Kodak Anastigmat 4.5 124mm

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

This is a Tessar type from a German Kodak Six-16 folder, i got it on the big auction site for the princely sum of 99p in a rimset Compur and was delighted to discover the shutter is working perfectly and th lens, while very dusty and with some blobs of light oil on the inner surface nearest the aperture at the back, was in great shape. Took 5 mins to clean the glass then it was great, no haze, fungus, scratches or marks, I got a bargain. Not sure what the coverage of this lens is, the 116 format was 6.5x11cm roughly so it must throw a circle of around 13cm.

Being from the early 1930s, it's uncoated, but is pretty sharp, not as sharp as a more modern lens like my Componon-S 5.6/100 but definitely good enough to shoot 6x9 on my Century Graphic. I stuck it on some bellows on my NEX to test the central resolution, I stopped it down to f8 as I figured this is the widest I will ever shoot it on 6x9 and I will probably mostly shoot it at f16 and f22.

Contrast is low as is to be expected with an uncoated lens with a fairly large front element that isn't recessed at all or threaded for a hood. It's a typical pre-war tessar type imho, some coma and spherical abberation that will go away if stopped further down, sharp but not overly so, a good, solid lens for general purpose work.

With and without PP and with 100% crops:

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

The general concensus on pre-war lenses seems to be that they aren't as sharp as modern types but are sharp enough for most work, and I think this lens is a good example of that.

Here's a 100% crop from the Kodak 124mm at f8:

For comparison, here's a 100% crop of a similar shot taken with my Schneider Componon-S 5.6/100, which is a 6 element plasmat design that is very sharp and also has the benefit of coatings and a smaller, more recessed front element:

Clearly the Componon is sharper, but it's also half a century younger and a more advanced design. I think this illustrates that the humble tessar type as represented by this Kodak is still a capable and useful lens, albeit lacking a little sharpness compared to the sharper modern lenses. Think how much you'd have to pay for a modern 125mm lens with at least 130mm coverage and my humble little 99p Kodak Anastigmat really makes sense. For 35mm or digital you'd chose a sharper lens, but for 6x9 and possibly 9x12 it's sure to be adequate. Now I just need to stick it on a lens board and try it on my Century Graphic 23.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

You will want a hood with this.
Back in those days these weren't screw-in types, they were slip-ons, specified by the outer lens barrel diameter.
Typically one would get a screw-size hood, usually spec'd by "series" - Your lens probably took a Series VI - and an adapter for your outer dia to Series VI.

Both adapters and Series hoods and filters are quite common.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Yes, it definitely needs a hood, I don't have any push fit ones but I'll measure the size and get one.