• vilva
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  • Registered: 2006-06-07
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Topic: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

To-day when I got home from work, the lens was waiting, and I just had to take the next train back to downtown Helsinki to my usual haunts and take a few quick shots - although the illumination isn't any too ideal at 6 pm, not even here. The lens is small and quite immaculate having been extracted from a sealed surveillance camera system, it has a nice, very smooth feel - the barrel is probably elox aluminium and the moving parts plastic. I have put a few test photos at http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos35 … tagon.html . The full resolution pics are completely unprocessed, just converted from raw to ppm to jpg (with dcraw + gimp, saved at 80%, 1x1x1 sampling). Most of the pics are at f/5.6, a couple at f/2.8 and some at f/11. I haven't checked the accuracy of infinity focus and a new manual focus lens always takes some getting used to, but the pics seem reasonably OK - of course, at f/5.6, DOF limitations are evident even with a 35mm lens. Anyway, have a look and draw your own conclusions.

- Veijo

VPK Meniscus Achromat , VPK Rapid Rectilinear, 1917 TTH Cooke Anastigmat, various 1930's Schneider-Kreuznach folder lenses
M42: Industar, Helios, Jupiter, Takumar, Schneider-Kreuznach, CZJ et al; Carl Zeiss for C/Y;
Leitz Wetzlar: 50mm Summicron-R (1st version), 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R, 90mm Elmarit-R (1st), 135mm Elmarit-R (2nd), 180mm Elmar-R, Elpro VIIa

vilva's Website

  • From: Vantaa, Finland
  • Registered: 2005-11-09
  • Posts: 1,859

Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Is that Rekola? Only a few (four?) kilometres from where I live (Korso).

Anyhow. Great photos. They look pretty good when pixelpeeped. Maybe a bit fuzzy (diffraction?). A little USM ought to bring those up quite a bit.

Lasse Nylund
Canon EOS 1D, 20D, Sinar Norma 4x5"
35mm: | Vivitar 20/3.8 | 35/2.4 Flektogon | 50/1.7T* Planar | Nikkor-H 85/1.8 | 135/3.5 Sonnar |
LF: GX 90/6.8 Optar | Rodenstock-Ysaron 105/4.5 | SK 121/8 Super-Angulon | 125/6.8 Dagor | GX 135/4.7 Optar | 150/9 Weitwinkel-Dagor | 180/5.6 Symmar | 180/6.8 Dagor | JML Optical 209/8 | SK 210/4.5 Xenar |  240/5.6 Symmar | 360/4.5 Berthiot
  • Sparq
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  • Registered: 2006-01-03
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

You seem to have a good performer there. In the "against the sun" picture, I noticed a few flare spots. It's interesting how they seem to lack any organization ...

Thread hijack: I see that you also have the flek 20/4 in your bag. How do you like it?

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  • Sandeep
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Thanks for posting the pictures, I'm going to check them out in detail. Looks like a very picturesque place to shoot. You should post a photograph of the lens in your hands so that people can get an idea of how incredibly small it it. It's probably one of the smallest lenses that covers the full frame of  a 35mm camera.

Sandeep's Website

  • walshy
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  • Registered: 2005-11-26
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Well....theres nothing wrong with that lens!...Looks nice.. Clean colour and sharp too...

I'd like to see one also Vilva?.

[update]

Its OK i just popped over to povlab to have a look  ... http://m42.povlab.org/lens_detail.php?lid=301




.

Last edited by walshy (2006-06-13 19:57:33)

EOS 5D,40D & D30 +  EF 35,50 & 85 L
Various M42 lenses Nothing exotic
Contax Planar 50,85 f/1.4
Waiting for a better exchange rate so I can buy into the new Zeiss ZE System
  • buze
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  • From: Berks, England
  • Registered: 2005-08-10
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Very nice results, good contrast and colors; interesting little lens!!

Canon 5DII and a few lens -- Tachihara 8x10. Chamonix 45N-1, Crown Graphic 4x5. Moskva, Zeiss Super Ikonta C
Bronica S2A, Agfa Super Isolette, Iskra, Rolleiflex. Leica M2, Bessa R, Zorki 1,3,3M and a few more...
  • vilva
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  • From: Porvoo, Finland
  • Registered: 2006-06-07
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Uusilehto wrote:

Is that Rekola? Only a few (four?) kilometres from where I live (Korso).

Anyhow. Great photos. They look pretty good when pixelpeeped. Maybe a bit fuzzy (diffraction?). A little USM ought to bring those up quite a bit.

Not Rekola, slightly further south, Hiekkaharju, six kilometres.

Thanks. Maybe a couple of factors causing a slight fuzziness: diffraction at f/11, and the AA filter of the EOS 350D. For production use, the full resolution 350D pics probably ought to be sharpened, but for displaying lens quality I think they are better left raw. I don't use USM for sharpening as Gimp has a rather nice refocus plugin, which usually produces much less visible artifacts.

  - Veijo

VPK Meniscus Achromat , VPK Rapid Rectilinear, 1917 TTH Cooke Anastigmat, various 1930's Schneider-Kreuznach folder lenses
M42: Industar, Helios, Jupiter, Takumar, Schneider-Kreuznach, CZJ et al; Carl Zeiss for C/Y;
Leitz Wetzlar: 50mm Summicron-R (1st version), 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R, 90mm Elmarit-R (1st), 135mm Elmarit-R (2nd), 180mm Elmar-R, Elpro VIIa

vilva's Website

  • vilva
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Sandeep wrote:

Thanks for posting the pictures, I'm going to check them out in detail. Looks like a very picturesque place to shoot. You should post a photograph of the lens in your hands so that people can get an idea of how incredibly small it it. It's probably one of the smallest lenses that covers the full frame of  a 35mm camera.

http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_c-curtagon_files/lenses3934.jpg

I hope this gives an idea. The smallest lens on the left, a Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar 2.9/50mm, has been extracted from a 1938 35mm folder camera. The Industar-50-2 3.5/50mm in the middle is only slightly wider than the C-Curtagon.

- Veijo

Last edited by vilva (2006-06-14 15:58:02)

VPK Meniscus Achromat , VPK Rapid Rectilinear, 1917 TTH Cooke Anastigmat, various 1930's Schneider-Kreuznach folder lenses
M42: Industar, Helios, Jupiter, Takumar, Schneider-Kreuznach, CZJ et al; Carl Zeiss for C/Y;
Leitz Wetzlar: 50mm Summicron-R (1st version), 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R, 90mm Elmarit-R (1st), 135mm Elmarit-R (2nd), 180mm Elmar-R, Elpro VIIa

vilva's Website

  • Sandeep
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Sexy picture!

How do you mount and focus the lenses that you have extracted from old folders. Do you just glue or bolt the lens into something like a M42/EOS mount adapter?

Sandeep's Website

  • vilva
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Sandeep wrote:

Sexy picture!

How do you mount and focus the lenses that you have extracted from old folders. Do you just glue or bolt the lens into something like a M42/EOS mount adapter?

I glued a 2.9/50mm Radionar straight to an M42-to-EOS adapter and a 4.5/105 Radionar to an M42 extension tube, see the pics on my site,
http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_r50.html and http://galactinus.net/vilva/retro/eos350d_radionar.html . Both lenses employ front cell focusing so there is no need for a focusing helicoid. Some of the test photos and photos I took with the 105 on a trip to Germany are rather sobering, they make one wonder about all this fuss about "perfect" lenses.

- Veijo

VPK Meniscus Achromat , VPK Rapid Rectilinear, 1917 TTH Cooke Anastigmat, various 1930's Schneider-Kreuznach folder lenses
M42: Industar, Helios, Jupiter, Takumar, Schneider-Kreuznach, CZJ et al; Carl Zeiss for C/Y;
Leitz Wetzlar: 50mm Summicron-R (1st version), 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R, 90mm Elmarit-R (1st), 135mm Elmarit-R (2nd), 180mm Elmar-R, Elpro VIIa

vilva's Website

  • From: Las Vegas, NV.
  • Registered: 2005-09-05
  • Posts: 5,443

Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Hi Veijo, Am I understanding this correctly that once attached to the camera via being glued to the adapter that no focussing is necessary? If this is the case, the lenses tested seem to be very good. I think you have opened up a whole new venue of lens possibilities for us. big_smile
-Bruce

I put that adapter in a safe place, never to be seen again.
  • vilva
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  • Registered: 2006-06-07
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Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Ballen Photo wrote:

Hi Veijo, Am I understanding this correctly that once attached to the camera via being glued to the adapter that no focussing is necessary? If this is the case, the lenses tested seem to be very good. I think you have opened up a whole new venue of lens possibilities for us. big_smile
-Bruce

Well, focusing is necessary, but in these old lenses the front cell, the first element of the lens has a helicoid (the element moves very little, only a millimeter or two) and a distance scale, which originally was the only means of setting focus - either by just guessing the distance or using a separate range meter. Of course, when a lens like this is mounted on an SLR one can focus just like with any other lens. The older Meniscus and Rapid Rectilinear lenses have no moving elements so it is necessary to move the whole lens in order to focus - and I had to get focusing helicoids for those lenses, I couldn't just glue them on an adapter or extension tube. A front cell focusing lens was usually optimized for a distance of about 5-6m (20 ft), a distance suitable for group photos and it isn't quite as good for shorter or longer distances, but it doesn't seem to matter too much, at least with these simple triplet lenses. I have also a couple of Xenars (a Tessar type of lens), but I haven't had time to start experimenting with them. They ought to be slightly better, but you never know.

  - Veijo

VPK Meniscus Achromat , VPK Rapid Rectilinear, 1917 TTH Cooke Anastigmat, various 1930's Schneider-Kreuznach folder lenses
M42: Industar, Helios, Jupiter, Takumar, Schneider-Kreuznach, CZJ et al; Carl Zeiss for C/Y;
Leitz Wetzlar: 50mm Summicron-R (1st version), 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R, 90mm Elmarit-R (1st), 135mm Elmarit-R (2nd), 180mm Elmar-R, Elpro VIIa

vilva's Website

  • From: Las Vegas, NV.
  • Registered: 2005-09-05
  • Posts: 5,443

Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Ah, Thanks for clearing that up Veijo. I was thinking maybe they were like the old Pentax Pancake lenses in that respect, and covering a "Hyperfocal" range. wink
-Bruce

I put that adapter in a safe place, never to be seen again.
  • From: Oklahoma
  • Registered: 2006-04-27
  • Posts: 11

Re: Schneider-Kreuznach C-Curtagon 2.8/35mm "Baby C"

Veijo,

Welcome Aboard! I've enjoyed your website the several times I've been there. It's nice to see someone out there say the ultimate goal of photography is not to find the sharpest lens possible.

We're all gearhead, I know, but I love what you've done with some of those old lenses.

Wes

Wes Medlin's Website