Who made this Porst Weitwinkel lens?

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

I picked this up at a flea market today:

At first glance it looks rather like an ISCO lens, but the ISCO 3.5/35mm has a much smaller front element, so that can't be it.

My second thought was Enna. The preset aperture is worked like that on the later plastic Enna lenses, but the overall construction of the lens seems much different from any Enna lens I have seen.

Has anybody seen this lens before?

buerokratiehasser · Joined: 12 Jun 2011 Posts: 470

I think I have a 2.8/135 in this style (nasty plasticky, yellow, even the knob), unfortunately it's uhh somewhere. I think it wasn't Porst, Porst is just a relabel. May have been Enna or Enna relabeled.

gewa13 · Joined: 16 Feb 2010 Posts: 34 Location: Saxonia, Germany

I also think it is from Enna Munic. Here are my examples.

Revuenon 2,8/35, Ennalyt 3,5/28, Macro Revuenon 4/24, Porst Tele 2,8/135.

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

Yes, I'm sure it is from Enna now. I found a near exact match on ebay (different color engraving and Exakta mount). Enna must've really let the quality go by the time they got around to making this lens though, it's almost sad. Not even close to their older lenses, even their earlier plastic lenses.

But if it still uses the same glass as the old Lithagon it may well produce some nice pictures regardless of the chintzy construction. Very Happy

I can't wait to get my film back and see how it does.

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

simbon4o · Joined: 19 Dec 2011 Posts: 390 Location: Bulgaria

Very interesting lens! Low microcontrast and some kind� softness in the images but nice colors and bokeh!
Nice one!

PS the design of the lens looks old and I have never seen something like it!

Fujinonuser · Joined: 06 Jan 2011 Posts: 128 Location: Germany

Here's some information about the manufacturer Enna Werk in Munich, abstracted from the German Wikipedia article for all English speakers. Enna Werk was founded in Munich in 1920 by Alfred Neumann ("Enna" is made up of the initials of his name "N" and "A"). In 1958 they designed the 1.9 / 35mm Super Lithagon, said to be the first 35mm lens with that maximum aperture, and in 1961 the allegedly first tele zoom lens for SLRs, a 4 / 85-250 mm lens. Since 1958 they produced lenses for Edixa, Exakta and Praktica M42 cameras, sold under their own name or Photo Porst as "Ennalyt" or "Lithagon" or re-branded as "Revuenon" for Photo Quelle (Revue), i.e. German warehouse or retail chains. After 1972, when Japanese consumer lenses swamped the international markets, they shifted their production to slide frames, magazines and projector lenses. They no longer manufacture lenses, but are still in business in Passau.- I had a 3.5 / 28mm Ennalyt lens that produced sharp and contrasty shots on a Kodachrome 25 with vibrant colors as seen in the sample shots earlier in this thread.

Mos6502 · Joined: 20 Jun 2011 Posts: 961 Location: Austin

I'm guess I'm going to need give mine a cleaning. Test shots had a lot of flare, low contrast, so-so sharpness.

I cleaned off haze on the front element when I got it but I didn't see any haze anywhere else, but maybe there is still some left. One thing was color was pretty nice (shot on slide film).

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

Enna M�nchen my vote too, look forward your results! I didn't have good experience with Enna in past even 85mm wasn't same on same level with other German makers.

Fujinonuser · Joined: 06 Jan 2011 Posts: 128 Location: Germany

@ Attila I mainly used the Enna 28mm in full sunshine with a lens shade and at smaller apertures above f=8. I also remember lower contrast and possibly vignetting at wider apertures. Nevertheless, considering their market price in those days, I have seen worse results from a 28mm lens. The Kodachromes taken with the Enna lens are still a pleasure to see -- after 40 years!

buerokratiehasser · Joined: 12 Jun 2011 Posts: 470

Found the specimen.. labeled as "REVUENON" (i.e. Quelle)

Looks like the one on the right of course, black, but the markings are yellow, white and red |. I am pretty sure about the style - the overall design, the protruding filter holder/hood with sheaty ring over it, the chintzy fake silver 1 mm ring, the knob on the aperture ring you must push to change it, and the matching focal length.

Unlabeled A/M ring - no m42 auto pin visible. Um, actually, this isn't A/M technically, it's a vanilla aperture ring that has a lock knob to limit the stop down

I remember that one well, because the description said the glasses would require cleaning. Well, they certainly did, being full of oil spray - from inside. Even with a simple and friendly lens construction as this (like, the front element simply comes off by screwing), you can certainly reassemble it wrong in too many ways (usually swapped lens elements or infinity clack /distance scale wrong)

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

I have one which looks exactly the same and is marked Enna Munchen Ennalyt 35/3.5.

Mine has very low contrast, and it's quite prone to flare. But it can be used in some circumstances.