[Rollei] 2.8A Tessar

[Marc James Small <msmall >]

At 08:48 AM 7/20/99 -0700, Todd wrote wrote:
>  Marc, You are probabaly correct, but the 2.8 A that I have has a lens
>serial number (2,300,000 - 3,000,000) that falls within the range of those
>that were recalled, mismatched or not mismatched. 
>And how would one tell, if infact, the lens is mismatched? 

There are two batches of these lenses and I believe the high number is
around 2,6xx,xxx.  They were manufactured in 1936 and 1938 or so.  Around
1/4 of the lenses installed in the 2.8A were defective:  these are mixed in
with no identifiable number runs indicating bad lenses -- the elements were
switched about, I am relatively confident, during coating.

The 2.8/8cm Tessar IS a soft lens:  see the commentaries on the Ikoflex III
531/16 from the later 1930's.  But the mismatched lenses are REALLY soft,
while the correctly installed lenses are merely a bit soft.

I disagree that the Opton Tessars are all that soft.  A bit, yes, but not
badly, and certainly no worse than the Jena lens.

Marc

msmall    FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!

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