The Use of Historic Lenses in Contemporary Photography

<p>Just saw this <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3s4vs8h">post on a new book </a> about shooting with old brass lenses.... just starting out myself with an old Graphic camera...<br>

PD</p>

<p>Don't make the mistake of assuming that old brass lenses can be picked up for a song.</p>

<p>Unless you luck out in a rural antique shop or such, this is not a poor person' s hobby.</p>

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<p>JDM: depends on which type of older lenses your looking at those Pinkhams and others do require a lot of money to get , but other types not so much , Have a few of them myself But nothing in the line of those Pinkhams and others with that soft focus Image</p>

<p>People are always telling me this, but I have been looking for a long time, and never found any cheap ones. Started looking around 1978 in London and Cambridge (the English one). Like old brass telescopes, they seem to have value as knickknacks, much less the interests of people like me who want to use them on old wooden cameras.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I've never had a hard drive fail on me (knock knock) so my luck isn't entirely bad. :|</p>

<p>Not exactly the same thing, but I picked up a perfectly good--well, a bit stiff on the apertue--zeiss process lens in brass for $10 at an antique shop about 15 years ago. It was just laying on a shelf, no shutter of course, but very nice on my 8x10. Never had such luck since though.</p>

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<p>Unless you luck out in a rural antique shop or such, this is not a poor person' s hobby</p>

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<p>A few years ago I attended a bluegrass festival in West Virginia. Someone had a small layout of antique cameras in front of their camper. They had 2 enormous brass lenses they sold me for $8 each. Woohoo! :-D One of these days I need to adapt them to my EOS cameras and see how they do.</p>

<p>If you're serious about antique glass and Large Format work in the NYC area, I highlly recommend the <a href="http://www.capworkshops.org/workshops.htm">Center For Alternative Photography's </a>workshop with Geoffrey Berliner. There should be another lecture in the Spring next year. <br>

JDM is correct about the grand financial investments necessary for this discipline. Bargains are harder to come by these days, but they're still out there. I've never sold a magic lantern or Petzval lens for under a few hundred bucks. You have to hunt on the auction site for miss-categorized listings and junk lots with rare gems tossed in with beat-up plate cameras and such.</p>

<p>The famous name lenses do tend to be expensive. The cheaper ones I have bought from ebay suggest a lot of luck really is involved.<br>

If you buy no name, unknown, or overlooked lenses, you might have something truly wonderful, or truly horrible. Probably best looked on as an absorbing pastime.<br>

But I did get one famous lens very cheap, and I don't know what all the fuss is about. I should sell it really, but it looks quite nice, and it's possibly a better investment than money in the bank, so I just let it sit in its box appreciating in value (I hope).</p>

<p>Brass lenses are loads of fun. Just dig around for what you can afford and go for it! I have piles of inexpensive lenses, each with its own unique character. If it's more than 50 bucks, I just move right along to the next.<br>

My best,<br>

Ken</p>