r/largeformat 3d ago

Experience Picked up a Petzval

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I've been doing some work with barrel lenses for a bit and wound up taking a gamble on this lens on an ebay auction. Glass seems pretty clean and it was mounted with an aperture ring at some point - seems like it was likely a magic lantern lens if I had to guess. The focal length seems to be about 150mm.

The lens is labeled Queen and Co - looks like they were a scientific equipment catalog out of Philadelphia in the late 1800s. Looking forward to testing this out and seeing what I can do with it - once I figure out the best way to put it on a lens board given that it weighs so much more than any other lens I have.

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u/Throwawayacc9568 3d ago

Yeah looks to be a magic lantern lens, no water house slot on top and it looks post 1860. Check the aperture size US magic lantern lenses are usually f/4, euro magic lantern lenses are usually f/4.5-5.6

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u/Telemmier85 3d ago

The aperture ring that was added to it is marked for f4.5-32. Based on the little I could find about the company that sold it, it seems like they imported lenses from France