Hi,
I discovered this in a box of lenses I bought. One thing was a strange aluminum fixture. Thought it was junk. It looked like a movie camera lens fixture or maybe something to take pictures of scientific stuff. The fixture had a 4 screw, square flange and some alloy pieces that rotated. Heck, for all I know it's off a U-boat periscope.

Anyway, I started unthreading and finally found there really was a lens in there, under quite a bit of oil. I wiped the rim with a q-tip, and saw:

C.P. Goerz Berlin - Dagor 1:6,8 12cm

It has a nice working aperature, but really isn't in a barrel mount, too much exposed machining after I pulled it from the mechanism.

I'm learning on this and the LF board that it has bigger coverage than you'd think for such a tiny lens. It's about 1 1/8 inch diameter. Any idea what shutter would fit it? I could leave it in the "barrel" but the aperature lever has no markings, and there are other slots and holes showing. Guess cosmetics don't matter, this is a good lens right?

thanks,
Garrett

Garrett, opinions on Dagors are all over the map. See, for example, this http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=13109&highlight=lousy+dagor thread. It gets pretty tedious not far in, but is worth reading to the end.

My friend Eric Beltrando (his site is www.dioptrique.info) has analysed a number of Goerz Dagor designs, also some Boyer Beryls, which are the same type. He believes very strongly that even though Boyer's sales literature claimed that the garden variety f/6.8 Beryl covers 85 degrees an exacting photographer would ask one to cover no more than 70 degrees. In a really exacting application, e.g., copy work, no more than 50 degrees.

I think you've made a wonderful find, unfortunately have no idea how you can make your treasure usable. Back when it was made shutters weren't particularly standardized. I suspect that a skilled mechanic, e.g., www.skgrimes.com, could put the cells properly in a modern shutter for you. But I have no idea whether having the job done would make economic sense.

Cheers,

Dan

Thank you Dan. It is a neat surprise find. I've gone ahead and carefully cleaned the glass, and the aperature mechanism. There's even a "retainer ring" if you can call it that. I'm thinking now I'll try to "press mount" it in a board for the Speed. Why not? I'm actually shooting 3.25 x 4.25 wetplate in that camera, it should cover that.

If later I need to trade it to get something else, it will still be worth more than the $15 I have in it! But if I make a rash sale now and later want one, I'll not feel good about paying what I suspect I'd have to. Towards $100 or more probably.

Garrett

I wouldn't hazard a guess at how much it will bring. There's a minor Dagor cult.

Gentlemen, here is what Goerz Berlin said about Dagors one century ago :
120mm; plate size covered sharp : at full aperture 9x12 or 70°, at smallest aperture 13x18 or 90°; price 105 Reischmark in normal mount and 120 RM in special mount.
Comes from a book called " Das Objektiv Im Dienste Der Photographie " von Dr. E. Holm, 1906, illustrated catalog of Goerz photographic products and tutorial.
Somewhere in this book, it's also stated that closed down a Dagor from this era illuminates twice it's focal length.

Dan, what is " garden variety " of Béryl ???

Laurent,

Garden-variety Beryl = f/6.8 Beryl and f/6.8 Emeraude. The only difference between a Beryl, claimed coverage 85 degrees, and the equivalent Emeraude, claimed coverage 70 degrees, is the engraving on the front and the barrel. Emeraudes came in barrels with a slot for a Waterhouse stop.

In the '30s, Suzanne Levy-Bloch designed several different narrow angle f/10 Beryls. AFAIK few were sold and the line was discontinued after 1939.

Vous devez visiter www.dioptrique.info

Dan