Can you identify a large Leitz lens.

I have found a "Ernest Leitz Wetzlar" lens in a black barrel with a flange mount and engraved on the barrel is "Epis f=32.5 1:36" there is no iris, no shutter. The glass appears to be two large coated elements and by turning a lever on the barrel the front element telescopes out an additional 2 inches (?). It was in a box with a set of 4condensor lens of unknown origin. Does anyone know what this lens is and what it was used for? I doubt I can use it on my camera but if possible would like to try it. I'm guessing its some sort of copy lens but really have no clue. I looked on some Leica sites but found nothing. thanks.

Bill: Could it be a condenser lens for a Leitz enlarger? It seems

that years ago I had a Leitz Valoy enlarger with a similar condenser,

but it was years ago and I am getting senile. Just a guess.

Good luck with it,

Doug.

Possible, but the condensors and lens were each mounted on seperate

metal plates, there were some strange things in the box with them.

The lens is bigger than any lens for any enlarger I've ever seen and

would'nt it have an iris? If for an enlarger it must have been one

heck of a big enlarger. Could it be for arial photogaphy? Copy work?

An aerial lens would have more than two elements and they're usually a

bit faster than f36. My guess is that you have the lens and condensor

set from a large format projector. These were used for classroom

teaching from lantern slides and large format transparencies, and

lived on longest in the military world where they were used for

projecting aerial reconnaisance slides and other briefing materials.

Some projectors had different stages for LF and smaller format slides,

and the telescoping element is probably to focus on a different stage

with a different magnification.

 

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I don't know for sure if Leitz made this type of projector, but it's

not unlikely.

Ah, that may explain why one of the other bits looks like a big

reflector that held a large lightbulb. A 4x5 slide projector? Geez,I

guess I could could have the biggest slide shows on the

block,:)..thanks. .

That sounds conclusive. Finding replacement bulbs for these things is

no easy task. The originals could up to 1 kW monsters and would

automatically dim all your neighbours' lights so they didn't interfere

with your slide shows :-)

 

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You could build a new projector chassis with a modern lamp fitting,

but it's probably not worth the effort. Bessler made similar

projectors for the US Army, so if you want to project LF slides you

could jury rig your lens onto one of those - they turn up fairly

regularly on eBay and, I'm told, in surplus stores.

 

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In general it won't be a good lens for imaging purposes, and is too

weak to be used as an effective loupe. You could have fun building a

wide-field telescope using it as the primary objective. Or, one of

the nicest things I've seen done with a similar lens was to make a

highly directional reading-in-bed light using a modern halogen fitting

at the centre of focal plane.

You have some interesting flea markets around your area. First a

Kodak contact printer, now the makings of a ... hmmm.

The name "epis" and the size suggest an episcope lens.

 

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This kind of projectors works for frosted (non transparent documents

like a typed sheet, a book ..). They were used some time ago, when

xeroxing documents on transparent sheets to project them was uncommon.

Eureka! Thank you Mr Cesari. After a searh on Episcope I have found

that an Episcope is a device for photographing closeups of skin

lesions (yuck!) I found a military issue DUX Episcope at a NZ

collecters site www.collector.co.nz, he has some very unusual cameras

but the best hit was on where else, EBAY! Yes, I found a listing for

a "Zeiss Super Episcope" and thats the lens and the other bits that

are in the box. Does everyting show up on EBAY? Since I have no

desire to photograph skin leisions (at least for now) it will stay in

the box. Thanks everyone, you guys are great.