Help with info on B&L Zeiss Anastigmat Series V

I've done several searches and nothing turned up for me on this lens.

I've had it several years and ran across it again yesterday. It is a

brass lens with a rotating stop wheel. The barrell is marked:

 

Pat. Jan 13, 1891

 

Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.,

 

Rochester, N.Y & New York City

 

47858

 

Halfway around the barrell are these markings:

 

6 1/2 x 8 1/2

 

Zeiss Anastigmat, Series V.

 

The stops are labelled f 18.0, f 22.6, f 32, f 45.2, f 64, and

f 90.5.

 

I was wondering why both the Zeiss and B&L names were on it, when it

was made, what format it will cover, and has anyone used/ is anyone

using this same lens and what the results were/ are.

 

I'd mount it and try it for myself, but didn't want to drill a new

Deardorff lensboard if the lens wasn't worthy of being mounted on it.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

DG

B&L manufactured these lenses --later called Protars-- under license from Zeiss. Several other manufacturers in other countries held similar licenses.

 

I believe the 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 is the recommended format size.

 

I have a 1931 Zeiss catalog that lists what I believe is the equivalent lens as a seven inch/18 cm lens with a 16 inch "Diameter of circle covered with small stops."

 

I'd suggest you test the focal length to see if my supposed equivalency is correct.

 

Generally, this should be a good lens--uncoated, of course.

 

Good luck. I'd like to hear how it works out.

Must be a Zeiss Series V "Doppel Anastigmat", in which case I have all details about it in a book at home. I'll check it when I get home next week and let you know what I find.

The focal length is probably around 300mm, but could be as short as 180mm. Does it look like a wide-angle?

 

My book is a German manual for "Serious Photography", printed in Berlin in 1910.

David, may I recommend "A History of the Photographic Lens" by Kingslake. It

is a must read for lens junkies.

Most folks these days may not find these lenses "good enough" they can be a

pain to view and focus at f/18 wide open, but they do have tremendous

covering power. I think the 6.5x8.5 is 140mm or maybe 180mm. The 140mm

is pretty common, the 180 less so. To get the coverage, you've got to stop it

way down, the wheel stops work just fine. Great wide angle lens for folks who

contact print. For a cheap test board for lightweight lenses (another nice thing

about the Series V) go to the plastics shop and get some 1/8" Sintra or

Comatex. Easy to cut w/a mat knife. "Try it, you'll like it..." Tracy

These lenses were made in focal lengths from 40 to 950 (wow) mm, but only a few sizes are often seen. After a lot of cross-checking old references, I came up with these size equivalents: 4 1/4" X 6 1/2" - 3 3/8" (85mm. 5" X 7" - 4 3/8" (112mm). 6 1/2" X 8 1/2" - 5 9/16" (182mm). 6 1/2" X 8 1/2" is the original "Whole Plate" size which dates right back to Daguerre and remained common in Britain and Japan until about the 1970's. It was also common in the U.S. at the time this lens was designed (1890). The wheel stops of this lens indicates early manufacture. It was called "Protar Series V" after 1900.