Casket Set of 6 B&L Ser. VII Protar lens cells (13-27”) w/ Alphax, 18 fl\'s VIIa For Sale

This is a set that I’ve built over about 10 years ofsearching. There are six lens cells andan Alphax #5 shutter, giving a total of 18 usable focal lengths. The 27” and 19” cells came with the shutter; forthe other cells I had adapters made as necessary. Alas, by the time I had everything completeI had moved out of photography, so the only cells I got to try were the original 19\"and 27\" on the original shutter. Withthose cells (both used together, and each cell singly), I got nice, contrastyimages, similar in feel to a Dagor, which would be expected, in that they\'reall-cemented elements, with no air spaces.

What is included is the Alphax shutter, with mounting flange, andmounted on a Sinar board (I’ll remove the board if you wish). A previous owner had installed an auxiliarylever that you can push to open the shutter blades for focusing, which iseasier than setting the shutter dial to “T” and tripping the shutter. I hadn’t used the shutter in maybe 8 yearsor so, so I sent it for a CLA (time sheet is shown in the pics). SK Grimes engraved a custom aperture scale whichis marked in millimeters (= the diameter of the aperture).This is the simplest way to set the aperture when you have many possiblefocal length combinations. I have theoriginal triple aperture scale from the shutter (for the 19 and 27” cells), letme know if you want this as well.

The 4 longest focal lengths here (27, 23, 19, 16) replicatewhat B&L sold as their F Set for 8x10.Also, the 19, 16, and 13” cells were three of the four cells that theysold as the D Set for 5x7.

These are the (all uncoated) lens cells included:

13-3/4\" (350mm)– all-brass construction (painted black); this is the original barrel threadedto fit an Alphax 5 shutter. Glass isnice, a little rub mark to glass on front side. Balsam separation around rim that varies from1-3mm from edge.

16-1/2\" (420mm)– all-brass rim (with a mild dent) with an anodized aluminum adapter to threadinto an Alphax 5 shutter. Glass is good,has some bubbles, and balsam separation around rim that varies from 0-1.5mmfrom edge.

18-7/8\" (480mm)– aluminum front rim with brass barrel (painted black); this is the originalbarrel threaded to fit an Alphax 5 shutter.The writing around the glass is hard to see. Glass is decent, there’s a very light scratch(visible in person) on the front glass in the shape of a “L”, about 2mm on aside. Balsam separation around rimthat’s about 2.0mm from edge, occasionally out to 3.0mm.

19-1/4\" (490mm)– all-brass rim (with a mild dent) with an anodized aluminum adapter to threadinto an Alphax 5 shutter. Glass is good,has some bubbles, and balsam separation around rim that varies from 0-2.5mmfrom edge.

23-1/8\" (590mm)– all-brass rim with an anodized aluminum adapter to thread into an Alphax 5shutter. This is the prettiest barrel ofthe bunch. Glass is very nice, has s fewtiny bubbles and one bigger one; and balsam separation around rim that variesfrom 0-1.5mm from edge.

27-1/8\" (690mm)– aluminum front rim with brass barrel (painted black); this is the originalbarrel threaded to fit an Alphax 5 shutter.Glass is exceptional for a lens of this age. Some bubbles, and balsam separation aroundrim that’s about 1.5-2.0mm from edge.

I’ll include a Gnass case that I set up to carry the cells. There’s room for one more cell in case youdecide to expand this set further.

Using the lenscells:

I took data from Bausch & Lomb catalogs and made thetable shown in the pictures. You can seethe original here: [link removed by ]

When using two cells together, the longer focal length isput in front of the shutter (which shortens the bellows draw). With just one cell, B&L suggested thatputting the cell behind the shutter gives better results, but it takes muchmore bellows draw. I never saw a differenceand so always put the cell ahead of the shutter; check to see what works for you. When using a single cell, best performance isachieved by stopping down to at least f22, and single cells exhibit some degreeof focus shift, so after stopping down you should recheck the focus. Also, using an orange filter placed ahead ofthe single cell helps with sharpness.

To set theaperture:

Full method:

Compose and focus. Now measure the distance (in mm) from the planeof the lensboard (actually the location of the aperture iris) to the groundglass, within about +/- 10mm is fine. Let\'s say it\'s 660mm, and let\'s set the aperture to 15mm for example. 660mm divided by 15mm is 44. So you\'re at f45 for all practical purposes.This works for any combo you install, and also figures in the bellows compensation for close-up shots.

B. Shortcut for when focused at infinity:

I only shot landscapes, and so I usuallyfocused at or near infinity. So to makethings easier, I made the spreadsheet that’s shown in the pictures. This gives the aperture opening, in millimeters,that corresponds to a particular f-stop.For critical exposures and for closer focusing, I’d suggest checking this with the full methodabove, and getting a feel for how these lenses perform.