Docter Optics Germinar and Tessar lenses

From left to right: 150mm Germinar-W f/9 300mm APO Germinar f/9 240mm Geraminar W f/9 210mm Docter Tessar f/4.5

In the photographic world, famous optical companies abound. Years ago it was Kodak with their much vaunted and still incredibly sharp Commercial Ektar series. In modern times companies like Schneider, Rodenstock, Fuji, and Nikon are well known and widely used by photographers who use large cameras. Lesser known manufacturers include Wollensak, Zeiss, Voigtlaender, Bausch and Lomb, and many many others. And then there are lens manufacturers practically no one has ever heard of. Docter Optics was one of these manufacturers.

Through the very kind knowledge and leadership of Kerry Thalmann, I have come to own four incredible Docter Optics lenses. They are the 150mm Germinar-W f/9, the 210mm Tessar f/4.5, the 240mm Germinar-W f/9, and the 300mm APO Germinar f/9 lenses.

History

Arne Croell has written about Large format lenses from Docter Optic. He has studied these interesting lenses over the years and has been published in places like View Camera magazine discussing the topic. For more information it's worth reading his materials.

Kerry has also written about Docter Optic lenses. Here is what he says.

Some of you may be familiar with the name Docter Optics, but I suspect many of you are not. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the Zeiss name. So, I'll start there. Following WWII Zeiss, which was located in the East German city of Jena, was split into two different companies with similar names. The East German Carl Zeiss, known as VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, under the control of the East German government and the West German Carl Zeiss in a newly built plant in Oberkochen. Of course, the West German Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen became famous as the maker of lenses for such medium format SLRs as Hasselblad and Rollei. The East German Carl Zeiss became the primary supplier of high end medium and large format lenses to the Eastern Block communist countries. They continued to make such classic designs as the Zeiss Tessar in a wide variety of focal lengths. Although many cameras manufactured in the former Eastern Block nations often suffer from poor reliability and inconsistent quality control, the same is not necessarily true of lenses from these countries - especially lenses made by VEB Carl Zeiss Jena. In fact, these lenses are still sought out by many photographers for their quality construction and excellent optical performance.

OK, fast forward to the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s. After the reunification the assets of state owned companies, such as VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, were sold to the highest bidder. Since VEB Carl Zeiss Jena was a very large and diverse company, it was sold off in pieces. The division that made large format lenses was bought by an optical designer of some renown, Bernhard Docter and renamed Docter Optics, Inc. Docter Optics continued to make Zeiss classic designs, such as the Tessar and APO Germinar, but adapted them mechanically to fit into standard Copal shutters.

Now the unfortunate part. Right as Docter Optics was ramping up production and becoming a legitimate supplier of fine large format lenses, Bernhard Docter passed away. After Herr Docter's untimely death, his company, Docter Optics, plunged into bankruptcy. This was truly a loss to the large format community. It would have been wonderful to see what new lens designs Docter Optics could have produced under the guidance of such a talented man (Bernhard Docter was a pioneer in the area of aspheric lens manufacturing techniques). Docter Optics was again split into parts and the divisions sold off. Unfortunately, the company that bought the division that made large format lenses had no intention of continuing to produce the Docter Optics large format lens lines. They immediately discontinued production of all Docter Optics large format lenses, and eventually scrapped existing inventory. How unfortunate, but that's the way big business operates.

150mm Germinar-W f/9

My lens is mounted in a Seiko #0 shutter. Configured in this way, the lens is extremely light at 135grams. Mounted in a nice Compur shutter would bring the weight down to 130grams (the same as an old Schneider 90mm Angulon f/6.8). It is by far the smallest modern multi-coated lens that I know of in 150mm's that covers 4x5 or 5x7. Mine is particularly sharp.

Kerry continues...

Fortunately, not all Docter Optics lenses were lost or destroyed. During 1999 and 2000 several of the lenses of the remaining Docter Optics inventory were purchased by a gentleman who lived within reasonable driving distance of the former Docter Optics plant in Saalfeld. He was not able to save them all, but he did rescue several from ending up in a landfill. These are the lenses I am offering here. All were manufactured in 1995 and they are some of the very last lenses to be produced by Docter Optics, Inc. These lenses are being offered as he purchased them off the shelves at the former Docter Optics plant in Saalfeld. They are wrapped in the same plastic as when they were placed on the shelves at the Saalfeld plant. It is believed that approximately 250 of the 150mm Germinar W lenses were produced. As mentioned, many of these ended up being destroyed - literally thrown out with the trash. Considerably less than 100 are believed to have survived. I have been an eBay member since before it was called eBay (anybody else remember when it was AuctionWeb?). I watch the large format listings fastidiously, and in all my years I have seen exactly ONE Germinar-W lens offered on eBay. It was a 240mm Germinar-W that sold several months ago on the British eBay site. It is no small coincidence that the original source of that lens also happened to be the same gentleman who has provided these lenses to me. I have NEVER seen a 150mm Germinar W previously offered for sale on eBay, or anywhere else. There really aren't very many of these in existence.

The 150mm f9 Germinar W is a multicoated lens of plasmat construction (6 elements in 4 groups). The design is very similar to the Schneider G Claron and the highly regarded Fujinon A series. Like the Fujinon A, coverage at f22 is 70 degrees. This yields an image circle of about 210mm at f22. This is enough coverage for 4x5 with room left over for movements, or enough to just hit the corners of 5x7 without movements. Like the G Claron, usable coverage continues to increase as you stop down further. The circle of illumination is much larger than the circle of sharp definition. Significant movements, with good corner-to-corner sharpness can be realized on the 5x7 format by stopping down to f32 or f45. Like the 150mm G Claron, this makes the 150mm Germinar W and great lens for 4x5 or even 5x7 landscape photography. Like the G Claron, The 150mm Germinar W is quite compact and lightweight for a lens capable of covering the 5x7 format. In fact, it's the smallest, ligtest multicoated lens ever made capable of covering 4x5 or 5x7. The filter size is 35.5mm and the weight in the original barrel is about 150g. Like the G Claron, the 150mm Germinar W directly fits into a standard No. 0 shutter (Copal, Compur, Prontor or Seiko). In a Compur 0 shutter, as shown below, the weight is an unbelievable 132g. I know of no other multicoated, shutter mounted lens this light capable of covering 4x5, let alone 5x7. This makes the 150mm Germinar W the backpacker's dream lens.

240mm Germinar-W f/9

I just picked up one of these lenses. It appears to be as small and light as Schneider's 240mm GClaron. I an anxious to try this lens for two reasons. First, it comes multicoated (which is something Schneider never did with their GClaron lenses). Second, I mounted this lens in a #1 Prontor shutter that came with a multi-blade aperture. The aperture opening is nearly perfectly round. If there are any effects on the out of focus areas due to the shape of the aperture, perhaps I will see some benefit from using this lens in the Prontor shutter. I'm also excited to try this lens as I might make a good companion when traveling overseas. It might be a replacement for the 200Nikkor and 300Nikkor combination. 240mm might "split" the difference nicely, and keep the lens kit weight to a minimum.

Kerry continues...

The 240mm f9 Germinar W is a multicoated lens of plasmat construction (6 elements in 4 groups). The design is very similar to the Schneider G Claron and the highly regarded Fujinon A series. Like the Fujinon A, coverage at f22 is 70 degrees. This yields an image circle of about 336mm at f22. This is enough coverage for 8x10 with very modest movements. Like the G Claron, usable coverage continues to increase as you stop down further. The circle of illumination is much larger than the circle of sharp definition. Significant movements, with good corner-to-corner sharpness can be realized on the 8x10 format by stopping down to f32 or f45. Like the 240mm G Claron, this makes the 240mm Germinar W and great lens for 8x10 landscape photography. Like the G Claron, The 240mm Germinar W is quite compact and lightweight for a lens capable of covering the 8x10 format. The filter size is 49mm and the weight in the original barrel is about 230g. Like the G Claron, the 240mm Germinar W directly fits into a standard No. 1 shutter (Copal, Compur, Prontor or Seiko). In a Copal Press No. 1 shutter, as shown below, the weight is a very modest 280g.

Docter Optic 210mm f/4.5 Tessar

This has got to be the craziest lens in my kit. It's a 210mm lens mounted in a huge #3 Copal shutter. The lens barrels themselves are not all that large. Docter Optic also made a 180mm Tessar lens that too was mounted in a #3 shutter. It's wonderful overkill for a Tessar. Most modern 210mm lenses come mounted in #1 shutters. Schneider's huge 210mm Super Symmar Xl is the exception. It too comes mounted in a #3 shutter. The other exception is Nikon's wonderously small 200mm M f/8. It comes in a #0 shutter. Perhaps Docter Optics needed a "clear" light path for their large aperture Tessar? This may be the case as Schneider's 210mm Xenar is limited to f/6.1 and is mounted in a #1 shutter.

Kerry continues...

The 210mm f4.5 Tessar is the classic Zeiss 4/3 design that was originally patented and produced over 100 years ago. The Tessar is the most successful and most copied lens design in the history of photography. Tessars and tessar-copies have been made for all formats from subminature throuh ultra large format. Tessars combine a fast maximum aperure with moderate coverage. At f4.5, the 210mm Tessar makes a good portrait lens for the 4x5 format. Stopped down, it makes a great general purpose lens for the 4x5 or 5x7 formats. These are single coated lenses in modern Copal No. 3 shutters with properly fitting front and rear lens caps and factory engraved aperture scales. They are beautiful lenses that are ready for immediate use. Note, most of these lenses are labeled "Tessar", but a small fraction carries the "Doctar" name instead. There is no difference in the design or performance. This brief name change was due to a legal dispute between Docter Optics and Carl Zeiss Oberkochen. These lenses take 58mm filters and weigh 565g.

210mm Docter Tessar f/4.5, 1/2 sec, TMax100	210mm Docter Tessar f/5.6, 1 sec, TMax100	210mm Docter Tessar f/8, 2 sec, TMax100

These images were taken to prove to myself just how sharp this lens could be at wider apertures. While the image at f/4.5 appears a little soft due to the lack of depth of field, there is nothing preventing me from using the Docter Optic 210mm Tessar f/4.5 lens for selective focus images. The resolution and contrast of the lens at f/4.5 is simply amazing. At f/5.6 this lens is as sharp and contrasty as anything I have ever personally used. I don't know what else to say, but I'm pleasantly shocked at the performance of this lens!

300mm APO Germinar f/9

The 300mm APO Germinar is very small and very light. It is lighter than a 300mm Nikkor. Mine is mounted in yet another round aperture Prontor #1 shutter. In use, this is one of my sharpest most contrasty lenses. Surprisingly it is only single coated.

Kerry continues...

The APO Germinar is a 4/4 dialyte design similar to the classic Goerz Red Dot APO Artar and the Rodenstock APO Ronar. These lenses were originally designed for demanding reprographic work, but due to their small size and outstanding performance, they are also highly prized for general studio use and well as landscape photography in the field. The manufacturer's published coverage is a conservative 46 degrees. This yields an image circle of about 255mm for the 300mm focal length. As these lenses throw a much larger circle of illumination than their stated coverage, you will often encounter inflated coverage claims. To be conservative, I will state that the 300mm APO Germinar is an excellent, compact lens for general purpose 4x5 or 5x7 photography. I would definitely NOT recommend this lens for general purpose 8x10 use. As long as you don't try to push the coverage too much (again, not recommended for 8x10), the peformance of this lens is truly outstanding.

How many of these in existance?

Reliable sources tell me that perhaps less than 40 300mm APO Germinar f/9 lenses are in existance. Less than 90 240mm Germinar-W f/9 lenses may exist. Less than 60 150mm Germinar-W f/9 may have survived the Docter Optic buy-out. I don't know how many 210mm Tessar f/4.5 lenses exist. But if it's any indication, a 180mm f/4.5 mounted in Copal #3 shutter turned up on eBay recently. However this all shakes out, very very few of the marvelous lenses escaped into the wilds to be used as regular photographic optics. In a way, the small number of examples are a crime against humanity. Or at least against nutter photographers. Docter Optics appeared ready to deliver lenses to large format practioners in areas not already covered by the competition. It's sad that we will never know how well these fine lenses would have been received.

Email if interested in providing comments or feedback: Christopher Perez