Welcome to Delta

In 2021 the Digital Enlarger Lens Test Archive (D.E.L.T.A) outgrew its original home at 16-9.net – and its remit. It continues to expand, and is now the most wide-ranging resource for film-makers and photographers seeking and using enlarger, projector, macro, repro, process and cine lenses to create digital work. Spanning more than 170 years, Delta collates information on almost 4,000 universally-adaptable lenses, and contains hundreds of unique reviews and articles.

The quick-browse catalogue below orders every lens by manufacturer and can be filtered by category or keyword.

The primary archive tracks generations of lenses with more in-depth information, and ranks hundreds for sharpness and rendition. Please use the main menu and search function to access further articles, pictures and videos.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 105/5.6
Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 135/4.5 [V1]
Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 135/4.5 [V2]
Brass-body Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 135/5.6
Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 150/4.5
Tokyo-made all-black enlarger lens. Part of a seven-lens range, mostly four-element.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 50/3.5
Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo 75/4.5
Japanese enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo Jr 35/3.5
AKA Vivitar, AICO-PSL, Samigon enlarger lens. 30mm image circle. Product image by SubClub.

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Yamasaki E-Congo Jr 75/3.5 [V1]
AKA Vivitar, AICO-PSL, Samigon enlarger lens.

Yamasaki E-Congo Jr 75/3.5 [V2]
AKA Vivitar, AICO-PSL, Samigon enlarger lens.

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Yamasaki E-Congo Jr 75/3.5 [V3]
AKA Vivitar, AICO-PSL, Samigon enlarger lens.

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Yashica 40/3.5
AKA Hoya / Osawa Tominon / Bogen / DO Industries enlarger lens

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Yashica 50/2.8
AKA Hoya / Osawa Tominon / Bogen / Beseler ColorPro / Omicron EL enlarger lens.

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Yashica 75/4.5
AKA Hoya / Osawa Tominon / Bogen / Beseler ColorPro / Omicron EL enlarger lens.

E-Yashinon-DX 21 mm f/3.5

Yashica E-Yashinon-DX 21/3.5
Enlarger lens likely made by Tomioka. Part of Atoron ENLA-Unit

(Tomioka) Yashinon 32 mm f/3.5

Yashica Yashinon 32/3.5
Industrial lens likely made by Tomioka.

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Zeiss Ikon Diatar 100/2.5
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikomat. Silver barrel. Scalloped black nose. Example image by J Lim.

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Zeiss Ikon Diatar 150/3.5
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikomat. Silver barrel. Scalloped black nose. Successor to Orikar 150mm.

Carl Zeiss Kinostar 100mm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 100mm
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon. Soft overall.

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Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 105mm
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon marked A-G Dresden 10.5cm Series III. Soft overall.

Zeiss Kinostar Serie III 11.5cm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 115mm
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon marked A-G Dresden f=11.5cm Serie III.

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Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 120/2.4
Projector lens marked A-G Dresden f=12cm Series III. Soft overall.

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar iii 125mm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 125mm
Projector lens marked “A-G Dresden f=12.5cm Series III.”

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Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 140mm
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon marked A-G Dresden 14cm Series III.

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Zeiss Ikon Kinostar III 95/2.1
Projector lens marked with arrow and ‘Zeiss Ikon A-G Dresden f=9.5cm”. Silver barrel, black nose. Images by Retrofocale >

Carl Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 11cm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 110mm
35mm projector lens for Zeiss Ikon marked “f=11cm Serie IV”. Silver barrel, black nose.

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Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 125/2
Projector lens marked ‘Zeiss Ikon Kinostar f=12.5cm Serie IV”. Silver barrel, black nose.

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar Serie IV 130mm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 130mm
Projector lens marked ‘Zeiss Ikon Kinostar f=13cm Serie IV”. Silver barrel, black nose. Aperture unmarked (estimated f2). Images by UK Classic Cameras >

Zeiss Kinostar Series IV 80mm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 80mm
35mm projector lens for Zeiss Ikon marked “f=8cm Serie IV”. Silver barrel, black nose.

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 85mm

Zeiss Ikon Kinostar IV 85/1.8
Projector lens marked ‘Zeiss Ikon Kinostar f=8.5cm Serie IV”. Silver barrel, black nose. Images by Adaptarian >

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Zeiss Ikon Orikar 100/2.5 [V2]
Projector lens. Brass body. Marked Zeiss Ikon Orikar.

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Zeiss Ikon Orikar 100/3.2
Silver metal body projector lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikolux.

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Zeiss Ikon Orikar 100/3.5
Projector lens for Zeiss Ikon Aviso II. Aperture unmarked (estimated).

Zeiss Ikon Orikar 150mm f3.2

Zeiss Ikon Orikar 150/3.2 [V2]
Projector lens. Silver metal barrel.

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Zeiss Ikon Orikar 75mm
Black metal body slide projection lens. Aperture estimated.

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Zeiss Ikon Orikar 80/2.8
Standard lens for Zeiss Ikon Aviso and Ikolux series projectors.

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Zeiss Ikon Super Talon MC 60/2.8
Multicoated lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikolux / Perkeo slide projectors. Likely AKA Kett Super Talon 60/2.8. Product image by Kamerastore.

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Zeiss Ikon Super Talon MC 90/2.5
Multicoated slide projector lens – updated version of Zeiss-Ikon Super-Talon 90/2.5 (note hyphenation). Likely AKA Zett Super Talon 90/2.5. Optional on Zeiss Perkeo range.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon 200/3.5
Multicoated slide projector lens marked Zeiss Ikon Talon Serie III. Also available for Zeiss Perkeo series with optional support and image field lens.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon 250/4
Multicoated slide projector lens for Zeiss Perkeo series. Available with optional lens support and image field lens.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon 45/2.8
Single-coated wide-angle lens for Perkeo pocket slide projectors.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon 85/2.8 [V1]
Standard slide projector lens for Perkeo projectors. [V1] is single-coated in plastic barrel. Probably AKA Zett Talon 85/2.8.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon 85/2.8 [V2]
Standard slide projector lens for Perkeo projectors. [V2] is multi-coated in metal barrel. Also known in Zeiss catalogue as ‘Talon Speziale’.

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Zeiss Ikon Talon MC 150/3.0
Multicoated lens for Perkeo slide projectors.

Zeiss Ikon Talon MC 150/3.5
Multicoated slide projector lens marked Zeiss Ikon Talon. Probably AKA Zett Talon 150/3.5

Zeiss Ikon Talon Speziale 85mm f2.8

Zeiss Ikon Talon Special MC 85/2.8
Upgraded slide projector lens for Perkeo projectors. Optical formula uncertain, but weight is doubled vs standard Talon 85mm, so likely at least four elements. Product images by Kamerastore >

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Zeiss-Ikon Super-Talon 90/2.5
Multicoated lens for Zeiss Ikon Royal slide projectors. Appears to be early single-coated version of Zeiss Super Talon (note different hyphenation). Images by Vintageglas.

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Zeiss-Ikon Vario-Talon 110-200/3.5
Multicoated zoom lens for Zeiss Ikon slide projector

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Zeiss-Ikon Vario-Talon 70-120/3.5
Multicoated zoom lens for Zeiss Ikon slide projector. Concave front element.

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Zenobia E.Hesper 50/3.5
Japanese enlarger lens. After 1956, Daiichi Kōgaku K.K became known as Zenobia Kōgaku K.K.

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Zett Fafix Anastigmat 80/3.5
Projector lens marked Zett-Projektion Braunschweig. Black body.

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Zett Super Talon 60/2.8
Multicoated lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikolux / Perkeo slide projectors

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Zett Super Talon 90/2.5
Multicoated lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikolux / Perkeo slide projectors

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Zett Super Zettar 85/2.5
Slide Projector lens marked Zett-Projektion Braunschweig. Silver body, black nose.

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Zett Talon 85/2.8 [V1]
Multicoated lens for Zeiss Ikon Ikolux / Perkeo slide projectors. Probably AKA Zeiss Ikon Talon.

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Zett Zettar 100/2.8
Slide projector lens. Silver metal body marked Zett Projektion Braunzweig.

Zett Zettar 150mm f3.0 c

Zett Zettar 150/3.0
Medium format slide projector lens fitted to Zett 66. Silver metal body marked Zett Projektion Braunzweig.

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Zett Zettar 85/3
Slide projector lens with black plastic body marked Zett Projektion Braunzweig. White fascia.

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ZKBK OKP2 60/2
Russian projector lens.
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Acknowledgements: The DELTA project wouldn’t have been possible with the naysaying of experienced lens collectors; the death of film; the opposition of my wife; the embezzlement of shady eBay sellers and Japanese auction agents; the re-branders; the same 50/3.5 seen in a thousand guises; the unhelpful attitide of extant manufacturers who jettisoned their history without a backward glance (Schneider, Rodenstock et al); the corporations who swallow the legacies of decades without concern for their preservation; the disregard of librarians and archivists who no longer value photographic publications; the copyright laws prohibiting reproduction of adverts advertising things no longer made, once made by people and companies that no longer exist; the museums failing to digitise their collections and refusing to grant access to material rotting unseen in their basements; the sheer bloody-mindedness of Agfa serial numbers; the arrogance of those who have previously written about alt.lenses and imagine their sayings to be unalterably definitive, despite being patently erroneous;  widespread dementia and death befalling a generation of those with inside knowledge of the industry; widespread withering of the information internet and the rise of regurgitated AI gobbledygook; the majority of used camera dealers who regard these lenses as pointless relics and have no interest in deploying them as taking lenses and regard their slow-moving stock as an irritation; clueless marketing people devoid of specific product knowledge; an overwhelming majority of photographers apathetic about the benefits and possibilities of alt.lenses; the publishers who failed to express an interest in a book deal; the army of DIY botchers who took their lenses apart and didn’t know how to put them back together again; a postal system that loses packages as a normal happenstance;  and all the fungus. Against this tide stand we few. You know who you are. Thank you.