Kodak Anastigmat Lens

[jerry_cunningham]

I have a chance to buy a Kodak Anastigmat Lens. I am an 8x10

beginner. What does "Anastigmat" mean and would this lens serve as a

"long" landscape lens? Any help would be greated appreciated?

Sincerely,

Jerry

[john_kasaian1]

Jerry, The Kodak Anastigmats were the ancestors of the Ektars and, I believe were uncoated. There might be exceptions. FWIW,if the lens is marked with an "L" inside a circle it would have been factory coated. "Anastigmat" refers to a design which corrects for astigmatism, which was a problem in early lenses just as is can be with your eyes(which is why I wear specs!) What would determin if a lens would be suitable for your "long" landscape needs is the focal length. IMHO, 270mm(say 10-3/4") to 360mm(about 14") would be average, or medium. 18" and up would be for long for an 8x10, but compared to 35mm it just isn't what many photographers would consider "long." Heres what I mean: a 600mm (or 24") is probably as long as is practical for many 8x10s(with around 30" of bellows fully cranked out) If normal for 35mm is a 50mm lens and for 8x10 is a 12" lens, 24" would be 2x normal which would give similar performance to a 100mm lens on a 35mm SLR(not quite the same as using a 300mm f2,8!) OTOH, using a field camera means getting out in a field---if you want closer, pick up your kit and hike in closer. Wider? Move back. I find I can often get closer to a subject but sometimes I can't go back due to geographic features(rivers, cliffs) or structures(fences, buildings, highways) so a wide lens is often a good choice when you depart from the norm in 8x10, but it really depends on your vision. Something like a 19" or 24" RD APO Artar is really an excellent lens. If you're looking for an affordable lens in the medium-longish side for landscape you might find a 14" Commercial Ektar useful, or if you don't mind a barrel lens, the 19" APO Artar(if you find one in a shutter it is likely quite expensive!) I hope this helps---have fun with 8x10!

[gary_meader]

Jerry- "Anastigmat" refers to a lens' design that corrects

astigmatism. This means that an off-axis point will be rendered

as a point and not a line. See Adam's 'The Camera pg. 77 for a

good illustration. As far as this lens being a good long

landscape lens, well, how long is it ?

[david vickery]

Hello, you need to give us more information about the lens. If it is a copying anastigmat then it would be a great lens for you to use on the 8x10. What is the focal length and f-number? Is it in a barrel or shutter? Kodak made a line of lenses for copy cameras that were called Anastigmat. Then latter on they changed the name to Copying Ektanon. I don't know if the formula of the lens changed much but I do know that any of these lenses would serve you well on your 8x10. I have some and they are sharp as heck. I use a plastic processing tank lined with felt as a shutter.

[wally_hess1]

Need more information regarding lens itself - what focal length is it?

Normal for 8x10 is 300mm, so it would have to be greater than that to be considered "long"

 

Anastigmat - is a compound lens combination corrected so that both astigmatism and curvature of field are largely eliminated over a considerable area in the image plane.

 

There are several threads in the archives that cover 8x10 lenses plus a good general explanation here: http://www.largeformatphotography.info

[øyvinddahle]

I use a Kodak Anastigmat 135/4.5. It is sharp and has good contrast as long as I keep the strong light from hitting the lens. The shutter is not correct, so I use it for long shuttertimes. The lens has started separating, but it is still plenty useful on apertures smaller than 8. The price at $20 was OK. I need now to take a day to pick apart the 40-50 pieces of the mechanism, clean them, and put them together again in the right order. And I need to get new lens-glue, so I can warm the lens up, take it apart, clean and put on new glue and put it together again.

 

The lens came wihtout a filterring, so that has been glued on: Make sure you get what you pay for, and do not get a bad lens. The early Ektars are prone to wear on the coating, so get a Anastigmat or a late single coated lens. Avoid fungus.

 

Øyvind:D

[david vickery]

Jerry, your 21" lens may have been made for the copy cameras of the early half of the 20th century. A lens that has been labled "Anastigmat" has been corrected for astigmatism as others have stated here. But there were many lenses made with that name---many with different formulas. What is the maximum f-number? If you give us the serial number we may be able to tell what year it was made. I paid $35.oo for mine and consider it a tremendous bargan. It should make a great long lens for the 8x10.