Meyer Optik Görlitz 30mm Lydith f3.5

by Posted in Lenses, Meyer Optik Lydith 30mm f3.5 Leave a comment
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In an earlier post I mentioned that I had recently acquired an Exakta; an Exa; and three lenses. This was one of them. As always I was keen to try it and ended up with some shots of flowers in our garden(plus one of my brother-in-law Vic to add variety).

The ever interesting Rick Drawbridge (known for his fascinating illustrated reviews of classic cameras on photo.net) had this to say about the Lydith in his post, The Legendary Lydith; Simply Great :

Founded in 1896 by Hugo Meyer, his optical works in the town of Görlitz, East Germany produced many excellent and innovative lenses in the decades preceding WWII, mainly in Exacta and M42 mounts. In 1946 the business was nationalised under the title “VEB Feinoptisches Werk Görlitz”, and retained the name until 1968 when it was absorbed into the Pentacon organisation. In 1964 the Lydith appeared, apparently as a budget wide-angle alternative to the excellent but expensive Carl Zeiss Flektogon. It soon became the Pentacon 3.5/30, and it’s Meyer origins were submerged, in much the same manner as my cherished 50mm Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Oreston f/1.8’s, which became the Pentacon Auto 50/1.8.

The Lydith is a very simple lens, lightly constructed, in the pre-set manual format. It has 5 element in 5 groups, a 10-bladed iris, and focuses down to about 30cm (12 inches), giving it a semi-macro capability. With a minimum aperture of f/22, immense depth of field is attainable. Coatings are present, but appear to be minimal. I’ve been after one for a couple of years, but as awareness of the lens’s quality increased, the international prices kept pace. By a stroke of fortune this one with it’s M42 mount appeared on our local auction among some other odds and ends, and it came my way for a reasonable sum; one of the few advantages of living at the ends of the earth is the occasional lack of informed competition when such items appear.

…

The photographic community has discovered the Lydith’s exceptional sharpness, contrast and colour fidelity and it’s wonderful ability to create images with that indefinable “presence” that I find so appealing in the Oreston. It’s hard to explain the sense of depth and dimension that the lens brings to an image, and I hope the few samples I’ll post give some illustration of these qualities. I find it’s images more vibrant than those from the Flektogon, but that may just be a subjective impression.

I’d agree with everything he says. In addition I found the lens to be very small and light. I tried it on a Sony NEX-5n and it felt very comfortable, even if the adapter (my lens was of course in Exakta mount) practically doubled its length. Rick mentioned that the lens is pre-set. Mine isn’t. You have to stop down manually. I was also surprised at how narrow the depth of field was at f3.5. I’d thought that a 30mm lens would have much wider DOF. I suppose this was probably because I was taking pictures of flowers at the minimum focussing distance.

I took the lens along on our trip to Washington, D.C./Virginia and the links below show it’s use in a variety of different circumstances.

Bamboo Pots.
Chess Pieces.
Hotel Lobby.
Pirate Ship Playground.
Stone Cardinal.
Hanging Balls.
Old Ford in Cold Spring.
Gypsy.

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Visiting brother-in-law Vic with a replica Parrott gun on the riverfront in Cold Spring. Included here as a break from the flowers.

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Tree Rose.

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African violet and cinnabar ornaments (wish I’d thought to turn the pot around so that the label didn’t show).

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Stokes Aster.

New Acquisitions – Exakta Varex/VX IIa and Exa

by Posted in Camera Collection, Exa, Exakta Varex/VX IIa Leave a comment
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Two separate purchases landed me with an Exa (original version) with a 50mm f3.5 Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar; and an Exakta Varex/VX IIa with a 58mm f2 Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar and a 30mm f3.5 Meyer Optik Görlitz Lydith. I think I paid around $100 for the lot so I’d didn’t have very high expectations. I think that they are beautiful cameras though and figured that even if they didn’t work they’d look nice on a shelf. I was surprised to find that both cameras seem to work, although I haven’t run any film through them so I don’t know for sure. Everything definitely needs cleaning though.

The Exakta is in pretty good shape apart from a little lifting of the leather, which can easily be glued back. The Exa has a slightly wonky but functional finder, which doesn’t bother me greatly as I can use the finder from the Exakta (one of the benefits of having replaceable finders). A piece of the leather has worn on the back of the Exa. I might consider replacing it one day depending on whether or not it works.

As for the lenses – I tried out the Lydith on my Nex 5N and really like it. The Lydith and Biotar are somewhat “beat up”, particularly the Biotar, but they all seem to work, although the auto diaphragm is rather sluggish and I fear that the shutter will close long before the lens stops down. This doesn’t bother me much as I don’t mind stopping down manually so I probably won’t use the auto diaphragm. The Tessar seems to be in better condition. More to follow when I’ve tried out the Biotar and the Tessar.

I think I’m in the wrong country

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Places Leave a comment
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Recently I’ve been reading “The Plantagenets” by Dan Jones.  I’ve also been watching the TV series: Britains Bloodiest Dynasty.  The Plantagenets  narrated by Dan Brown.  In the TV version there are some wonderful scenes with ruined castles.  I love ruins and although there are many ruined buildings in the US very few of them have the ‘panache’ of a European castle.  Makes me wonder if I’m in the wrong country (at least for photography).

Above and below are pictures of one of these castles: Lewes Castle.  Lewis is a historically significant town, particularly for the battle that took place there in 1264. According to Wikipedia:

The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons’ War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made him the “uncrowned King of England”. Henry III left the safety of Lewes Castle and St. Pancras Priory to engage the Barons in battle and was initially successful, his son Prince Edward routing part of the baronial army with a cavalry charge. However Edward pursued his quarry off the battlefield and left Henry’s men exposed. Henry was forced to launch an infantry attack up Offham Hill where he was defeated by the barons’ men, defending the hilltop. The royalists fled back to the castle and priory and the King was forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, ceding many of his powers to Montfort.

De Montfort ruled England for a year and called two parliaments. The first stripped the King of his powers and the second included ordinary citizens, making him one of the originators of modern parliamentary democracy. Ultimately de Montfort was defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.

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Boat in Cold Spring

by Posted in Landscapes, Things Leave a comment
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Our younger daughter and her family were returning to Geneva, Switzerland the next day and we were going to dinner at the Hudson House Inn in Cold Spring. It was around 8:00 pm, the sun was going down over the Hudson Highlands and this picturesque boat was moored to the dock. What could be better. Well…I could have brought a camera with me (this was one of the rare occasions where I’d forgotten to bring a camera). Luckily my wife had her trusty iPhone 5s.