Need info on Piesker Berlin 250mm f/4.5

[brandy3392]

I've been lurking here for a while, but haven't posted before. I just started with manual focus lenses and have really been enjoying it. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is amazing!

I just picked up this beauty from an estate sale and am wondering if anyone has any information on these lenses. It is in absolutely beautiful condition and seems to have very good image quality.

Piesker Berlin 250mm f/4.5 M42 mount

[brandy3392]

Quick test photo from my patio.

[luisalegria]

Piesker was a fairly short lived West German manufacturer in Berlin.
It made a fairly limited range of tele lenses in the 1950's and 60's.

In the US many Pieskers were sold through the importer Sterling Howard, under their brands "Astranar" and "Votar", and possibly some others too.

Pieskers aren't generally rare, exactly, though some of them are. The 1960's zebra styled lenses seem to be more scarce than the earlier bright aluminum versions.

If you search for Piesker on this forum you should turn up a fair number of them.

I had a 250/4.5, most likely the same as yours, optically anyway, but in a rack&pinion mounting. Some Pieskers had these as alternatives to the helical mounts.

http://forum.mflenses.com/piesker-berlin-astranar-250mm-f-4-5-rackandpinion-mount-t58646,highlight,%2Bpiesker.html

I have an image portfolio for it that I may have neglected to post.

[tao]

Thank you Lois. I am impress with your knowledge.

Brandy, that is a good looking lens. Congratulations.

[brandy3392]

Thank you for the assistance! It is really hard to find info on these lenses. I picked it up in a lot with some other items and thought it looked really cool. Unfortunately I don't have much of a use for it, so will probably sell or trade it.

Any idea what something like this might be worth? The few I've found vary quite a lot in price. There seems to be a few different styles of the lens and most of them aren't in this nice of condition.

[luisalegria]

You are right in that its appearance is the main attraction.
I guess $70-100 on US ebay would be about where it would sell.
I suggest you take some good pics of the lens, identify it accurately, and put it on auction, not buy it now.
Make sure to include the keywords "Germany" and "Berlin". There are many collectors that especially like vintage German lenses.
You will get its fair market value, whatever that is.

[mo]

That is a very nice looking lens...have you taken any images with it?

[brandy3392]

I haven't played with the lens much yet, but I've taken a few test shots. The water tower photo in my previous post was taken with it on a Canon T4i. Here's a couple more. All photos are unedited, straight from the camera.

[mo]

It looks very promising,I have seen some stunning images taken with it on flickr. The zebra very seems to be the rarer finish.

[brandy3392]

Thank you again for all the information. I decided to list the lens on Ebay. Hopefully it goes to someone who can really appreciate it.