ISCO Kiptar projection lenses - article

This one surely is my most comprehensive write-up so far. There are still many open questions and missing pieces, but I've tried my best to provide an overview of the different series of the Kiptar, Super-Kiptar and many related (in name, development and design) lens families. I've also included lots of bits and pieces about the history and possible connections between these lenses or ones from other manufacturers. I also created a rough timeline of Schneider, ISCO and some of the relevant products as well as a serial number overview. Unfortunately Schneider didn't respond to my questions about the matter, but I still hope they're going to help me out by clarifying or adding some of the stuff that's still unclear or missing.

You can find the article here:

deltalenses.com/the-kiptar-story/

I've experimented with many of the lenses in question myself and included a lot of sample shots. In addition to that I'm also very happy and thankful that Gudrun Besler (aorta-besler) who is a wonderful artist, photographer and experimenter of unusual lenses from Germany, has agreed to share some of her beautiful shots taken with several samples of Kiptar lenses as well.

If you have some additional information on the matter, please let me know!

Here are some sample shots:

Projection lenses were made for multiple purposes so that terms does apply to several different types of lenses. The most common types are slide projection lenses obviously used in slide projectors and cine projection lenses used for projecting movies in cinemas before the transition to digital.

Both can be used on almost any type of camera though it somewhat depends on focal flange distance (on some cameras you can't reach infinity when adapting lenses due to that). Older projection lenses are often Petzval designs and tend to be sharp in the center only (which allows for some interesting results) while newer projection lenses are mostly Double Gauss lenses or variants with 6+ elements. They're significantly better in terms of quality across the frame, but many tend to render similarly to modern lenses, which usually isn't what most people want when they go to such lengths to adapt a projection lens. There are some nice in-between lenses though, which offer a little bit of both worlds though.

In terms of adaptation it's usually necessary to get some clamp adapters (adapters which a non-threaded lens can be held in) plus a helicoid for focusing. Some people also add variable aperture mechanisms to projection lenses because they usually don't have one. The main benefit of projection lenses are a.) their renderings (if one enjoys to experiment), b.) their speed (usually taking lenses with similar specs are very expensive or rare) and c.) their affordability (though that has changed with certain manufacturers, particularly from the UK, France but also particular manufacturers from Germany, the US etc.)

Why these lenses work on a camera? In principle they're just like old large format taking lenses. Sometimes manufacturers even used the same glass elements for projection-, taking and enlarging lenses. It's not as far apart as you'd expect. They're usually not optimized for the task of taking images outside however, so you have to come up with your own solution in terms of lens hoods or improvement of internal reflections etc.

It’s a colossal, gigantic work that you have accomplished!! 👏🏼 👍🏼 🥇
There must not be many of you interested in this type of lens.

Is it possible to show us some photographs of your setup, camera, lens adapter, etc.?
I am curious 😁

Thank you very much.

Indeed... and it's very obvious from time to time.

Yes, of course. Here's my basic setup:

Of course there's quite a bit of variation in that (depending on the diameter of the lens) and it's also not necessary to use a bellows. A helicoid works as well and is significantly cheaper and easier to adapt stuff to. I just prefer the bellows because of its tilt/shift capabilities and the extended range for macro it provides.

I understand very well, sometimes we would like to see more people interested in our passion.
I'm sure you'll end up leaving a very important mark in your field.
Thanks for sharing your very professional looking "base setup" 😎