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Emil Busch Glaukar 3.1 Project on Kickstarter
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:18 am    Post subject: Emil Busch Glaukar 3.1 Project on Kickstarter Reply with quote

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1154014220/beautiful-1910-emil-busch-glaukar-31-anastigmat-le?utm_campaign=PressKit&utm_medium=cision&utm_source=Press

What do you think?


PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...another company jumping the train of such "old type" lenses for the "unique look" Wink

What happens is that old GLAUKAR lenses will increase in price quickly... let me quickly buy all I can find Wink

Like this one?? Click here to see on Ebay


PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To me it looks very much like the previous Meyer campaigns. Even the photos used as examples are carefully worked and lighted to look "old style". Smile
They are beautiful, but that's because of the skills of the photographer and not because of the special character of the lens.
In fact, being the first Anastigmat, GLAUKAR is a milestone in the history of the photographic lenses but it also is not a perfect anastigmat. It is a kind of "wannabe modern lens" . IMO It is highly collectible but to use it today is like using an imperfect, cheap modern lens.
Not really much to offer...

kds315* wrote:
Like this one?? Click here to see on Ebay


A f/2 GLAUKAR should be rare but it was obviously re-mounted latter in the Leica mount. I suppose a collector would prefer it in the original mount and a Leica photographer won't be very much interested in its character.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a legitimate place in the large format world for old lenses like the Glaukar, if you look at sites like Large Format Photography Forum you will see that many LF shooters use old lenses in preference to modern ones because they give a different aesthetic that is impossible to achieve any other way. To be of interest to the LF shooters, any new Glaukar would have to cover at least 4x5. Therefore I would think that if they had recreated the original f3.1 210mm Glaukar, it would sell well to LF shooters, but the f3.1 97mm for 24x36mm they have come up with doesn't strike me as being a particularly worthwhile endeavour.

Also, I think they must be Leica fans to sell a triplet for 2 grand. I bet Cooke could make a equally good triplet and not have to charge anywhere near that much for it, after all, they produce the legendary Cooke Triple Convertible Portrait lens for large format and it only costs a hair over 2 grand and probably has 5 times the volume of glass in it. Now that is one lens that was worthy of being revived.


PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting. The text in the Kickstarter announcement -- thanks, dan_, for posting it -- is a tissue of lies. To be more polite, filled with marketing fluff.

dan_, I'm surprised they took you in. According to the VM, the first Glaukar was introduced in 1913. Rudolph's Anastigmats (later called Protars) were introduced in 1892. H. W. Lee's triplet, invented for Cooke and commercialized by TTH seems to have been introduced around 1895. Rudolph's Tessar, 1902. The announcement's claim that the Glaukar was the first anastigmat is just nonsense.

Ian, it appears that the Ser. XVa Cooke triple covertible is still available. See https://www.cookeoptics.com/l/xva.html


PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know it's still available, that's why I referred to it as an example of a classic lens that was reintroduced into production in recent years.

I had one of the originals for a while, a superb lens for such an old and uncoated optic. In the end I sold it because it was worth a lot of money and I have umpteen LF lenses.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromm wrote:
Interesting.
dan_, I'm surprised they took you in. According to the VM, the first Glaukar was introduced in 1913. Rudolph's Anastigmats (later called Protars) were introduced in 1892. H. W. Lee's triplet, invented for Cooke and commercialized by TTH seems to have been introduced around 1895. Rudolph's Tessar, 1902. The announcement's claim that the Glaukar was the first anastigmat is just nonsense.

Thanks for the correction.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


I have checked, which I should have done from the beginning, with LVM and "A History of the Photographic Lenses" and the first Anastigmat was, "officially", the Ross Concentric Anastigmat patented in 1889.
However, it was of little use due to the fact it was only f/20.
The data are a bit unclear as the wide angle "Pantoscope" lenses, patented by Emil Busch in 1865, were engraved "Pantoscope Anastigmat", as well.



I'd conclude that their claim that Emil Busch made the first Anastigmat (Pantoscope), though questionable, is not completely illegitimate but to say that the 1910 Glaukar was the first "usable", fully corrected Anastigmat it's a plain lie, indeed. Even if "Rudolph’s Protar, ...did not work properly at the time of invention because its construction required glass coatings not available at the time" the TT&H Cooke triplet was quite mature and very usable at that date.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And again somebody is using old names, i wonder, is there no more copyright or brand-protection with these old names?

Anyway, there seems to be a market for lenses with an antique name printed on them, seeing how easy they reach their goals.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

TrueLoveOne wrote:
And again somebody is using old names, i wonder, is there no more copyright or brand-protection with these old names?


Actually we are talking about a "trade mark" here and the corresponding laws are very different around the world.
For more information about the international treatment and protection of trade marks please refer to this article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid_system

The short story is: If a trade mark isn't used for a certain period of time (e.g. 5 years in Germany) somebody may apply for it's deletion and consequentially may apply for the same trade mark under new ownership.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tb_a wrote:


The short story is: If a trade mark isn't used for a certain period of time (e.g. 5 years in Germany) somebody may apply for it's deletion and consequentially may apply for the same trade mark under new ownership.


Thanks for the link, that explains a lot. Never knew about the 5 year term!


PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is also the issue of the Versailles Treaty which stole a ton of intellectual property from Germany & Austria, so anything from pre-1919 is unlikely to have remained in Germanic ownership, making companies around the world able to copy things like the Tessar and not pay Zeiss a pfennig.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The intellectual property may be protected by patent laws up to 20 years (for certain patents like for pharmaceuticals a prolongation of additional 5 years is possible), but after that time it's more or less public domain.