Crown Graphic with Schneider Gottingen Xenar Lens

[paul_brenner1]

I'm a long-time large format photographer. The other day I saw a

camera at my local consumer and pro-oriented store: A Crown Graphic

with a Schneider Gottingen Xenar 180mm lens. Asking price is $269;

I'm thinking of offering $200.

 

Crown Graphics, especially without a Grafloc back, are "a dime a

dozen", but three things interest me about this camera (in increasing

order of importance):

 

1. Perfect, like-new bellows

2. A very nice bright screen

3. The lens. Great glass and shutter. Xenar is of course a Tessar

design, and at 180mm, coverage would be excellent for 4x5. I'm

presuming that this lens is pretty darn good, and this is to me the

main selling point for this rig.

 

My question: Does anyone know anything about this lens specifically,

beyond what I've mentioned above? Can they confirm my thought about

its quality? Obviously, if it's a mediocre lens there's no point.

 

FYI, a major use of this camera could be as a "loaner". I'm

beginning to mentor photographers, and it would be a nice camera for

that purpose. But the lens is a major selling point for me, and if

it's not so hot I'll save my money.

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[michael_briggs2]

<p>Schneider is currently located in Bad Kreuznach, and has been there for many years (<a href="http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/company_history/">http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/company_history/</a>.

I don't know the history of the Gottingen location. Perhaps the lens is very old -- if pre-WWII, it would be uncoated. You might want to determine the age from the serial number table at <a href="http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/age_of_lenses/">http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/age_of_lenses/</a>.</p>

[User_503771]

About Schneider and its locations/history, in the Vade Mecum the authors say that "A separate works was built at Goettingen for ISCO and opened in 1940."

 

This would mean that the plant was in production just at the last of the "uncoated" period in Schneider's history. During the war they produced few or no lenses for the consumer market, and post-WWII their lenses are coated.

 

A quick look at the lens will reveal whether it's coated or not. But the quality should be typical Schneider quality, and if the shutter works well and the glass is clean, it should serve very well.

 

If I were you, the other thing I'd really check out would be the calibration of the ground glass on the back. If the gg panel came with a fresnel as original equipment, and that's been replaced, it might be out of whack, with the focus not at the film's plane of focus.

 

Graflex placed their fresnel lenses "under" the ground glass -- on the side facing into the camera -- which is the opposite of the practice today. They also used a rather thick fresnel, so a straight "switch" of the two might not do the trick if the fresnel is not original equipment for that camera.

 

So if you find that the fresnel/ground glass sandwich isn't original, or the fresnel has been swapped to the outside, you could have a focus problem.

 

This can be shimmed up with card stock or paper, or whatnot. But do measure that clearance from the metal to the focus surface. (This distance should be 4.8mm, or 0.190".) And/or shoot some Polaroids or make other shots to film to test focus under controlled conditions.

 

Other than that, if the inside of the camera doesn't stink from storage in moist conditions (a condition indicating mold or fungus in the bellows, which I've never been able to correct), you've got a real find there. Especially if it's got a Graflok back. But even if it doesn't, a Crown in good working and cosmetic condition with a good working lens does hold its value.

 

If you can get it for two bills, you'd probably be doing all right -- certainly a notch below "retail"!

[paul_brenner1]

Thanks so much for the comments!

 

I meant to mention that the lens is single-coated.

 

No moldy smell at all from the camera.

 

Thanks for the reminder on the gg. "View Camera", I think, a few years ago, had an article about a simple way to check for alignment. I checked my two 4x5s (a Wisner and a metal compact Horseman) and found that, contrary to what you might guess (thinking wood vs. metal), the Wisner was spot on and that I needed to shim the Horseman. I used thin brass stock purchased at a hobby store for the purpose.

 

Thanks again.

 

Paul