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Need help with Bausch and Lomb lens
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 7:34 pm    Post subject: Need help with Bausch and Lomb lens Reply with quote

Greetings all,

I hope this post is allowed in this forum, especially with this being my first post. I don’t really have another immediate resource to ask the questions I need to ask and I’ve spent enough time here to know that this where I’ll get my answers. Here it is, a Bausch and Lomb 32mm Tessar 4.5 in good clean condition. I cannot recall how I ended up with it, but I also don’t know how I end up with 80% of the lenses I have. I do believe I wanted to use it on one of my m4/3’s bodies, but never followed up on that.

If anyone can share any info about this little fellow, that’d be awesome. I have read all about B&L’s serial number system, but I don’t know why there’s a four digit number(1114) stamped on the back of the focusing lever. What I also don’t know is what the 1c means, or upon what kind or size camera it was meant to be mounted. Basically, any info would be great. Thank you all for reading this.





PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 7:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Need help with Bausch and Lomb lens Reply with quote

OfRayRay wrote:
Greetings all,

I hope this post is allowed in this forum, especially with this being my first post. I don’t really have another immediate resource to ask the questions I need to ask and I’ve spent enough time here to know that this where I’ll get my answers. Here it is, a Bausch and Lomb 32mm Tessar 4.5 in good clean condition. I cannot recall how I ended up with it, but I also don’t know how I end up with 80% of the lenses I have. I do believe I wanted to use it on one of my m4/3’s bodies, but never followed up on that.

If anyone can share any info about this little fellow, that’d be awesome. I have read all about B&L’s serial number system, but I don’t know why there’s a four digit number(1114) stamped on the back of the focusing lever. What I also don’t know is what the 1c means, or upon what kind or size camera it was meant to be mounted. Basically, any info would be great. Thank you all for reading this.





Welcome OfRayRay


PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Look for the Camera Eccentric site. You will find the Bausch&Lomb 1928 catalog there, under the "Information" tab.

This lens is listed there as an f/4.5, coverage for 3/4x1 format, i.e., I think this would have been a "normal" for the original 35mm cine format, that is about 16mmx22mm. That or whatever early still cameras were using 35mm cine stock in the original cine format for that stock.

The serial number does not match the published Bausch&Lomb standard, being 7 digits instead of 6. If one assumes the "5" at the end is not part of the serial number, the number 316659 is from about 1941.

It seems much older though. It does not match any offering from the B&L 1941 catalog. It looks like its in a typical 1920's mount.

Its also missing the aperture markings. Maybe theres a ring that was lost at some point.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the responses. I knew I had come to the right place.

Here’s a pic of the aperture settings and a pic I took using a macro lens with this lens held directly to the macro. I was surprised at how clear it is given my feeble attempt at getting a shot taken using he lens. The dots and such were on the paper I photographed, not within the lens itself. As for the aperture, it took a little effort, but once I got it moving, the aperture became easily adjusted. Anyone have an idea what the four digit number is on the back or why such a number would be stamped into the ring?

AMW







PostPosted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, there you go.
Yours looks very much like the mount in the B&L 1928 catalog.
B&L and other lensmakers of the period used series designation such as "Ic" in this case, to indicate a common basic design that was scaled up and down in focal length in order to change coverage for different film formats.
That is, a larger version of the basic Tessar yielded a longer focal length which suited 6x6 cm, 6x9 cm, 9x12 cm, 4x5 in, etc., in all cases being designed for a "normal" angle of view for the format.

Yours is the smallest of the "1c".