Heliar lens fitted to Colormator rollhead printers, Variograd belt copying machines and other Agfa industrial imagers. Optimised for 3.5x magnification. All silver versions have same tooling/casing as Steinheil enlarger lenses. Later versions all black. Commonly mis-spelt ‘Colorstar’.
NB: This is a draft article with a number of omissions and content to be added. If you have any in-depth information, or original manufacturer manuals, catalogues or period advertisements that might be relevant, please email Mark here. Peer review and contributors welcome, and will be credited. Similarly, if you have any memorable images shot …
Colour and Collaboration The Agfa story begins in 1867 in Rummelsburger See, on the outskirts of Berlin, when chemists Paul Mendelssohn Bartoldy and Carl Alexander von Martius founded the Gesellschaft Für Anilin-Fabrikation mbH. For the next 120 years, this expertise cast the die for Agfa’s successes and failures: aniline is a base ingredient in dyes, …
If Agfa somewhat receded from the minds of consumers in the second half of the Twentieth Century, the company’s involvement in what we might call ‘industrial’ optics certainly did not – encompassing photo-industrial devices such as minilabs and printer controllers, and the full spectrum of imaging applications for medical and manufacturing industries. If Agfa’s ‘over the …
Frequently, confusion. As if we didn’t have enough trouble cataloguing lenses with names like Bender, Nooky and Veginar, (thanks Lumaplak, Leica and Boots), Delta-world is far from the semantic ideal of one name for one thing. Major changes to a lens design sometimes go unflagged, while other, outwardly dissimilar lenses are optically identical. In many …
Agfa’s enlarger lenses never achieved the global awareness of other German brands, or other products in its stable. PhotoCornucopia’s Big List only listed two; in 1983 the ‘Darkroom Magazine’ overview overlooked them; forum chatter goes quiet when you ask. In fact, you can read widely online and never learn Agfa ever made them. Vade Mecum …
No aperture markings. Similar to Agfa Colostar enlarger lens. Tokyo Kogaku = Tokyo Opticol Co.
Previously, I explained why focal lengths of 60-90mm are of special interest to those seeking uncompromised performance at ‘regular’ taking distances of 40cm-infinity. Here’s a summary of tested Delta lenses in this range that should be at the top of your shopping list. Gold-Awarded at Close Range:Meopta Meogon 80/2.8; Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon N 80/4; Nikon EL-Nikkor …