Som Berthiot Flor 3.5/105 off an old folder

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

Got this pretty large and heavy lens on Sito shutter already stripped off an old folder. I've found the closest relative of this lens in ebay sitting on Royer folder rangefinders. My copy is slightly different in design, having a "classic" distance scale on the lens' side, and not on the front as it is the case of the rangefinders' version. So this one was most probably attached to a superior model of Kinax or Royer having no rangefinder.

Here follow some quick shots from the lens put on bellows and attached to a Sony Nex, in a gray rainy day. I was expecting some possible ("vintage") glow or special bokeh softness WO. Not from this lens, at least not in the first test under gloomy conditions. Just an excellent glass irrespective of its age.

All shots are taken WO, with autocontrast applied.

#1 Long distance

#2

#3 A 100% crop from the previous, no PP

#4 Midrange

#5 Close up + close bokeh

#6 Distant bokeh

#7 Transition to OOF

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

Very nice!

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

Thank you, fellows!

Here are some more close-ups in better light:

#1

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#4

#5

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 506

jamaeolus · Expire: 2015-08-20

great colors. Something the designers were not looking at I imagine.

Oldhand · Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:01 pm Post subject:

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

Simple.joy, Jamaeolus, Oldhand, thank you! That's a real pleasure to have such a detailed feedback and to look back at the snapshots with a more attentive eye.

I was wondering the optic design of the lens giving such smooth transitions from in-focus to OOF areas, which looks a bit different from Tessar which is usually harsher. In a meticulous study of LF SOM Berthiot Dan Fromm states that LF Flor lenses were probably 5-element Tessar-like ones, while MF and SF were 4-element Tessar-like ones. I tried counting reflexions in mine and found 4 pairs of colour and well separated reflexions and than one really small deeper, kind of attached to or hiding behind the previous one. This hints there could be a rear doublet, but I was never sure to master well the art of counting reflexions.

Here is one more sample of transitions to OOF the lens renders

#1

As for colours, autocontrast does magic, extending the DR to a kind of "organic" film feeling while deepening the overall contrast. With many lenses the trick does not work well, changing natural colours or washing out the picture. Som Berthiot (this one and others I tested from this mark) usually stand autocontrast adjustment very well.

#2

Meanwhile, a part of the DR is in some way hidden in the SOOC jpg and needs to be "developped" or revealed. To give an idea, here is one of the previous images before autocontrst was applied. Even though colours are less striking, their general balance remains pleasing to my taste. What would you say?

#3

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

Some more open air shots in a good natural light

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#4

#5

#6

#7

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

Catching rarely a red stray beam, like in the previous #6, the lens generally stands pretty well direct and lateral sun light.

#1

#2

It also has an appealing balanced colour rendering, such as blue, green and yellow in the same frame none of which seems shifted.

#3