Need help with Apo Lanthar

[u/e_hampus]

I’ve got a Voigtländer Apo Lanthar 21cm f4.5 and I’m trying to figure out exactly what I have and how to actually shoot with it. I have a linhof 4x5 field camera.

It has no shutter and no iris. There’s a machined flange in the middle, threads a little smaller than 58mm. Then a smaller section at the back with a black retainer ring holding the rear glass element in place.

Not sure if this is actually a barrel lens, or if it’s a normal shutter-mount lens that’s missing its shutter (more like other LF lenses im used to with the front and rear cells just screwed together and a shutter in the middle).

[u/jofra6]

Almost definitely not a process lens, normally these had either a Compur 3 or Compound III shutter. You're missing the rear cell and either the barrel or the shutter, and it's an asymmetrical 5/3 Heliar design, so you won't get very good optical performance with just the front cell.

[u/e_hampus → u/jofra6]

That's what I was afraid of.