Goerz Lens Serial Numbers

CP Goerz lens CP Goerz lens::: One ThreadHello, I am hoping someone can help me find an answer to this query. I found in a box of old stuff at a camera store I work at part time a C.P Goerz Berlin lens.

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It says Dagor 1:6.8 f=15cm. Serial # 438667It has a Syncro Compur P shutter. It seems to be fully functional. There is no oiling on the aperture leaves and the shutter seems to be accurate. Any idea on age,(i'm guessing early 1920'S) value or most importantly the format this lens was designed for? My guess is that is is for a 4x5 or 6x9. I was unable to find any information on this lens in the books at the shop.

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks jacque- jacque staskon , June 18, 1999AnswersUrgh!

Jacque, I can't find my citations, so plese forgive whatinaccuracies may occur. In general Dagors are known for their largeimage circles and sharpness qualities. Many folks still use them andArtars even though more modern glass is available. A 150 wouldprobably be for 4 X 5 but may well cover out to 5 X 7.

An oldercatalog I have lists a Gold Dot Dagor and a Golden Dagor of 150mm &f/6.8 with an image circle of 210mm at F/16 for each. I've neverowned one so I can't speak for sure on that.As I recall Goerz went from the standard mm designation to the cmdesignation around 1910, but I can't recall now. The fact that itsays C.P. Goerz instead of Zeiss Goerz of course helps to date it tobefore that company's purchase by their old rival Zeiss in 1926.I can't give you a value but you could look it up in McKeowan's orbrowse many many back issues of Shutterbug diligently to find whatthe larger retail establishmnets hope to get for one.I hope this helps some. Steve Grimes and Ron Wisner could both giveyou more complete and accurate information.- Sean yates , June 18, 1999.p.s. There's more on the L.F.

Homepage about these lenses underclassic lenses, etc.- Sean yates , June 18, 1999.Hi Jacque:To add to my friend's Sean's comments in reference to the C.P GoerzBerlin lens, a good friend of this page provided me with someguidance in selecting lenses for 8x10. And while some may seriouslydisagree, here is what he wrote on this topic:-'The Dagors are still popular due to their combination of small sizeand large coverage. Although the collectible market has driven up theprices in general, and especially for the Gold Ring, Gold Dot, etc.varieties, they can still often be found at relative bargain pricescompared to equivalent modern glass. In some cases, there just aren'tany modern alternatives that don't weigh 5x as much. In general, Ihave had good luck with Am Optical Dagors with serial number higherthan 770xxx and Zeiss made Dagors from the 1930s - 1940s. Many olderDagors can also be quite good (but the quality seems to vary more),and I would avoid anything labeled as a 'Berlin Dagor'. These wereassembled by Burke & James after WWII, and the glass used in them washorribly full of impurities.

They obtained all these inferior oldelements after the war as part of the liquidation of the German Goerzcompany, shipped them across the ocean, mounted them in barrels andshutters and sold them as 'Berlin Dagors' to distinguish them fromthe Dagors being made in this country by Goerz Am Optical (A separatecompany that had split off from the German Goerz sometime in the WWItimeframe).All Goerz Am Opt. Dagors after 770xxx are of the samedesign and glass types. You can occasionally find very high serialnumber Dagors that don't have the gold rim or gold dot.

They areevery bit as good, and usually priced hundreds of dollars less. Ihave a suspicion that some of these were manufactured under contractfor the US Military in the 1950s and 1960s. I have a 4 3/8' WA Dagorfrom 1961 that was originally part of a military field photographerskit that has a serial number above 800xxx, and it has a simple blackbarrel, even though I have an older 6 1/2' WA Dagor (786xxx) with theshiny gold rim and used to have a beautiful 12' Gold Rim Dagor withserial number 790xxx). Guess the military preferred the non-descriptblack barrels to the shiny brass ones of the Golden Dagors.Good luck in your search for lenses for your 8x10.

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Other lenses toconsider would be the Kodak Commercial and WF Ektars. They tend to belarger than the Dagors, and the Commercial Dagors have less coverage,but they are usually less expensive due to a lack of collectorappeal. Also, in the longer focal lengths, the Red Dot Artars aregreat.

Kodak Lens Serial Numbers

They can be found occasionally in original Ilex shutters, butare more common in barrels (which can be re-mounted into Copal #3shutters). I had a 16 1/2' Red Dot Artar that was my favorite lenswhen I used to shoot with an 8x10 Deardorff. Reasonably small, verysharp, and I just liked the focal length.' -I hope you and our other friends find this of interest.-Henry T. Stanley- Henry Stanley , June 23, 1999.Moderation questions?