Adapted scanner lenses - Resources and experiences

simple-joy

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Because the topic of scanner lenses came up here recently, I thought it's about time to try and create a thread on the matter, in order to give people who are interested in adapting unusual lenses an overview and collect all the possible resources in one place.

You can find a number of excellent sources below, that E Dinkla mentioned here:
E Dinkla said:
I think it could make nice threads here. On the other hand there are some well documented web pages on the subject. With instructions how to remove the lenses and which lenses are worth it considering image quality at different magnifications. My personal opinion is that almost any scanner lens is worth it to be rescued from the scrapyard, so many scanners became obsolete in the last decades. I suspect that often the better ones are Plasmats, a less common type in SLR and rangefinder lenses

https://www.closeuphotography.com/scanner-lenses

https://www.savazzi.net/photography/scanner-lenses.html

https://coinimaging.com/Lens_tests.html


google 'salvaged scanner lenses' for more.
Those sites provide some really well researched information and great tests of a number of lenses. I'm a big fan of all of them, particularly closeuphotography - which was operated by late Robert OToole - who unfortunately passed away a couple of days ago... Certainly a big pioneer in the field of adapting and testing unusual lenses for macro photography, including many, many scanner lenses. He was dedicated to provide well-researched information only and did an excellent job at documenting the lenses as well as the devices they were used in. A great one of our field and a also a personal friend who helped me out more times than I can count. I don't remember if he ever posted here on dpreview, but I'm sure quite a few people here have heard about or seen his awesome work! R.I.P.!

For the most part those resources mainly focus on the use of scanner lenses for macro photography, so their qualities at distance are usually not discussed there. The giant deltalenses archive (that I'm also contributing to) is perhaps going to adress that aspect with some scanner lenses, however currently the section is not yet fleshed out:

https://deltalenses.com/product-category/industrial-lenses/scanner/

And there are two more great resources I absolutely have to mention:

Ray Parkhurst's site macrocoins features two tests, one in the range of 80 mm:
http://www.macrocoins.com/80mm-lens-shootout.html

and one in the range of 100 mm:
http://www.macrocoins.com/100mm-lens-shootout.html

both feature a number of lenses used in scanners.

So, if you have any experiences with adapted scanner lenses or some old broken scanners lying around, which you could try to salvage an interesting lens from - please post your thoughts and results here to share them with others who may be interested to know!
 
As mentioned in one of the monthly Adapted Lens threads, I have got a Rodenstock Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5 lens, which likely is out some type of scanner. It is a fantastic lens at pretty much all distances. I've not shot any landscapes or architecture with it so far, but an online friend from the UK has, and the samples look great.

The lens states f/4 on the instription and f/3.5 on the aperture ring, however the latter goes even further than that, so it's safe to assume that this is actually an f/2.8 lens.

Wide open the lens has VERY busy/nervous rendering and quite a bit of glow, however it's already pretty sharp beneath that. closed down a little bit, the lens gets very sharp. Because it bubbles wide open, I've often tried to find the sweet spot where it still does that, but doesn't glow too much... it's not always easy finding that, but it can be done.

Unfortunately I have no idea which scanner this one was used in, but the fixed aperture lens with the same focal length 75 mm f/5.6 which is equally great for macro shooting but of course not as versatile, was apparently used in a Fuji Lanovia Sprint C550 (https://www.closeuphotography.com/rodenstock-magnagon-75mm-scanner-lens ). It's possible that the Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5 was used in a similar device, but in addition it might also have been used for inspection.

It's very easy to adapt, because it has a M39 thread and it does have a wonderful round aperture as well, however no click-stops, if you prefer that.

Rodenstock Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5

Rodenstock Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5

Rodenstock Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5

Rodenstock Magnagon 75 mm f/3.5

If you want to know more about it, I would recommend checking out Robert OTooles pages on it:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/rodenstock-linos-magnagon-lens/magnagon-75mm-f4

Em-bracelet

Em-bracelet


Glad we're all enjoying our bubbles...

Glad we're all enjoying our bubbles...


Pottery-union

Pottery-union


Conflict-in view

Conflict-in view


When it's stopped down all of that disappears and it's an extremely sharp macro lens and very capable up to 2x magnification.

A lot on the line

A lot on the line


Circles: closer than you think!

Circles: closer than you think!

https://flic.kr/p/2kTqUxV

The lens is relatively rare, but it does pop up occasionally on ebay. It also exists as Linos Magnagon, but they're identical as far as I know (Rodenstock is part of Linos, which was bought by Qioptiq, which is part of Excelitas Group, which is owned by AEA investors... 😅)

Please let us know, if you have any idea which scanner it was used in.

--
Experimenting manual lens enthusiast.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/simple_joy/
 
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So far this is the most versatile scanner lens I was able to find. It can be used for high magnification (up to 2:1) as well as at infinity and everything in between.

I've documented this lens as part of my article on Agfa industrial lenses
https://deltalenses.com/agfa-gevaert-industrial/

The way it looks in the image below, is how it was used in the scanner - an Agfa Horizon (Ultra) Scanner, a 20.000 to 40.000 €/$ high end device, which was able to scan everything from 35 mm slides up to A3 sized originals. The big (and heavy) metal aperture ring can be removed completely, which makes it signifciantly easier to use it.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

The lens does show some CAs under very challenging conditions and without a hood (I haven't tried it with one, which could make some difference) it does suffer from a loss of contrast, when hit by direct light.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

The lens is not exceptional at greater distance, but at least decent when stopped down a little bit.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

Because the aperture doesn't fully open, the lens shows slightly rounded pentagonal bokeh highlights at all apertures. Not the most beautiful but at serviceable and never really too distracting.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

0804981b00d34e55a600cdb3194672d6.jpg

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4

Valley dated light

Valley dated light


Solar powered!

Solar powered!


Good at throwing stones? I've got a job for you.

Good at throwing stones? I've got a job for you.


Forklosure

Forklosure


Even above 1:1 magnification it holds up exceptionally well... I haven't tested it's limits, but given that I've shot everything in standard direction (it should be better when reversed for really close shots), it's safe to say that it is a pretty exceptional lens.

Properly screwed up our double helix

Properly screwed up our double helix


Not much has been written about this lens, but according to Miljenko who has published some test results on photomacrography (https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38038 ) this lens does actually show its most impressive features as a tube lens, which means in combination to a reversed lens attached to its front in reverse direction.

Here are some samples where it was used as a tube lens (in combination with a Schneider Kreuznach Xenon 35 mm f/2 industrial lens):

Color de-livery

Color de-livery

https://flic.kr/p/2pxLqCD

Glowing with joy

Glowing with joy

https://flic.kr/p/2pBZuaT

Robert OToole (RIP) - who will likely be mentioned in almost all of my scanner-lens write-ups - also just started doing some tests with it and was already pretty impressed by this lens.

So - given that it's actually even faster - and a little bit more versatile with its shorter focal length, this incredible scanner lens might even be a worthy challenger for the incredible Makro-Symmar 120 mm by Schneider Kreuznach.

A true testament to the lens-making abilities Agfa once had...

--
Experimenting manual lens enthusiast.
 
Impressive shots!
 
Before I got the Umax Mirage II scanner I had a secondhand Agfa Horizon, older version than the Ultra. 1200 PPI resolution. SCSI system. The Fotolook? software was not updated enough for newer Windows versions then so I sold it. Extremely heavy machine. Wonder whether it had the same lens.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
 
Impressive shots!
Thank you very much!

Before I got the Umax Mirage II scanner I had a secondhand Agfa Horizon, older version than the Ultra. 1200 PPI resolution. SCSI system. The Fotolook? software was not updated enough for newer Windows versions then so I sold it. Extremely heavy machine. Wonder whether it had the same lens.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
That's really interesting. So is the Umax Mirage II scanner superior in terms of specs? I'm not very familiar with the details of scanners, but I know that resolution data provided by manufacturer is often almost completely irrelevant/wrong... in case of the Horizon scanner the specs don't look very impressive, but I'm pretty sure, that the lens wasn't responsible for the limitation, but rather other parts of the tech, which couldn't keep up. The same seems to have happened with some of the early film scanners by Nikon (which I'll mention later) - outstanding lenses, likely limited by software or other parts of the hardware.

Your Horizon scanner likely had the same lens - I've never opened (or even seen) a real one, but Robert OToole suspected that the different versions of the Horizon likely shared the same lens. He also mentioned a pretty complex construction with mirrors on the inside of the scanner. Unfortunately he wasn't able to finish his write-up and research on it, but he explained some early findings here:

https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=46896
 
The Horizon Plus was way slower due to the 3 passes and as mentioned the driver not updated.. Vuescan could not drive it either. Xenon full spectrum lamp though. The Mirage II had better specs but was in practice not better. Original software Binuscan but I used Vuescan for it.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
 
Last edited:

After reading that thread I could add some details: the grey filter of the four filters is for B&W scans. Only grey I guess to keep exposure roughly similar to the colored filters scan. The three linear CCD's monochrome but (again I guess) 1/3 pixel (sensor well) pitch shifted to one another to increase the sampling ratio on that axis while the scan head made a similar 1/3 steps to the actual sensor well size. So oversampling as well. Given the about 12" width of the scanner bed and a 5000 pixel linear CCD the SPI would be a bit more than 400, three CCDs would bring it above 1200.
 
So far this is the most versatile scanner lens I was able to find. It can be used for high magnification (up to 2:1) as well as at infinity and everything in between.

I've documented this lens as part of my article on Agfa industrial lenses
https://deltalenses.com/agfa-gevaert-industrial/

The way it looks in the image below, is how it was used in the scanner - an Agfa Horizon (Ultra) Scanner, a 20.000 to 40.000 €/$ high end device, which was able to scan everything from 35 mm slides up to A3 sized originals. The big (and heavy) metal aperture ring can be removed completely, which makes it signifciantly easier to use it.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
I have similar looking lens - the Agfa Super Intergon 105mm f5.6.

Not from a scanner but from a huge ?PMT machine. Decades ago the university was closing a small graphics/photo department and we were asked if we wanted any equipment from the remains. There was very little left apart from this huge machine that had been gutted of its electrical components, its casing had literally been torn apart.

Luckily, the lens turrent was intact and I salvaged the lenses, there was the 105mm mentioned above, a 210mm f9 and a 305mm "S" f9. They all have MF+ coverage, the larger two probably LF.

My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.
My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.

I tried them years ago, but being a bokeholic the very slow maximum apertures produced disappointing results for me.

The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.
The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.

When browsing the remains of that old department I had a look through the waste bin and was glad that I did as I found a Kodak Ektar 7.5" f4.5 in Ilex shutter. It even had the original Kodak lens hood, I used that a lot on 4x5" over the years.

I'm not sure what the machine was that the Super Intergons came from, but it definitely wasn't any of the Repromasters I've seen photos of online, this thing was much bigger. It had been tipped over onto its side and I could not have righted alone. The tipping was fortunate, as it allowed me easy access to the lenses.

When I think of all the fine equipment that must have gone into the skips over the years from universities and similar, I really shudder.
 
I have similar looking lens - the Agfa Super Intergon 105mm f5.6.

Not from a scanner but from a huge ?PMT machine. Decades ago the university was closing a small graphics/photo department and we were asked if we wanted any equipment from the remains. There was very little left apart from this huge machine that had been gutted of its electrical components, its casing had literally been torn apart.

Luckily, the lens turrent was intact and I salvaged the lenses, there was the 105mm mentioned above, a 210mm f9 and a 305mm "S" f9. They all have MF+ coverage, the larger two probably LF.

My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.
My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.

I tried them years ago, but being a bokeholic the very slow maximum apertures produced disappointing results for me.

The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.
The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.

When browsing the remains of that old department I had a look through the waste bin and was glad that I did as I found a Kodak Ektar 7.5" f4.5 in Ilex shutter. It even had the original Kodak lens hood, I used that a lot on 4x5" over the years.

I'm not sure what the machine was that the Super Intergons came from, but it definitely wasn't any of the Repromasters I've seen photos of online, this thing was much bigger. It had been tipped over onto its side and I could not have righted alone. The tipping was fortunate, as it allowed me easy access to the lenses.

When I think of all the fine equipment that must have gone into the skips over the years from universities and similar, I really shudder.
Thanks a lot - that's indeed an interesting observation and some pretty good lenses as well. Great that you were able to rescue a couple of them!

However the Repromaster series and similar repro-cameras (by Helioprint, Eskofot, Klimsch etc.) existed in many different variants and sizes, so I wouldn't rule it out. Another possibility is something Agfa called a "Durchlaufkamera" however I doubt it, given that those giant machines were using some kind of microfilm and I don't think they would have used such long focal lengths.

Anyway... while the Super-Intergon 105 mm f/5.6 looks a bit simialr and does share a similar focal length, it is clearly a very different lens from the Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4, which is almost twice the size, way bigger in diameter and likely a more complex construction. The Super-Intergons are 6/4 Plasmat constructions if memory serves me right and this focal length could indeed be idential to the Staeble Magnogon-R 105 mm, which was advertised as an Enlarging lens by Agfa/Staeble. Hence the Super-Intergons are very likely also Staeble-made.

The Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4 is significantly sharper than the Super-Intergon, at least from my limited experience. It still is quite a good lens though. And when you use it for macro, it also doesn't matter that it's only f/5.6:

Dig in, little one!

Dig in, little one!


Golden opportunisties...

Golden opportunisties...


Of(f)Spring and farewells

Of(f)Spring and farewells


Whatever those lenses were used for... I'm pretty certain they were not used in a scanner!

You're absolutely right by the way: How unfortunate that so many good lenses were tossed in the trash during the transition of a whole industry towards digital...

--
Experimenting manual lens enthusiast.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/simple_joy/
 
Last edited:
So far this is the most versatile scanner lens I was able to find. It can be used for high magnification (up to 2:1) as well as at infinity and everything in between.

I've documented this lens as part of my article on Agfa industrial lenses
https://deltalenses.com/agfa-gevaert-industrial/

The way it looks in the image below, is how it was used in the scanner - an Agfa Horizon (Ultra) Scanner, a 20.000 to 40.000 €/$ high end device, which was able to scan everything from 35 mm slides up to A3 sized originals. The big (and heavy) metal aperture ring can be removed completely, which makes it signifciantly easier to use it.

Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
Agfa-Gevaert 107 mm f/4
I have similar looking lens - the Agfa Super Intergon 105mm f5.6.

Not from a scanner but from a huge ?PMT machine. Decades ago the university was closing a small graphics/photo department and we were asked if we wanted any equipment from the remains. There was very little left apart from this huge machine that had been gutted of its electrical components, its casing had literally been torn apart.

Luckily, the lens turrent was intact and I salvaged the lenses, there was the 105mm mentioned above, a 210mm f9 and a 305mm "S" f9. They all have MF+ coverage, the larger two probably LF.

My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.
My salvaged Super Intergons, they would be in landfill now if I had not saved them.

I tried them years ago, but being a bokeholic the very slow maximum apertures produced disappointing results for me.

The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.
The 305mm Super Intergon in detail.

When browsing the remains of that old department I had a look through the waste bin and was glad that I did as I found a Kodak Ektar 7.5" f4.5 in Ilex shutter. It even had the original Kodak lens hood, I used that a lot on 4x5" over the years.

I'm not sure what the machine was that the Super Intergons came from, but it definitely wasn't any of the Repromasters I've seen photos of online, this thing was much bigger. It had been tipped over onto its side and I could not have righted alone. The tipping was fortunate, as it allowed me easy access to the lenses.

When I think of all the fine equipment that must have gone into the skips over the years from universities and similar, I really shudder.
Photo Mechanical Transfer, Kodak's version of Agfa's Copyproof process. An image transfer process based on a lucky discovery by a female Agfa scientist, name I forgot, 1930's. Polaroid's early transfer system was also based on that.

Normally the 'develop' units only had a caustic? fluid where the exposed negative paper went through and a receptive paper was to squeezed between two rubber coated axles. Split after a minute a positive image was the result. Positive image carrier could also be a transparent PET film or even an alu offset printing sheet.

With lenses included it probably was a copying machine based on the PMT process.

Wednesday I brought a Copyproof unit to the dump. Refreshed my memory.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
 
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=46896

After reading that thread I could add some details: the grey filter of the four filters is for B&W scans. Only grey I guess to keep exposure roughly similar to the colored filters scan. The three linear CCD's monochrome but (again I guess) 1/3 pixel (sensor well) pitch shifted to one another to increase the sampling ratio on that axis while the scan head made a similar 1/3 steps to the actual sensor well size. So oversampling as well. Given the about 12" width of the scanner bed and a 5000 pixel linear CCD the SPI would be a bit more than 400, three CCDs would bring it above 1200.
Thank you very much for the details! I don't understand enough to interpret that in any meaningful way... but I doubt that does tell us much about the lenses capabilities, right?
 
Photo Mechanical Transfer, Kodak's version of Agfa's Copyproof process. An image transfer process based on a lucky discovery by a female Agfa scientist, name I forgot, 1930's. Polaroid's early transfer system was also based on that.

Normally the 'develop' units only had a caustic? fluid where the exposed negative paper went through and a receptive paper was to squeezed between two rubber coated axles. Split after a minute a positive image was the result. Positive image carrier could also be a transparent PET film or even an alu offset printing sheet.

With lenses included it probably was a copying machine based on the PMT process.

Wednesday I brought a Copyproof unit to the dump. Refreshed my memory.
I had a friend that owned a reprographics company, ironically he had no interest in photography, but I learned a lot about 90's graphic repro tech from him.

I hope you rescued those Copyproof lenses!
 
I had a friend that owned a reprographics company, ironically he had no interest in photography, but I learned a lot about 90's graphic repro tech from him.

I hope you rescued those Copyproof lenses!
There are lenses in there? Is that some kind of device for developing?

I have some experience working in a company with a Repro-Graphics background, but given that I was born after the time where I would have still learned about those machines, they were already gone for the most part...

I've always been curious about the drum scanners though. They must have lenses in them was well, right? If so, does anyone here know if they would be useful for being adapted? Or are they limited in some specific way (wavelength, focal length, coverage) to make them basically useless?
 
This is one of the better known scanner lenses, particularly after its results for macro photography have been published here:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens

Safe to say, it's an exceptional lens at certain magnifications and it's so incredible tiny, that it makes me wonder how such an performance is even possible. It is a bit more limited, compared to some of my favorite scanner lenses, but so effective and incredibly well corrected at the magnification it was made for, that it's certainly more than worth it to use, if you're into macro photography.

It has been popular enough that there is a specifically made adapter out there by RAF camera, coverting it to RMS.

Dried but missed the drop-dead date

Dried but missed the drop-dead date


The rest is sci-lens…

The rest is sci-lens…


Partificial nature

Partificial nature


Leaf, and you‘re golden! As if…

Leaf, and you‘re golden! As if…


--
Experimenting manual lens enthusiast.
 
No lenses, usually a Repromaster or similar camera would do the optical part of the job.

I used a converted Autom Zuchiatti color separation camera with several lenses on a turret. Nikon Apo, Rodenstock Apo and alike.
 
This is one of the better known scanner lenses, particularly after its results for macro photography have been published here:

https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens

Safe to say, it's an exceptional lens at certain magnifications and it's so incredible tiny, that it makes me wonder how such an performance is even possible. It is a bit more limited, compared to some of my favorite scanner lenses, but so effective and incredibly well corrected at the magnification it was made for, that it's certainly more than worth it to use, if you're into macro photography.

It has been popular enough that there is a specifically made adapter out there by RAF camera, coverting it to RMS.
It is hard to judge lens popularity from RAFCamera's range. I was amazed to find that Rafael makes a dedicated M65 lens clamp for the FJW 90mm f1.0 . Those lenses are as rare as hen's teeth, I had to wait years for one to come up for sale so I could bag one for myself, and yet Raf stocks an off-the-shelf mounting solution for them.

I wonder how many of those adaptors he sells?

The Minolta Dimage was a very popular film scanner so there must be a lot of them around, but how many folk would think to remove the lens from a defective one?

Hmm, it makes you wonder how many avid lens adapterists like us there are in the world?
 
It is hard to judge lens popularity from RAFCamera's range. I was amazed to find that Rafael makes a dedicated M65 lens clamp for the FJW 90mm f1.0 . Those lenses are as rare as hen's teeth, I had to wait years for one to come up for sale so I could bag one for myself, and yet Raf stocks an off-the-shelf mounting solution for them.

I wonder how many of those adaptors he sells?

The Minolta Dimage was a very popular film scanner so there must be a lot of them around, but how many folk would think to remove the lens from a defective one?

Hmm, it makes you wonder how many avid lens adapterists like us there are in the world?
You're right of course... there are some adapters for VERY unusual and rare lenses. However on the other hand, if one is willing to spend as much as some of these rare lenses cost, you can be sure they'll likely won't hesitate to also purchase a (somewhat pricey) adapter + costs for shipping & customs, so in some cases it may be an incentive to offer something rare like that.

In the case of the Minolta Dimage ScanElite lens I know for a fact that it was/is quite popular in macro circles because Robert OToole mentioned demand on ebay & elsewhere going up significantly after he published his results... to the point that some people who shoot (and scan) film, were annoyed with him. 😉

So far it's not my favorite film scanner lens however and I think there are still some great ones out there which are lesser known (and likely cheaper).
 
simple-joy

I have some experience working in a company with a Repro-Graphics background, but given that I was born after the time where I would have still learned about those machines, they were already gone for the most part...

I've always been curious about the drum scanners though. They must have lenses in them was well, right? If so, does anyone here know if they would be useful for being adapted? Or are they limited in some specific way (wavelength, focal length, coverage) to make them basically useless?
 
simple-joy

I have some experience working in a company with a Repro-Graphics background, but given that I was born after the time where I would have still learned about those machines, they were already gone for the most part...

I've always been curious about the drum scanners though. They must have lenses in them was well, right? If so, does anyone here know if they would be useful for being adapted? Or are they limited in some specific way (wavelength, focal length, coverage) to make them basically useless?
Little optics needed, the higher the resolution the smaller the light beams are, coverage of a lens can be minimal. Short focusing control, aperture control is used to reduce the noise of film grain.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
Thanks - that's good to know... So I likely didn't miss out on much by not going town that route!
 

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