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Rollei Tessar f3.5 23mm
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 3:09 pm    Post subject: Rollei Tessar f3.5 23mm Reply with quote
Lens from the Rollei E110 removed and remounted for use on my OMD E-M5. This was a high end optic half a century ago and it still performs very well today, it's as sharp at full aperture as many lenses are stopped down and the coatings are excellent, very flare resistant and contrasty.

Some info from Marco Cavina:

Quote:
The Tessar lens mounted on the Rollei A110 and E110 was designed by Carl Zeiss in 1960, initially with a 25mm focal length, then reduced to 23mm to perfectly fit with the 110 film format; this lens allows an angle of view of 50°, corresponding - in the 135 film format - to a widened standard lens of approximately 45 mm, a choice certainly apt for non-specialist, universal use, while the maximum aperture of f/2,8 can be considered reasonable for the product category.

Even in this case, the tiny Tessar has been designed without paying attention to saving: apart from the sophisticated multi-layer coating treatment applied by Rollei, its optical core provides the first glass lens realized with lanthanum Crown glass type Schott LaK10 and the fourth lens ground from lanthanum Flint glass type Schott LaF21, two materials with a good balance between high refractive index and low dispersion.


These were taken just before sunset, in very low light, which really sorts the men from the boys in lens terms. This one did very well.

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and a few HDRs:

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The lens perform very nice to me! Like 1 small


PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I like it. It's a tiny little thing:





PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1 Like 1

Amazing!


PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice!

What did you use to mount the lens in?


PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
At the moment it's mounted in an M12-C mount adapter that is screwed into a 5mm C mount extension tube and a c mount-M4/3 adapter. I'm hunting for a suitable c mount lens to use the barrel to fit the Tessar into so it has an iris and can be focused easily.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A good lens for sure.
You are the master of re-cycling Ian.
Well done
Tom


PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1 small Like 1 small Like 1 small well done!!


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Like 1 Like 1 Like 1
Nice little lens and the sample photos show it's quite capable of nice results.
You are very good at spotting gems in unexpected places, Ian.


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice hack!
These things wouldn't cover APS-C would they?
The Pentax 110 ones do, mostly.


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cheers guys. It was Marco Cavina's excellent article on various unusual Zeiss lenses that tipped me off to this little Tessar.

I think it will cover APS-C, I'll try it today on my NEX and find out for you.


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow, that's really interesting! Certainly gives a "vitnage" look to photos but I'd never have thought such a tiny optic could even be used with any success on a modern camera. Well done! Smile


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not much smaller than my Grape sized Rollei 40/2.3 from the XF35.
Curious how you mounted it.


PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2018 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'll make some pics of how I've mounted it, shortly.

That little Sonnar 2.3/40 is on my list of lenses to acquire.


PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2022 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Four years on and I've finally returned to playing with this little Tessar. I'm searching for a suitable barrel to put it in, rather than the less than ideal way it's currently mounted.


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PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2022 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote






Little Carl Zeiss TESSAR 3,5/35mm lens from the YASHICA T4 camera!


PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2022 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
iangreenhalgh1 wrote:
Four years on and I've finally returned to playing with this little Tessar. I'm searching for a suitable barrel to put it in, rather than the less than ideal way it's currently mounted.


I have atleast 110 film lens I want to mount as it seems to cover APS-C, but the lens is so tiny I don't have convenient ways to mount it outside of a RAFCamera 18mm diameter clamp.
Any plumbing etc parts might work?


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 12:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice work with that Tessar.

110 film = 17 mm × 13 mm, 21.4mm diagonal

Micro 4/3 = 17.3 x 13mm, 21.6mm diagonal

APS-C = 23.6–23.7 x 15.60mm, 28.2–28.4mm diagonal

So whether a 110 lens will cover APS-C or not is a moot point.

I have successfully remounted the f2.8 26mm lens from a Minolta Autopak 110 camera for use on M4/3 and it's a sharp little thing. The problem is, you need to place the lens block very close to the sensor.

Best solution I have found is to use the barrel from a cheap c or CS mount lens - remove the original glass and then adapt as necessary to fit the new optical block.


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mounted the little 23mm tessar into a c mount barrel:
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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2022 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's very sharp and appears to be apochromatic as I can't find a single pixel of colour fringing anywhere:

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2022 2:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's a great hack, Ian - nice work - lens seems very sharp!


PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2022 5:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Cheers, no complaints about the sharpness from me, and that's wide open at f2.8, it can only get better stopped down I suppose, or maybe it won't get sharper, just stay sharp but increase the DOF? Anyways, it's going to be a useful little lens to have so I'm pleased with the results of this little project - they don't always turn out well!
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