The Lens details of a series of images taken by Steve Cushing on mirrorless camera.

Fitting has no mount and has a 61.22 Flange Distance - this lens will fit and achieve focus to infinity mirrorless cameras and also on DSLRs.

Lens History

The Petzval objective or Petzval lens is the first photographic portrait objective lens (with a 160mm focal length) in the history of photography. It was developed by the German-Hungarian mathematics professor Joseph Petzval in 1840 in Vienna. it's not designed like a modern lens, but its unique bokeh gives it a look that portrait photographers should pay attention to.

The lens used for these images was produced for cinema projection use not camera use. The lens was manufactured in 1957 at GOMZ-LOMO plant in the city of Leningrad, at USSR. Watching movies was a favourite thing to do for Soviet people. You could find movie projectors and cinemas at almost any settlement, including the poorest provinces… Most places in Russia had local cinemas and many of the projectors used these lenses.

Petzval type lens remained in use for a special purpose, that of projection of a wide screen movie, where it needs lenses that have a natural curved field, at full aperture, to be able to focus on the curved projection surface. The 35 mm positive film occupies the sharp area, but the field is still curved, and can be made to match the giant wide screen of Cinemascope etc.

High quality professional coated optics with Russian red symbol "n" (it sounds like P=prosvetlenije, this symbol was removed since beginning of 1960s, when all Russian optics became coated).
The Petzval is big and on the heavy side

Lens In Use

• Petzval optical scheme.
• Light transmitting ratio 0.9. Resolution of the lens (pairs of lines per 1mm) is not less than 80 in the centre and 40 on the edge of 18x24mm frame. .
• No aperture always wide open.
• This is a large, very heavy lens. It is difficult to mount as the outside is smooth and does not have a screw thread. A hand made adapter with a helicoid is required.

Summary

This lens is just so much fun to use. You must balance the ISO and shutter speed, hold the lens not the camera due to its weight and focus is always very hit and miss, but the effects it produces are very artistic.


For images using this lens click HERE

For general information on lens design and lens elements go to the homepage HERE