Carl Zeiss Jena Lamegon 38mm: UV ultraviolet photography II

Well, I dug out this lens last weekend and took a few shots with it again, when I remembered that it can also be used for UV (and IR) despite its complex 8e/4g lens design incorporating lots of glass elements and a few cemented ones, based on the famous Biogon design of Dr Bertele. In my first Blog entry about this lens about a year ago I was referring to my friends site about such special and rare lenses HERE and there are also some UV and IR shots.

So today about UV photography using this lens, executed using one of my last Rudbeckia fulgida flowers. Shots were done using the UV Baader-U and XNUV filter as well as the bee vision simulating XB4 filter. My modified Xenon flash was used as a light source. Oh, and no focus correction was done!

[click on image to see a larger one]

Visual image using UV/IR Cut filter:


Simulated Bee vision using XBV4 filter:


UV image using XNUV filter:


UV image using Baader-U filter (with usual whitebalance):


UV image using Baader-U filter (with special whitebalance to resemble a quartz fluorite lens):

Well, the UV transmission is not that great, as may be seen from the colors of the second to last image, but still quite useful and especially sharp. So, maybe you you understand why I was so surprised again about the performance of that lens - no wonder its larger brothers (8/110mm and 5.6/55mm) were used in cold war as a aerial imaging lenses. And btw. if you like to see how amazingly this lens performs in the visual, have a look HERE from 2011 and HERE from this year.

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

[UV, VIS, IR] Carl Zeiss Jena Lamegon 38mm

I have this lens since quite a while but never really thought it would be useful for UV or IR due to its complex lens design incorporating lots of glass elements and a few cemented ones, based on the famous Biogon design of Dr Bertele. But well, I'm too much a curious engineer, so while I was digging through lenses, I thought, I should convert it and give it a chance...

Actually that lens design was developed and used long time as their (former GDR) best wide angle lens, used for their "Reihenmesskammer" for aerial reconnaissance. This lens here is a derivative of its larger brother, with an reduced image angle and most likely a symmetrical 8e/4g design.

Here is a technical article of my friend Marco Cavina, that covers such ultra wide angles nicely with lots of images and diagrams as well as showing never finished prototypes.

[click on image to see a larger one]

UV-VIS differential:


Focus shift? Very small and neglectable!

VIS:


UV:


Closeups:

VIS:


UV:


IR:


well, no complaints I would say..

[unfortunately also that flower has already started its decline, which UV shots reveal so easily...]


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos