Let that be dream! (soft image EA Laboratories 1.9/91.44)

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

The lens is an unusual projector (laboratory?) one EA Laboratories 1.9/91.44, without iris. And it's dreamy! What kind of technical tasks could it serve for, with such glow? Why such a precision of its focal lenght? Anyway, it has a strong mood touch, delivering pictoralist image.

On Sony Nex, and for most of the images below a laid-on aperture ring was used, made of a piece of black paper. Contrast and colour tweaked.

Close up

#1

#2

Landscape

#3

#4

Mid range

#5

#6

Bokeh

#7

#8

UPD: I added the lens name in the title

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

How about some photos of the lens? Smile

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

I thought you wouldn't ask Wink

I was already to dismount it from the helicoid and to rip off the black tape, to photograph it, when to my surprise I found this formal description with some shots of the lens

There are some more shots of the lens itself, following the link above.

To my regret, no further info of the lens' original purpose. Could it be used for X-ray projection? Being so glowy?

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Thanks!

How about this part which could contribute to glow?

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

The lens probably isn't intended for this image size - note how the centre is quite well defined but the outer portion of the image is much worse, so it indicates it was intended to be used on a much smaller image size. The diffuse glow is so great it suggests that the lens may not be corrected for light in the visible range, or that it is intended to be used as part of an optical system and the correction of the aberration(s) causing the glow (most likely spherical aberration) were corrected by other elements in that optical system.

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

The laid-on paper ring works as a classic aperture: more the lens' corners are covered, sharper the image is and less glowy. Here are two examples with Sony FF

#1 Wide open

#2 With a laid-on ring

I made it with A7 to test if the lens covers FF. Without much supripise for such a focal lenght it does. And the fall of sharpness towards the edges is not as dramatic as it happens in 16mm cine-projection lenses. But the idea that the original image circle was smaller than FF sounds pretty plausible to me, unless it required a strong field curvature for a correct use which is hinted by a strongly curved front element.

ckshene · Joined: 31 Dec 2015 Posts: 11 Location: Houghton, MI

Soft Focus lenses were popular from 1860x to 198x. Here are some of them:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63994258 (Sima 100mm 1:2)

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62341829 (Portragon 100mm 1:4)

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58115347 (Dyotar 180mm 1:4.7)

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61589973 (Pentax 85mm 1:2.2 Soft)

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61616847 (Nikon 50mm 1:1.8 Soft)

CK

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Thanks, but "laid on" implies to me light can leak around edges of it, cause glow...

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3666 Location: Calgary

Interesting lens, definitely looks like a technical lens, perhaps used on an UV optical bench where it's actual focal length would be important.
Try shining a light through the lens, how clean are the elements? It only takes one contaminated element to cause glow.

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Ah, I see, visualopsins! I admit the leak exists, but don't think it is so important. As you see in the difference between two images, the laid-on ring does its job. I'd blame more the unblackened side edges of each glass in the lens. From experience, even a black marker may reduce that a little. But I wouldn't do that by now, as I find it entertainingly nice to have au unexpected soft focus lens.

Ckshene, thank you for this nice set. Some of your samples are especially interesting. For example, you shot cameras with soft lenses. I find it a really successful, and yet unordinary move. Well done!

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Lightshow, it's a good suggestion. I've just checked the lens with a strong flash light. It is not hazed, just slightly scratched here and there. Which normally does not affect the IQ that much.

I had another question in my mind, which is compatible to Ian's hypothesis of the lens as a part of a more complex optical assembly. Ad what its external mounting thread was destined to use the lens "reversed"? I mean, using its narrower glass as the front. So, I tried freelensing it this way, and had to admit the IQ is a way worse than when used with the large glass as the front.

Please see the result with Sony Nex

#1 Reversed. Massive light leaks provided by freelensing certainly contribute to the image degradation, but what is aslo clearly seen is also sharpness degraded, which is not that much affected with freelensing

#2 The same scene with the lens WO mounted on helicoid, to have a check point

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Under a strong sunlight the dream gets surreal

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

I've made some more images confirming my non-scientific guess that some lenses better fit to some landscapes and cities more than to others.

#1

#2

#3

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Interestingly, there are now two copies of the lens offered in ebay USA by different sellers. Both kindly replied to my question, saying they had no idea about the use or the origin of the lens.

Earlier I searched any info concerning the maker, E.A. Laboratories Brooklyn, to discover that in the 1900s-30s the firm was a maker of automobile secondary equipment, such as klaxons and mascots. What is curious enough, I could not find any mention of X-Ray or microscope devices produced by E.A. Laboratories, but there is at least one sold optical part of an aircraft gun produced during WWII.

Could a lens with such optical performance be a part of an air gun? Hm...

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Maybe a good lens for nighttime Christmas scenery.

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Maybe a reenactment of a Christmas dream?

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

and other memories. Any scene with many colored lights, like:

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 646

It's a very interesting lens indeed. I have one, and while I also don't know what it was used for, I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that it was speculated to be an Oscilloscope lens. Would make sense, some of those (like the wonderful Steinheil Oscillo-Quinon 75 mm f/1.9) are very fast.

I've tried to use it again today with a (taped on) variable aperture as well and while it still does show significant CAs, quality does improve:

Brace for impact! by simple.joy, on Flickr

Of course it looses a lot of its charm that way, but even when the strong glow is used as an effect, I'd recommend some kind of aperture in order to at least have something appear to be in focus. I've tried that some time ago, but I'm sure it could be vastly improved:

A soft goodbye by simple.joy, on Flickr

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Hmm, I think it is an eyepiece actually of some sort, not taking lens! Look at the rear (smaller) part, there is no mount, just a well rounded part that has a lens in it, to protect the viewers eye. And there is no iris (not needed) and it is a fast lens, so as to not lose any light ... And it looks like the (older) rear part from an (IR-)image intensifier to me... (as I have similar from other makers here)

PS: found it showing the mount it was screwed into (to focus it and lock it then using a grub screw) - and no, it isn't an enlarger lens :LOL:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/114635779536?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&customid=&toolid=10050

PS here is the story of that EA company: https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-a-honking-good-idea-e-a-laboratories/ and in part III it states "By 1944, they had a $7 million contract for manufacturing gun sights for bombers ..." so obviously they were making optics, too. Maybe it was the eyepiece of that even!

Ultrapix · Joined: 06 Jan 2012 Posts: 576 Location: Italy

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 646