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[aoresteen]

I'm looking for a 65mm Optar for my 2x3. I can't find one anywhere.

Anyone know of one that is available?

TIA

_________________
Tony Oresteen
Newnan, GA

WWW.oresteen.com

[Dan Fromm]

[Henry]

Yeah, good luck. I haunted the camera shows within a 50 mile radius for a couple of years or more before I found one. Then I found two at the same show! One dealer didn't know what he was selling, and I bought it off him for $75. The other guy wanted $150. Not a tough decision.

It's not the greatest 65 ever made, and I find it tricky to focus (the "least worst" method seems to work much of the time). I had also tried an older 65 Angulon in Compur shutter which was a comparable lens, optically speaking, but I much prefer Graphex shutters over others I have used.

[aoresteen]

Thanks! I thought that it might take a while. I'll keep looking.

BTW, what size filter does it use?

_________________
Tony Oresteen
Newnan, GA

WWW.oresteen.com

[Henry]

Ha! That's another adventure! Turns out it takes a 33mm series VI slip ring. However, it's a very tight fit. I had to enlarge mine with the cylindrical stone in the Dremel tool to get it to work right. And 33 slip rings are a son-of-a-gun to find, too. 31mm, dime a dozen. 33s, fuggettaboutit!

[aoresteen]

Henry,

Guess what? I went to my very old Ednalite box of adapter rings and in it I found a mint Tiffen 33mm slip-on ring! What luck!

And I have about 60 Series VI filters ready to go!

Thanks!

[aoresteen]

Henry,

Guess what? I went to my very old Ednalite box of adapter rings and in it I found a mint Tiffen 33mm slip-on ring! What luck!

And I have about 60 Series VI filters ready to go!

Thanks!

[Henry]

Good, that's a start. But don't be surprised if you have to stretch it a bit anyway. I have two Kodak 33s (which are nickel-plated brass) and an off-brand aluminum 33. It's the latter that I modified with the Dremel. The Kodaks would not work even when the prongs were bent outward. Fact is, I got one stuck on the front element and sweated bullets to get it off there.

When I said 31mm were dime-a-dozen, of course I meant 31.5mm (= 1-1/4"). 33mm is about 1-5/16". The 31.5 fits the Optar 101 and Graftar 103, plus many other such lenses, which is why they are so common and easy to find. I don't know offhand what other lenses take a 33mm slip ring, but I bet Dan Fromm knows.

[Dan Fromm]

[Rangemaster]

In case your interested, there is a SCHNEIDER 65MM F8 SUPER ANGULON over on the dreaded auction site right now, just listed today..the usl is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15247&item=3818466011&rd=1

[kuehn]

The front element outside diameter of the Kodak Ektar 203mm lens is exactly 33mm and may have been the lens or one lens that the slip on 33mm series 6 holders were made for.

[Henry]

Mmm, very interesting. The 203 Optar, OTOH, takes a 39.5mm (1-9/16") series VI slip ring. Wonder why there is such a large difference in front element diameters between two lenses of the same focal length?

[Les]

My Kodak Lenses book show the 101 Ektar, 8" Ektar (203mm) and a non Graphic 101 Anaston as the only lenses that use a 33mm 1 5/16" slip on.

Les

[Henry]

I suspect that the 65 Optar really takes a 34mm slip ring---I bet I removed at least .5mm from my brandex aluminum 33 ring to get it to fit on the 65---but I don't think Kodak (or anyone else?) made a 34.

[troublemaker]

Forgive me for jumping in late as I have just returned from an Eastern Sierra photo trip. Interestingly, I had left thinking my 65mm Raptar was going to be the weakness in my kit. It turned out to be the workhorse, and from the film I have looked at thus far it also perfomed above any expectations from previous tests. Yes, it is hard to focus, esspecially in low light setting up for sunrises and after sunset, but it is possible. I took a 1-5/16 slip ring, tweeked the tabs just enough so it would go on and leave it on the lens and the front closes with it on. With adapters I was able to use a variety of filters including the Cokin system. Some vinetting of the corners happened with one of the hoods. I found that the biggest problem tends to be getting the front standard locked firmly on the rails reasonably parallel to the film so that the standard does not move when the shutter is opened (This may be remedied with an extra set of stops). While the lense will not provide the sharpness of some faster standard lenses, when stopped down to f22 or 32 it worked, and worked well. The little shutter body performed well also, and being small and light was welcomed to the backpacking kit. I assume the Raptar I have is the same as the 65mm Optar and that both were produced by Wollensak. Mine appears to be single coated and performs as such. Certainly there are much better lenses one can use, but for size and weight I do not think now that I could have been better served by an economical lens such as this. The focussing challenge presented by the slow 65mm only made me take greater care when setting up my longer lenses.
I got my 65 via an auction site, but have seen them every so often at places like mid-west and other places that offer vintage equipment.
Well there is my two cents worth. Hopefully a couple of the images taken with this lens will be shown soon.
regards,
Stephen

[ This Message was edited by: troublemaker on 2004-08-20 09:09 ]

[ This Message was edited by: troublemaker on 2004-08-20 09:11 ]