Rodenstock-Kino Obj. f=50mm

[alex ph]

Got this small projection lens which seems to be a triplet. I wonder from which era it comes, given the old aspact but measure in mm and not in cm. What for did it serve, film projection of which format?

Here is the lens itself put on a custom adapter for Sony


This way the lens does not focus at infinity, I will work it out later. A couple of sample shots follow.

#1 Using adapter


#2 Freelensing


The bokeh is interestingly changing from center to periphery of the frame.

[visualopsins]

Lots of coma freelensing although some parrts of the image show promise -- are there any images using proper adapter?

[kathala]

millimetres would indicate post-war era, but not too much post war given the rest of the appearance and type font.
most probably a 16 mm projection lens.
your adapter is too thick. I've had good results with these lenses on a Leica M to Sony E helicoid adapter (1o mm thick), mounting the lens either onto a Leica M to M39 adapter, or adding a thin M39 extension tube for support.

[alex ph]

[arri]

It looks like a Petzval design lens, maybe a new computed one to make it faster.
The standard speed of this projection lenses are f1.7-f2.3
Made for 16mm film.
This lenses are very sharp in a small center of the frame, the rest are showing a lot of swirls.
The colours are reduce in intensity in a very special kind, that´s why I like this lenses.

[alex ph]

Thank you for your hints, Arri! That might well be a Petzval lens, even though not a 2-glass one, but maybe 4-glass or even more complex. At least it looks like that considering glass reflexions.

My copy seems to have the aperture from f2.8 to f3.5, as follows from a comparison with a regular lens, in the same light conditions. And it covers a FF sensor, even though with pretty much of swirl in the edges. So you might be right about the 16mm destination, but with an extended coverage.

By a nice coincidence with your reply, I finally put the lens in a large Chinese helicoid, with some foam, and could use it up to infinity. Here follow some samples, taken with Sony A7, with some exposure/contrast adjustments.

#1


#2


#3


#4 Central sharpness is pretty amazing, and OOF is pleasant like that


#5 A 100%-crop from the previous, unprocessed


#6 Sunny day open air, without hood


#7



I'd like to add a direct comparison with another, similar lens. I've got a noname glass in a similarly looking barrel, which might be the same Rodenstock, unlabeled, but which does not seem to be. The lens is another 50mm, and wieghts almost double than Rodenstock. It renders a sharp central part, with a much larger blur zone. Here is a sample from this noname lens.

#8


#9 To compare, the same point with Rodenstock

[arri]

Your samples looking as aspected, thank you for sharing.

Today I finished the rehousing of a ISCO Kiptar 180mm f/3.1
I cut the tube, turned adapter rings and now it is mounted in a Compound III shutter.
I find this old Petzval projection lenses are woth to give it a new live of our time.
The 180mm Kiptar is a perfect portrait lens for 9x12cm format.

[alex_d]

This lens is NOT to be shot from the hip or some adhoc setup and expect immediate results.

It is a VERY demanding lens that could deliver the desired results to those who are able to tame it and to use all the flaws its features to their advantage.

library and scooter pics are telling a story. most of lenses cant do that.

[alex ph]

Thank you for your appreciation, fellows.

Alex, agreed, it is a special lens. Making sense of its use requires experiementing. A couple more shots better show the lens' character.

#1


#2


#3

[alex ph]

Some more close distance shots. Out of curiosity, the same scenery might be compared performance wise to 16mm projection lenses including Angenieux 1.5/50 and to Konica Macro-Hexanon 3.5/55. Sony Nex, exposure/contrast tweaks.

#1


#2


#3


#4