Isco/Gottingen 4/180mm Tele-Westanar - Sonnar !

Oldhand · Last edited by Oldhand on Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:16 am; edited 1 time in total

I have been lucky enough to score this lens.
After my experience with my son's 100mm Isconar I am keen to see how good this can be.
Is it a triplet like the Isconar?
Or some other design?
Cheers
OH

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7553 Location: Hong Kong

It is a four elements Sonnar as in the photo below.

ISCO Tele-Westanar 1:4/180 (Exakta) by alf sigaro, on Flickr

Oldhand · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:38 am Post subject:

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7553 Location: Hong Kong

No. We have a post on this lens here a while ago.
http://forum.mflenses.com/isco-gottingen-tele-westanar-180mm-f4-t69801.html

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

It looks well used so might be a good performer?

Oldhand · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:45 am Post subject:

Thanks again Calvin

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

I never judge a lens by its cover,unless there is obvious damage not just wear and tear. I expect there to be plenty of details in the image it takes....look forward to seeing your test images when it gets here.

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

Very good lens, no need stepping down. Quite an underdog imho.
These are mine ancient samples: http://forum.mflenses.com/isco-westanar-4-180mm-t44283.html

Oldhand · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:49 pm Post subject:

Excellent Pics Pancolart.
I especially like the last one.
Thanks for the link
OH

Oldhand · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:08 am Post subject:

OK, lens has arrived and I was keen to see what it could do.
Lots of aperture blades - 16 I think - so nice round highlights.
Here are some samples
OH

Oldhand · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:12 am Post subject:

I am quite pleased with this lens.
If there ever was a great example of "...... never judge a book by its cover ..." this might be it.
The lens has been well used as evidenced by its exterior.
But the glass is outstanding - and the aperture lovely.
Here are some pictures of the lens itself.
OH

StyxD · Joined: 18 Nov 2014 Posts: 79 Location: Italia

Wow, just wow. Beautiful pictures.

How much did you pay for it ?

Oldhand · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:32 am Post subject:

Minolfan · Joined: 30 Dec 2008 Posts: 3437 Location: Netherlands

Wow!
Sometimes taking some risk is rewarding!
Nice pictures you made with that lens.

BeardsAreBest · Joined: 09 May 2014 Posts: 286 Location: Australia

Beautiful pics and lens!

imagedit · Joined: 17 May 2014 Posts: 92 Location: London, england

Very nice.
I prefer the war torn looking lenses, as long as the optics are good.
Makes me think of how many people have got use out of it and what pictures they have taken. Smile

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

connloyalist · Joined: 22 Jul 2020 Posts: 234 Location: the Netherlands

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread.

Is the Isco 180mm f/4 really around 660 grams? I see these on eBay regularly but have never pulled the trigger on one yet because of the weight. For various reasons my limit is about 500 grams. But these lens would be right up my alley.

Regards, C.

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 293 Location: Philadelphia

Looking at the pics on this thread and the linked ones just convinced me to make an offer on a fixer one one of these.

To anyone who has one, can you confirm that the exterior is plain black anodizing as it appears, and not overpainted? The one I made an offer on is rather worn, too, and it might be a nice candidate for a refinish.

Dejan · Joined: 05 Jan 2021 Posts: 142 Location: Belgrade, Serbia

I've read their quite prone to lens separation (it can look like a small starburst on the glass). I'd pay attention to that as well.

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 293 Location: Philadelphia

Dejan · Joined: 05 Jan 2021 Posts: 142 Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Wow! That's really nice. It's one of the issues I know I could never solve. Well, not without spending more than I spend on most lenses, or trying risky hacks at home.
So I simply avoid some of the most notorious lenses (like Septons).

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 293 Location: Philadelphia

It's not as intimidating as it looks, although now that methylene chloride strippers have been banned in the U.S., I typically have to use heat to separate lenses using synthetic adhesives, which is a little dicier. Older doublets using Canada Balsam separate easily with regular acetone. The cementing itself is fairly straightforward using NOA61 UV cure cement. The Isco should be here Monday. If it requires recementing, I'll add photos of the steps to this thread.

The Septon in theory should be easy to separate/recement, as the doublet is quite small, but I've never actually been able to successfully remove the retaining ring holding it into its housing. I actually have 4 of these lying around with varying degrees of separation awaiting my figuring out whether it's feasible or not.

Many unsuccessful attempts led me to believe the doublet that typically has separation (rear of the front cell) was permanently swaged in, but this guy in China seems to have successfully removed and repaired it. I once reached out to him using Google translate to see if he could let me know whether he lathed it out or successfully unscrewed it, but he never got back to me.