Hi All,
I have acquired a Tele-Athenar II, 1200mm f6.8 1" format lens, made in the USA by Century Precision Optics. This is a monstrous beast of a lens.
Here are a few pics:-
The top image shows the disassembled cradle, the middle shows the actual lens (with pointless aperture motor attached) and the last shows the whole caboodle in its case.
This what I have gleaned from the internet about these lenses.
The Tele-Athenar was made for the movie industry with either a Century or Schneider mount. It appears that these lenses attracted the attention of the US military, who tried to use them on stills cameras, but found the focusing awkward. I am guessing that a film camera crew would have included a ‘focus puller’, so the camera operator didn’t need easy access to the focusing system.
In response to this, the manufacturer, Century Precision Optics (acquired by Schneider Optics in 2000), developed the Tele-Athenar II, which addressed the focusing problem and came with a more stills camera friendly T1 or T2 mount. They were made in various focal lengths from 215mm to 1000mm.
It seems these lenses were intended primarily for the US military. Perhaps being of such high optical quality, it was deemed inadvisable to allow such equipment to fall into unfriendly hands. I did read of someone who had acquired a 1000mm version as being ex Canadian air force.
I think it reasonable to assume that these Tele-Athenar lenses were of particularly high quality for the movie industry to be using them and the subsequent Tele-Athenar II to have been of similar high quality for the US military to be using them.
OK, that’s the history, as far as I can see. Now to the lens. I have found some information on these lenses, but no mention of a 1200mm. Perhaps it was a ‘one-off’ made for a particular purpose.
The lens is surprisingly light considering its size, but still heavy enough. It comes with a tripod mountable cradle with “V” shape rollers to the front and a camera body mounting plate at the rear. This cradle is very robust and weighs more than the lens itself. While panning would not be a problem, I would be reluctant to overdo any tilt as it might put undue strain on the lens mount.
I haven’t actually weighed any of it, but it’s for sure that my Manfotto 055 legs and Benro S8 head would not be safe to mount the lens, cradle & body. A problem I’ll address should it become necessary. The lens & cradle are in a dedicated aluminium case of around 1.4m x 0.5 x 0.5m which, when all packed up weighs around 30 – 35kgs. So you see what I mean when I say this is a monstrous beast.
So to the actual lens. The barrels and fixed hood are in pretty good condition, no dings, dents, scrapes or anything else untoward. It has a Nikon F adapter and is a fully manual lens requiring use in stop-down mode. The rear element seems to be in good condition. After a little cleaning, I can see no problems there. The front element also looks to be in good condition, or at least nothing that a good cleaning wouldn’t remedy. To do that properly, I will need to remove the hood, which is fixed in place and needs a very small alan key to undo.
So, here’s the problem. Yes, there had to be one!
At some stage in its life a motor was fitted to drive the aperture ring, though I can’t think why. This clamp on motor is easily removed leaving just the teeth on the outside of the aperture ring. Not a problem. But the aperture blades are a problem. Of the 22 blades, some have dislodged and a few have fallen out of place altogether. Tilt the lens and they can be heard moving inside. There are no click stops on the aperture ring. This may have been disabled when the motor was fitted. Also the aperture ring will not open to its full f6.8, stopping at around f8. Obviously I don’t want to move the aperture ring too much with the blades in their current state.
Due to its size and weight, sending this lens somewhere for assessment would be prohibitively expensive and a waste of money if it were to be the case that it is beyond economic repair. So I am just wondering if anyone can help me come to a decision on what to do.
To be honest, I rather doubt I will keep this monster, even if it can be repaired, save for taking a few shots just the sake of being able to say “look at these pics taken with a 1200mm lens”. I really don’t have the space to keep it nor a suitable tripod and quite apart from that, my 500mm ED Nikkor with dedicated 2x converter is more than I usually need anyway.
So, do I try to fix it myself? The problem there being I haven’t a clue how to do it. Or do I try to find someone who might be able to repair it? In this case, the question is how much might it cost and what would its value be in good working condition? On a trip to New York a few weeks ago, I asked in a photography shop of their opinion. Someone in the know there said it might be worth around $2000. But that’s sold in the US, would it command such a price in the UK?
If anyone knows of a ‘lens clever-clogs’ in the Bexley area, I would appreciate it.
What do you think?
I have acquired a Tele-Athenar II, 1200mm f6.8 1" format lens, made in the USA by Century Precision Optics. This is a monstrous beast of a lens.
Here are a few pics:-
The top image shows the disassembled cradle, the middle shows the actual lens (with pointless aperture motor attached) and the last shows the whole caboodle in its case.
This what I have gleaned from the internet about these lenses.
The Tele-Athenar was made for the movie industry with either a Century or Schneider mount. It appears that these lenses attracted the attention of the US military, who tried to use them on stills cameras, but found the focusing awkward. I am guessing that a film camera crew would have included a ‘focus puller’, so the camera operator didn’t need easy access to the focusing system.
In response to this, the manufacturer, Century Precision Optics (acquired by Schneider Optics in 2000), developed the Tele-Athenar II, which addressed the focusing problem and came with a more stills camera friendly T1 or T2 mount. They were made in various focal lengths from 215mm to 1000mm.
It seems these lenses were intended primarily for the US military. Perhaps being of such high optical quality, it was deemed inadvisable to allow such equipment to fall into unfriendly hands. I did read of someone who had acquired a 1000mm version as being ex Canadian air force.
I think it reasonable to assume that these Tele-Athenar lenses were of particularly high quality for the movie industry to be using them and the subsequent Tele-Athenar II to have been of similar high quality for the US military to be using them.
OK, that’s the history, as far as I can see. Now to the lens. I have found some information on these lenses, but no mention of a 1200mm. Perhaps it was a ‘one-off’ made for a particular purpose.
The lens is surprisingly light considering its size, but still heavy enough. It comes with a tripod mountable cradle with “V” shape rollers to the front and a camera body mounting plate at the rear. This cradle is very robust and weighs more than the lens itself. While panning would not be a problem, I would be reluctant to overdo any tilt as it might put undue strain on the lens mount.
I haven’t actually weighed any of it, but it’s for sure that my Manfotto 055 legs and Benro S8 head would not be safe to mount the lens, cradle & body. A problem I’ll address should it become necessary. The lens & cradle are in a dedicated aluminium case of around 1.4m x 0.5 x 0.5m which, when all packed up weighs around 30 – 35kgs. So you see what I mean when I say this is a monstrous beast.
So to the actual lens. The barrels and fixed hood are in pretty good condition, no dings, dents, scrapes or anything else untoward. It has a Nikon F adapter and is a fully manual lens requiring use in stop-down mode. The rear element seems to be in good condition. After a little cleaning, I can see no problems there. The front element also looks to be in good condition, or at least nothing that a good cleaning wouldn’t remedy. To do that properly, I will need to remove the hood, which is fixed in place and needs a very small alan key to undo.
So, here’s the problem. Yes, there had to be one!
At some stage in its life a motor was fitted to drive the aperture ring, though I can’t think why. This clamp on motor is easily removed leaving just the teeth on the outside of the aperture ring. Not a problem. But the aperture blades are a problem. Of the 22 blades, some have dislodged and a few have fallen out of place altogether. Tilt the lens and they can be heard moving inside. There are no click stops on the aperture ring. This may have been disabled when the motor was fitted. Also the aperture ring will not open to its full f6.8, stopping at around f8. Obviously I don’t want to move the aperture ring too much with the blades in their current state.
Due to its size and weight, sending this lens somewhere for assessment would be prohibitively expensive and a waste of money if it were to be the case that it is beyond economic repair. So I am just wondering if anyone can help me come to a decision on what to do.
To be honest, I rather doubt I will keep this monster, even if it can be repaired, save for taking a few shots just the sake of being able to say “look at these pics taken with a 1200mm lens”. I really don’t have the space to keep it nor a suitable tripod and quite apart from that, my 500mm ED Nikkor with dedicated 2x converter is more than I usually need anyway.
So, do I try to fix it myself? The problem there being I haven’t a clue how to do it. Or do I try to find someone who might be able to repair it? In this case, the question is how much might it cost and what would its value be in good working condition? On a trip to New York a few weeks ago, I asked in a photography shop of their opinion. Someone in the know there said it might be worth around $2000. But that’s sold in the US, would it command such a price in the UK?
If anyone knows of a ‘lens clever-clogs’ in the Bexley area, I would appreciate it.
What do you think?