Hi I have the opportunity to purchase a goertz artar(red dot 8.25")in a copal shutter. The seller informs me that it has slight polishing marks. How much will this affect the lense performance I am on a rather tight buget and need to get the most bang for my buck and am not all that interested in resale value. They only want $189.00 got any advise? Thanks

-- Ron LaMarsh (Ronlamarsh@aol.com), February 12, 1998

Answers

The cleaning scratches on the lens will probably not cover enough of the lens area to be significant. The price is lower than the value of a good Copal shutter. Hmmmm.

Offhand, I would be more woried about the fact that the cells have been remounted in the Copal from an earlier barrel or shutter. The spacing is critical on these lenses and needs to be set up on an optical bench for best performance. The older shutters were not standardized to the present tolarances and lens cells were often shimmed for spacing. If the remounter knew his job it's a bargain. If not, it will not live up to the lens's well deserved reputation. Negotiate a trial and do a test, if you can.

-- Chris Hale (chale@icom.ca), May 01, 1998.