Steinheil anastigmat cassar 7.5 cm f/3.5

[liquidlight]

I got this Steinheil Cassar 7.5 cm f/3.5 lens for about 20€ and I can't find much info on it. Can't find any for sale on Ebay or any images of it on google.

anyone know what camera it was for? any ideas on flange distance?? (my estimation is around 7-8 cm from the sensor)

According to the serialnumber data I found its made between 1930-1933 so its about 90 years old. I stuck it to an old Canon FD bellow and managed to get some pretty sharp macro shots with it.
Im going to buy a Nikon Z to m42 helicoid to see If I can manage to get infinity focus. its pretty sharp but low contrast. it's 12 aperture blades give nice bokeh. Don't think its an enlarger lens as it has 1m to 10m and then infinity engraved on it.

all photos shot on Nikon Z6II (photos of the lens itsself is with an Nikon Z 50mm 1.8 S lens)

More photos (some edited in LR)

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzTvdk

the lens



unedited Jpg

[simple.joy]

Steinheil was a very capable lens maker. They used Cassar for a number of lenses though. Your specific sample was made on April 17th 1923 for "Graefe, Lorenz" according to the information in the book "Fabrikationsbuch Steinheil Objektive" by Hartmut Thiele. I don't know anything else about it, but "Graefe & Bardorf" seems to have been a manufacturer of cameras at the time:
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26339/lot/319/

So from the looks of it your lens might have been on a camera similar to the one in the auction. But that's just speculation...

[liquidlight]

Thank you the little info you had was great. very cool if the lens turns 100 next year... Now I really want to get it working on my Nikon Z6II

[jamaeolus]

be sure to fab a deep hood. These old lenses have no coating whatsoever and the light bounces around inside like a ping pong ball. Any light you can keep from getting in will improve your contrast. It is surprising to me how sharp these old things can be. If you use them carefully eg keeping light sources behind the camera and avoiding backlight if at all possible some delightful images are possible. Or you can use those artifacts for creative effects like flair, ghosting and glow.