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Rank Taylor Hobson small brass lens


John Munroe

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Just like to say hi to all on here.

 

Obviously i am new to this forum, and i am after a little bit of help identifying a small brass lens.

 

I have a Rank Taylor Hobson lens which i acquired recently, and in the box is this little lens.

 

I have not a clue what it is, is it part of the RTH or is it off something else, it has an inner and outer thread and is brass, i have attached picture.

 

Please any info would be fantastic.

 

Regards

 

John$_14.JPG

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Ah that's much clearer! :P

 

Well, if it doesn't screw into the front of the Taylor Hobson lens like a close focus diopter, I guess it belongs to something else, maybe an attachment for a camera viewfinder?

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Ah that's much clearer! :P

 

Well, if it doesn't screw into the front of the Taylor Hobson lens like a close focus diopter, I guess it belongs to something else, maybe an attachment for a camera viewfinder?

Hi

 

No it does not fit to the RTH lens at all, i have not got a clue what it is from, i am very curious.

 

Thanks again

 

John

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It looks like a mounted single element (or doublet). The spanner slots indicate that it was be be screwed into a larger assembly. The brass not being blackened indicates that it belonged to a much older lens than the Tayor Hobson. Then it's uncoated. Right?

 

If you want this gift to be an excuse for learning some optics:

  1. Determine the focal length.
  2. Determine the front and rear surface curvatures by measuring the sizes of refections.
  3. Determine whether it is a singlet or a doublet. If you see 4 principal reflections it's an air-spaced doublet. If you see cement it's a cemented doublet. If you can remove it from its cell you can examine its edge. You can also test whether its chromatic aberration is less than a singlet could make.
  4. Assuming it's the front or rear element of an old photographic lens, look at old designs and figure out which lens it came from.
  5. Find a use for it.
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It looks like a mounted single element (or doublet). The spanner slots indicate that it was be be screwed into a larger assembly. The brass not being blackened indicates that it belonged to a much older lens than the Tayor Hobson. Then it's uncoated. Right?

 

If you want this gift to be an excuse for learning some optics:

  1. Determine the focal length.
  2. Determine the front and rear surface curvatures by measuring the sizes of refections.
  3. Determine whether it is a singlet or a doublet. If you see 4 principal reflections it's an air-spaced doublet. If you see cement it's a cemented doublet. If you can remove it from its cell you can examine its edge. You can also test whether its chromatic aberration is less than a singlet could make.
  4. Assuming it's the front or rear element of an old photographic lens, look at old designs and figure out which lens it came from.
  5. Find a use for it.

 

Hi

 

Thanks for your reply,

 

To be honest i am not that knowledgeable on this subject, i am still learning.

 

I started getting in to lenses about 18mths ago by accident, i found two old dallmeyer lenses, one was an 8" pentac air ministry lens, and the other was a dallmeyer super six anastigmat,

 

I found them whilst clearing an old stage and light companies unit out.

 

Didnt have a clue what they were and did no research on them, just put them both on fleabay for £80.00 and they sold in minutes, when they sold that quick it got me curious, it was then i researched and as you can gather i kicked myself repeatedly over many days, and thought it best not to tell the wife...

 

Since then i have amassed quite a little collection of modern and late lenses, it is the dallmeyer that i am always on the lookout for, but this RTH i have i only purchased this as i have a customer in Germany who prefers them, now i know that you can get this RTH ental quite easily, and when i sent pics of this to my German client, his only response was ahh yes this is definately on his wish list, and asked could we sort something out, now i suspect it isnt the actual RTH but the little brass lens.

 

I am just curious to know and try and find out what it is off, and not make the same mistake i did with the for me not so super six!!!

 

Regards

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The small brass mounted lens is not a "collector's item". It has no maker's name engraved. It comes from an era of factory produced lenses and its slots indicate that it is a part from a larger assembly which may or may not have been a photographic lens.
People who service old lenses have boxfuls of such parts salvaged from irreparables.
Sentimental value approx. 1 Euro.

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The small brass mounted lens is not a "collector's item". It has no maker's name engraved. It comes from an era of factory produced lenses and its slots indicate that it is a part from a larger assembly which may or may not have been a photographic lens.

People who service old lenses have boxfuls of such parts salvaged from irreparables.

Sentimental value approx. 1 Euro.

Thanks

 

Really appreciated.

 

Regards

 

John

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I started getting in to lenses about 18mths ago by accident, i found two old dallmeyer lenses, one was an 8" pentac air ministry lens, and the other was a dallmeyer super six anastigmat,

 

I found them whilst clearing an old stage and light companies unit out.

 

Didnt have a clue what they were and did no research on them, just put them both on fleabay for £80.00 and they sold in minutes, when they sold that quick it got me curious, it was then i researched and as you can gather i kicked myself repeatedly over many days, and thought it best not to tell the wife...

 

Ouch! I noticed a Dallmeyer Super Six TV lens recently sold for over seven thousand pounds. A TV lens! Not to rub it in or anything..

 

I'm actually curious about what it is that makes certain lenses cult items, with frenzied bidding that defies all logic. Dallmeyer Super Sixes were made for various formats in various mounts, over a long period, they're not exactly rare. Maybe certain particular ones are, but it doesn't seem to make that much difference. Their design derives from H W Lee's Opic lens from 1920, which led to Taylor, Taylor and Hobson's very successful Cooke Speed Panchro series, but many other lenses share the 6 element unsymmetrical double-Gauss formula, including Zeiss Biotars, Schneider Xenons and Angenieux S series. Sometimes a rare Angenieux might fetch thousands, but Dallmeyer Super Sixes regularly go for astronomical prices. I'd love to know why, they are barely mentioned footnotes in my photographic history texts.

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Ouch! I noticed a Dallmeyer Super Six TV lens recently sold for over seven thousand pounds. A TV lens! Not to rub it in or anything..

 

I'm actually curious about what it is that makes certain lenses cult items, with frenzied bidding that defies all logic. Dallmeyer Super Sixes were made for various formats in various mounts, over a long period, they're not exactly rare. Maybe certain particular ones are, but it doesn't seem to make that much difference. Their design derives from H W Lee's Opic lens from 1920, which led to Taylor, Taylor and Hobson's very successful Cooke Speed Panchro series, but many other lenses share the 6 element unsymmetrical double-Gauss formula, including Zeiss Biotars, Schneider Xenons and Angenieux S series. Sometimes a rare Angenieux might fetch thousands, but Dallmeyer Super Sixes regularly go for astronomical prices. I'd love to know why, they are barely mentioned footnotes in my photographic history texts.

Hi

 

I know ouch!!

 

I have acquired many since then, now i know better...

 

I dont know what it is about the Super Six to be honest, but like you say they come in different formats, like the Super Six projection lens will only sell for a few hundred compared to the anastigmat which will go in to the thousands.

 

The chinese people absolutely love them, i used to sell quite a few of the pentac air ministry lenses by dallmeyer to the chinese but they have slowed right down now, but the super sixes are in great demand, so if anybody knows why please enlighten us.

 

Regards

 

John

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