[Leica] IMG: From the Distant Past

[Jim Nichols]

Many years ago, I came across a lens manufactured in England circa 
1890.  It is a Ross London No. 6 Symmetrical with 8-inch focal length 
and is f/16 wide open, with rotary Waterhouse stops down to f/64, and 
was obviously designed to be mounted on a lens board for a studio or 
view camera.  Ten years ago, I decided I wanted to see what it would 
produce in the way of images.  While I had a couple of large cameras 
packed away, they were missing parts and were awkward to handle.  I 
decided I would find a way to mount it on my Olympus E-1. With the help 
of adapters, a bellows, parts from discarded lenses and a thick, carved 
lens board, I finally put it all together.

Here is the lens itself:

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20101208-PC081708-Enhanced.JPG.html

Here is the assembly:

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20101231-Final+Assembly.JPG.html

And, on a cold January morning, I returned home from an unsuccessful 
photo outing to find a Mocking Bird in a tree by my driveway. I rolled 
down the window and quietly shot a few frames at full extension, about 
15 feet from my truck.

http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20110102-P1020695-Enhanced.JPG.html

Yes, I decided, those old lens makers knew what they were doing.

-- 
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA