cyberjunkie
Joined: 24 Mar 2010
Posts: 282
Location: Chiang Mai, Bologna, Amsterdam
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 Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 8:58 pm Post subject: Steinheil Cassarit f/4.5 135mm (and a last minute Soligor) |
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cyberjunkie wrote:
I think that all the hype about vintage german M42 lenses has driven up the prices considerably... and this forum is one of the culprits! 
This Sunday i placed my bids using a sniping tool, and waited... About 15 bids, some were somewhat higher than my common sense would suggest (especially for a beautiful Tele-Quinar 200mm in aluminium finish).
I ended up with a meager score: a humble Cassarit f/4.5 135mm.
The price was right, but for just a little more money, last week i won a spotless Konica AR f/1.8 40mm (the vendor threw in for free a Konica Hexar 135mm and a Fujifilm X adapter... and i felt obliged to send him 15 euros more ).
During the same period, a not-so-common Pentax K 150mm, on sale for 75 euros, went unsold twice in a row!
Must say that the market dynamics are really weird. Do you concur? Maybe there are reasons i don't get...
OK, let's stop with my personal considerations, or it gets boring...
From a post i found on this forum i get that the Cassarit should be a triplet.
From the pics i have seen it looks that all the glass is at the front, but i can't see if the diaphragm is at the back of all the glasses, or in between (as in all the original TTH Cooke triplets).
Is there anybody out there who owns the same model, and who can report his personal impressions?
Is it really just a nice, small collector's item?
Reading (with great interest) the posts on this forum, i found that triplets are often bashed for their bokeh, and generally not appreciated.
It was a surprise, as my own experience is very different... but i don't own any triplet in short focals, for small formats.
Does it make such a difference?
My Trioplans are super, and my opinion is shared by many LF users (i own a 210mm, a 260mm , a 300mm and a 360mm, all but one with the red "V" - coated - if i'm not mistaken).
I wanted to buy a 100mm Trioplan, and check myself if shooting digital is a totally different universe, but the prices of M42 samples are higher than what i payed for a coated 300mm with flange!
Must be collector's frenzy, as triplets aren't highly considered as picture-taking tools. Even more so the other makes (Trinars, Cassars, Radionars, etc).
I am curious about your opinions...
P.S.
Unexpectedly, the last bid was a winner.
Another very humble glass: Soligor Tele-Auto 135mm f3.5 M42 (Komine made, according to the serial)
I found many references to 135mm Soligors, both f/3.5 and f/2.8, but not regarding this specific model.
I am unsure if i should start another thread or not... i don't like spamming with too many messages, so in the end, considered that's an unambitious lens, i'm attaching the picture at the end of this post.
It came at £8.5 only, plus shipment. Quite cheap... confirming that a recognizable brand is quite important for the average buyer, who's willing to pay a substantial premium for a lens made by an historical/well known maker.
Btw, this Soligor looks nice and well made, and if by chance it doesn't show too much CA in digital, it could be a decent performer, maybe even wide open.
The only annoyance is the lack of a M/A switch, therefore the pin needs to be stuck.
Again, same old, boring question: any info/personal experience about this lens?
cheers
Paolo
_________________
Pentax Bodies: 6x7, K2, MX, LX, Super A, Z-1, K-1, K-5 II, K-01, K10D, K200D
Other cameras: Leica CL, Leica M5, Rolleiflex, Mamiya Super 23, Horizont, and many bellows cameras from 4x5" to 8x10"
- Shooting only digital recently, FF and APS-C
- Collecting vintage large format lenses (plenty of them )
- Looking for Pentax-A* 200mm Macro and Pentax-A* 1.8/135mm, Sigma 150mm or 180mm Macro PK, Sigma 50-500 AF PK, Enna 1.5/85mm M42; selling Pentacon Six/Pentax 67/Mamiya Press/Leica M/Rolleiflex/4x5"/Manfrotto stuff
MY BELOVED PK, M42 LENSES
Photographica sets
On sale |
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kypfer
Joined: 27 Sep 2017
Posts: 524
Location: Jersey C.I.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2023 4:43 pm Post subject: Re: Steinheil Cassarit f/4.5 135mm (and a last minute Soligo |
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kypfer wrote:
| cyberjunkie wrote: |
… a humble Cassarit f/4.5 135mm.
From a post i found on this forum i get that the Cassarit should be a triplet.
From the pics i have seen it looks that all the glass is at the front, but i can't see if the diaphragm is at the back of all the glasses, or in between (as in all the original TTH Cooke triplets).
Is there anybody out there who owns the same model, and who can report his personal impressions?
Is it really just a nice, small collector's item?
Must be collector's frenzy, as triplets aren't highly considered as picture-taking tools. Even more so the other makes (Trinars, Cassars, Radionars, etc).
I am curious about your opinions...
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It's been a long time since this post was made … but hey
My Cassarit just arrived in the mail … all of £5 + p&p on eBay
My serial number is 2299xxx, so one would think there are a few around, but info does seem to be sparse.
Interesting feature … the assembly splits in the middle, leaving a 135mm "head" with an M39 thread and effectively a long extension tube. Could be useful on bellows.
The aperture is of the pre-set type, one ring to choose the setting, a second ring to open and close the 13-blade iris itself.
M42 mount and a 49mm filter thread.
Doesn't appear to be coated … looking forward to getting out there and playing, maybe comparing it to my Triotar and Isconar  |
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calvin83
Joined: 12 Apr 2009
Posts: 7635
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2023 5:32 pm Post subject: Re: Steinheil Cassarit f/4.5 135mm (and a last minute Soligo |
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calvin83 wrote:
| kypfer wrote: |
| cyberjunkie wrote: |
… a humble Cassarit f/4.5 135mm.
From a post i found on this forum i get that the Cassarit should be a triplet.
From the pics i have seen it looks that all the glass is at the front, but i can't see if the diaphragm is at the back of all the glasses, or in between (as in all the original TTH Cooke triplets).
Is there anybody out there who owns the same model, and who can report his personal impressions?
Is it really just a nice, small collector's item?
Must be collector's frenzy, as triplets aren't highly considered as picture-taking tools. Even more so the other makes (Trinars, Cassars, Radionars, etc).
I am curious about your opinions...
|
It's been a long time since this post was made … but hey
My Cassarit just arrived in the mail … all of £5 + p&p on eBay
My serial number is 2299xxx, so one would think there are a few around, but info does seem to be sparse.
Interesting feature … the assembly splits in the middle, leaving a 135mm "head" with an M39 thread and effectively a long extension tube. Could be useful on bellows.
The aperture is of the pre-set type, one ring to choose the setting, a second ring to open and close the 13-blade iris itself.
M42 mount and a 49mm filter thread.
Doesn't appear to be coated … looking forward to getting out there and playing, maybe comparing it to my Triotar and Isconar |
There are at least three batch of SN allocated to Cassarit 135mm f/4.5 with each batch consist of ~1000 lenses. This lens should be coated unless someone removed the coating.
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The best lens is the one you have with you.
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