3 a focus 7" also A Rapid Apalant # 2 Series D F-8 Emil Busch
the last one is a Busch Bis-Telar Ser.II F-7 no.2 focal=270. they do need a work out sounds like a trip in the future nice subject matter on these fotos

 

Dreamy images. I love them.

 

I also found them, dreamy images. Would be interested to see a soft portrait or something similar. Lauren please post whatever you test I would like to see what you get!

 

chuck .Looks like a field trip is in order and make sure I take pencil and Paper for notes lol

 

(replaced by next post)

 

I've used a 1910-ish B&L RR on 4x5 that is a lot sharper... almost too sharp. I like the soft look of yours!
This is one example on Type 52 Polaroid. On film it is a lot sharper.

 

John, have a picture of the lens? I bet it's improperly collimated and could give much sharper results, but I would leave it the way it is. It seems "broken" in exactly the right way! I think it renders beautifully and could be the start of your new career as a pictorialist.

 

While the images are soft, remember the lens dates to the period when some people felt photography should be more painterly. Depending on the subject of the photograph you should be able to render some soft romantic style images of lakes with boats and ladies with parasols. You might try the shots in color as you could find some images looking like a Monet painting. A sharp image can spoil the emotional look to the subject. I suggest a long period of using it and finding the best subjects to fit that softness to the photos.
CHEERS...Mathew

 

Very nice.

'Dreamy' is definitely the word.

 

I wanna see more pictures taken with this lens! Mathew is right about photography of that era and art. I've seen silent movies on TCM that looked like moving paintings. One of those silent movies was in color. No one has surpassed what photographers and cinematographers were doing a hundred years ago. They knew what they were doing just as professional photographers (me not included) of today know what they are doing. My two bits is, photography means getting the best out of whatever equipment you are using at the time. It's a lot more fun than worrying about what is the latest/best thing out there. When your equipment is pushed to the limit and still does not work, then go for something else. Many cameras being used are not being used to fullest potential. Anyway, thanks for posting these pictures!

 

I think Matthew got it exactly right, if it is "broken", its broken in exactly the right way. You can get a tack sharp lenses all day long, but how many times would you have to drop them just right to get these kinds of results?
Lovely shots, I think you are right John, the portrait lens potential is definitely there. Thanks for posting these.

 

Romantic and dreamy...That's what the punters often wanted, in that era, and I appreciate the somewhat ethereal effects today. I could find a lot of uses for a lens like that...Thanks for another interesting post, John.

 

Matthew Rusbarsky: some of those older lens'es can be small and some can be very large
here is photo of the three I have listed one the first page

 

John... I'm not sure about soft, but I am sure about lovely. Do I need my time travel machine to get one?

 

hey guys thanks for the nice responses, im planning on doing a portrait session with it tomorrow, it is a really neat lens, the guy i bought it had never used it so he decided to sale it, i didnt really know what i was getting, it was manufactured by B&L and sold under the name Andrew J Lloyd of Boston, the fellow bought it for his 8x10, i actually have it mouted on my 5x7 and used my 4x5 back to test with. will post some more

 

Julia
Margaret
Cameron

 

here is one i did with the 5x7 back on it,, just a weed, whites really glow with this lens. excuse all the scratches and dust.

 

i can see some good uses for this baby

 

Lovely shots, John, with a wonderful pictorial look. Looking forward to seeing some portraits and landscapes.

 

Is it a single element lens? Reminds me of the look you get with the VPK meniscus when you remove the lens shade.

 

Nice. I wish my B&L was that soft....
OK, where's the vaseline, hmmm

 

no it has both elements, it is in a shutter but does not work, i contacted jim galli over at LFF who in my opinion is the brass lens master and he told me that those lenses will not even begin getting sharp till about f16, this particular one has no aperature scale, so its kind of stuck wide open, i have another b&l that is tack sharp in the center. it would be kind of nice to be able to stop it down a bit for focussing though, its a pain to focus especially with a low contrast scene, but im really enjoying the look, doing a portrait with it today. thanks for the nice comments

 

The images are lovely and somewhat remind me of the images in this thread that were digitally altered to achieve - what looks to me - to be a similar effect:
http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00Z33P

 

Now that should be in Wikipedia under "Leica Glow", love that look...need to see a portrait now.