I recently purchased two Goerz Red Dot Artar lenses--8.25" and 10.75" in barrel, both manufactured approximately 1968 - 1973. The coating on the 10.75" (the slightly higher serial # of the two) is all one color, purple, while the coating on the 8.25" reflects two colors: primarily a "robin's egg" light blue, as well as a secondary, less obvious light purple tone. I had thought that all Goerz RD Artar lenses, at least from the early 1960's or so onward were coated PURPLE only--is this not true? Does anyone own a Goerz RD Artar with a light blue coating like mine, or is anyone aware of such a coating being applied to this lens? Or did the coatings differ by focal length? And did Goerz change its coatings on this lens between say 1967 and 1973? Need I be concerned?

Nick Rowan

-- Nick Rowan (nrowan@vf.com), September 20, 2000

Answers

Could be that it suffered some coating damage and was sent back for re-polishing and re-coating, or maybe it was bought uncoated, and was coated at a later date. Could be any number of explanations.
Remember, these were sold as process lenses for reprographic use, and as such were expensive items. Re-coating such a lens would have been an economical proposition at one time.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrew@bham.ac.uk), September 21, 2000.

Wasn't Schneider producing the Artar around 1973? Maybe the lens was produced by Schneider (it isn't unusual for a company to continue using the absorbed company's name for awhile on in-production products), from what I understand they multicoated the Artar at some point in time.

-- Wayne DeWitt (wdewitt@snip.net), September 21, 2000.

Nick: How do the negs or transparencies look? They should be good regardless of coating color.

Doug.

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alanet.com), September 21, 2000.

Doug, I haven't shot any pictures with the 10.75" lens, the one with the all-purple coating, yet--but I have taken some with the 8.25" and they look pretty good. But since I haven't used the 10.75" (I can't until I have it mounted to a lensboard and shutter) and have never shot with other Artars from this time period, I don't know what results--in terms of contrast, most importantly in this case--to expect as "standard". I do see a pretty noticeable difference in contrast between the Artar 8.25" and a Rodenstock Sironar N 210mm (circa 1984) I have--even after attempting to make up for it in film (bw) development time and printing--but that's probably to be expected...although a professional camera seller recently told me that it CAN be compensated for in the processing, and hence that the factor of a lens' coating or absence thereof does not figure in the shooting of black-and-white film...I don't think I agree with that statement...but I'm probably straying from my original question now...

Wayne, The later serial # lens was the one with the characteristic Goerz all- purple coating; the earlier one is the one with the potentially "abberant" coating--personally I doubt that Schneider would have been applying its own, differing type of coating to a Goerz lens with a serial number as early as the one I own, but I could be wrong.

Pete, The lens and lens coating looks too good for it to look like it experienced any coating damage earlier on or any additional coating after the lens was sold--but maybe the post-manufacturing coating of a lens is so good by certain technicians that it can appear indistinguishable from the manufacturer's own standard coating.

I wasn't aware that Goerz Artar lenses from this vintage--late 1960's- -were ever sold as uncoated.

--Nick Rowan

-- Nick Rowan (nrowan@vf.com), September 21, 2000.

This is a issue I have addressed in the several times in the with Schneider. Each time I have asked I get the same answer, Schneider's Artars were never multi-coated. Schneider has several brochures that list them as multi-coated but apparent the brochure where in error.

My last letter from Schneider reads "Mr. Raymore,

Apo-Artars were never multi coated, only single coated.

Regards,

>Are all the late Schneider Apo Artars in black copal shutters multicoated? >particular the 240mm f9 Schneider Apo Artar in all black copal shutters.

Michael Klayman Technical Specialist Schneider Optics, Inc. michael@schneideroptics.com"

I have taken Schneider at their word until proven otherwise.

-- Pat Raymore (patrick.f.raymore@kp.org), September 21, 2000.