View Full Version : Goerz Dagors...What's so special?
What's so special about the Goerz Dagors that they go for so much $$$$? I saw a 600mm Series IV on ebay that went for a few thousand.
But why? Is it the coverage?
Uhner
03-16-2009, 06:34 AM
One reason is that a Dagor lens projects a large circle of good definition.
Take a look here: http://www.apug.org/forums/forum44/29141-some-dagor-s-non-dagor-dagor-s-i-have-loved-rlp-really-long-post.html
Rolleiflexible
03-16-2009, 07:57 AM
There are several explanations.
One is that the lens has few surfaces
and not prone to flare. So the lens
gives good contrast, even uncoated.
Another is that the front and rear
elements are symmetrical; you can
dismount one or the other and lengthen
the lens's focal length.
Another is the lens has a good deal of
coma and, if shot wide-open, will give
some slight glow to highlights as a
result.
Another is their deserved reputation in
the market as first-rate lenses.
And, as already noted, they cover a
wide circle, making them desired as
wide-angle lenses, and for working in
ultra-large formats -- they are small
and light for what they can shoot.
Ian Grant
03-16-2009, 08:27 AM
Sanders has just about said it all.
My 10x8 Agfa Ansco came with a coated 12" Dagor, it was the best lens available in the late 30's when the camera was made. The seller said it wasn't worth using he'd fitted a 300mm f9 Nikon M instead. I tried the Dagor and found it to be an excellent lens, very sharp, wonderful tonality so despite already having a 300mm f9 Nikon M myself, and the camera coming with a board for it, I've continued using the Dagor in preference.
Good Dagors are quite sort after which is why they fetch high prices, particlarly the longer focal lengths and the late CP Goerz Am Opt, and Schneider Kern versions.
Ian
David A. Goldfarb
03-16-2009, 08:34 AM
Just to add to the above comments, longer focal length Dagors like the 600mm are also a rarity, and there aren't that many good lenses for ultra large formats like 12x20" or 20x24". The limiting factor on the price of a 600mm Dagor is likely to be the price of a new Schneider 550mm XXL, which also happens to be a Dagor-type.
thank you very much. Is the only difference between the Series III and Series IV the coverage? How much do you think a 900mm Series IV Dagor should sell for?
thank you very much. those are very informative posts.
would love to hear someone who had something the least bit negative to say about them, if there is.
darinwc
03-21-2009, 11:59 PM
Speaking of Dagors, is it normal for them to be a little soft wide open? I have an unnamed goerz lens that I think is a dagor but it is slightly soft wide open. Perhaps it is a trigor instead?
Ian Grant
03-22-2009, 04:04 AM
Or a Dogmar :D
If it's a Dagor it'll be marked as Dagor, or Double Anastigmatic Goerz in English or German depending on where it was made. There are unnamed Goerz lenses on some of the German company's plate & roll film cameras, these would have been the budget versions, the Dogmar and Dagor were used on the top of the range cameras.
Most LF lenses aren't designed for use at full aperture, Tessar's & Tessar types are soft at the edges & corners until stopped down to f16/f22.
Ian
... If it's a Dagor it'll be marked as Dagor, or Double Anastigmatic Goerz in English or German depending on where it was made. ...
And / or "Serie III", unless it's a Serie IV. Anything else is not a Dagor.
Speaking of Dagors, is it normal for them to be a little soft wide open? I have an unnamed goerz lens that I think is a dagor but it is slightly soft wide open. Perhaps it is a trigor instead?
Yes, i have 4 Dagors, all coated and i do find them slightly soft wide open and in addition they have a little glow in the highlights due to less than perfect correction for coma. This is one of the signatures that makes the Dagor so special.
darinwc
03-22-2009, 03:55 PM
Personally I kinda like the glow at f6.8, as well as the sharpness stopped down. What great lenses!
jamie young
03-22-2009, 04:04 PM
thank you very much. Is the only difference between the Series III and Series IV the coverage? How much do you think a 900mm Series IV Dagor should sell for?
If they made a 900mm it would be very rare, and likely fetch a lot. I've heard there were some dagors (or double anstigmats) made above 600mm but they rarely are seen, so it's anyones guess how much
RobertP
03-22-2009, 04:25 PM
If its a Trigor it will be marked Trigor with a blue dot. It will also be a f11 lens. The largest Dagor I've seen is a 24". Their literature lists a 30 and 35". The 35" will cover a plate 34x44 sharp to the corners stopped down to f32. I have a 16 1/2" that the serial number dates back to 1903 before the name "Dagor" was used. Naturally it is uncoated and I prefer it that way. It takes great pics.
The Serie IV Dagor was made in up to 1200mm - or at the very least they were listed at up to 1200mm.
jimgalli
04-01-2009, 11:20 AM
Economics 101
Low supply
Larger demand than supply
Capitalism
I love it.
Sorry to see it go...........
TracyStorer
04-09-2009, 11:43 PM
The Series IVs I have seen are also f/11...I have owned a 19" and a 30" series IV and regret selling both.
RobertP
04-10-2009, 06:21 AM
The Series IVs I have seen are also f/11...I have owned a 19" and a 30" series IV and regret selling both. Its been a while since I've seen a 19 or 24" Dagor but the ones I saw I'm pretty sure were f7.7 like my 16 1/2". I know the 19 and 24" Artars are f11 and my 30" Artar is f12.5. What were the exact differences in the series III and series IV Dagors? Apparently the series IV Dagor was an f11 lens so the ones I've seen must have been series III.
Sal Santamaura
04-10-2009, 09:44 AM
...Capitalism
I love it.
Sorry to see it go...........Injecting US politics into a non-Soapbox thread??? Oh, wait, post dated April 1. Must have been an April Fools joke...
Steve Hamley
04-10-2009, 05:53 PM
The Series IV was a wide angle lens. IIRC, Goerz claimed it covered 100 degrees, but I can't seem to find the brochure on Camera Eccentrics site although the Series IV is mentioned in passing in the earlier Goerz catalog. I think Tracy saaid the 19" covered 20x24 wide open - which I can't test - but the small size and large coverage are very attractive to owners of older banquet cameras like the 8x20 and 12x20 Koronas that might gasp and die with a f:7.7 Dagor attached to it. A picture of my 19" Double Anastigmat Series IV is attached, mounted in a Copal #3 on a Linhof Technika board.
Cheers, Steve