Steinheil Cassarit 105mm vs UV-Nikkor 105mm for reflected UV photography

Today a comparison between the well known UV-Nikkor 105mm lens and the lesser known Steinheil Cassarit f4.5/105mm enlarger lens. I'm using a patterned Phalaenopsis flower for that comparison and my work horse UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash as well as a Nichia 365nm UV LED. All shots done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one; UV-Nikkor is on the left, Steinheil Cassarir is on the right]

UV-Nikkor vs Steinheil 105mm: VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter and Xenon flash:
 

UV-Nikkor vs Steinheil 105mm: UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and Xenon flash:
 

UV-Nikkor vs Steinheil 105mm: UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and UV LED:
 


That Steinheil lens transmits down to about 330nm and at 365nm has about 65% transmission. It needs refocussing when used for UV and the focus difference VIS-UV is just 1.2%, which the corrected UV-Nikkor lens does not need.

This comparison shows, that the UV-Nikkor 105mm is very hard to beat, but this Steinheil lens does very well, especially when used with an UV LED, considering it being a simple triplet lens. Finding a longer focal length UV-capable lens is a hard thing to do, so that Steinheil seems to be rather useful!

I have written about other Steinheil lenses HERE.

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

Steinheil Quinon 152mm vs UV-Nikkor 105mm for reflected UV photography

Today a comparison between the well known UV-Nikkor 105mm lens and the hardly known Steinheil Quinon f2.8/152mm lens (this lens seems to be a prototype as a f2.8 Quinon is not known, not even in the Steinheil production list). I'm using a white Phalaenopsis flower for that comparison and my work horse UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash as well as a Nichia 365nm UV LED. All shots done at f11.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Steinheil 152mm: UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and Xenon flash:
 

UV-Nikkor 105mm: UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and Xenon flash:
 

Steinheil 152mm: UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and UV LED:
 

UV-Nikkor 105mm UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and UV LED:
 

Comparison, UV-Nikkor image scaled to fit Steinheil:
 


That Steinheil lens transmits down to about 340nm and at 365nm has about 35% transmission.

This comparison shows, that the UV-Nikkor 105mm is very hard to beat, but finding a longer focal length UV-capable lens is a hard thing to do, so that Steinheil seems to be rather useful!

I have written about other Steinheil lenses HERE.

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] Steinheil Quarzobjektiv f1.8 / 50mm for reflected ultraviolet UV photography

This Steinheil Quarzobjektiv f1.8 / 5cm (50mm) is from the Steinheil Museum and I was very lucky to be able to be there at the right time when parts were dissolved. Only one lens is known, this one.



So today I was digging for some stuff in that lens fault, when the really nice weather made me want to give it a ride to the park for the last hour open. So here some results, quite open and quite closed aperture for comparison:

[click on image to see a larger one]







Even dating from the 20ies of this century, it performs quite well, especially at that enormous speed of f1.8 - which was needed, as it was made to record faint spectra of Steinheil's famous "Quarz Spektrograph". It is most likely a 4e4g lens design, so astonishingly not a triplet.

I was able to record some "UV yellow" flowers reflecting around 360nm, which funny enough are also deep yellow in visible light.


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] Spring Anemone Flowers in Reflected Ultraviolet UV Light

Today about yellow and pink Anemones in reflected ultraviolet light. Also these were shot using my Steinheil Quarzobjektiv f1.8 / 5cm (50mm) originating from the Steinheil Museum, which I have published earlier about.

[click on image to see a larger one]

I was able to record "UV yellow" Anemone flowers, reflecting UV around 360nm, which funny enough are also deep yellow in visible light.



Here more shots about those special pink Anemones, which have in UV a reverse pattern than in visible light!






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

Surprising STEINHEIL f2.8/50mm lens for reflected UV photography VII - Focus Shift

This again is about this older 50mm lens, which was made decades ago by famous lens maker STEINHEIL which attracted me, since it showed some seemingly good UV transmission, which have already shown here. I have already shown that it performs quite well using the Baader-U filter, and using some even deeper reaching UV filters, using a 340nm shortpass and the IDAS 330nm filter (I have the 2" version, no longer made).

Now I wanted to show today how the focus shift of this, or any other lens can be easily made visible. All images shot at f8, using a modified Xenon flash.

[click on image gets you a larger image]

VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter:
 

UV image using Bader-U filter (approx. 320-390nm, peak 360nm):
 

UV image using IDAS UV filter (approx. 300-380nm, peak 330nm):
 

UV image using 340nm UV filter (approx. 320-340nm):
 

Now it is about to show how those images differ in size, using a method I call "differential", i.e. a subtraction of two images, one visible and one UV, where any focus shift will show as overlapping on the borders of the object. If you looks close you will see this around the object.

VIS-UV (Baader-U filter) differential image:
 

VIS-UV (IDAS UV filter) differential image:
 

VIS-UV (340nm UV filter) differential image:
 

It got quite obvious before, that this lens is also performing very well at even shorter wavelengths, making it a very useful lens for reflected UV down to 330-340nm at an optimal f8/f11 setting, especially since the image size deviation between visible and UV image is also only 1.3% , which can be easily seen (and measured) from those differential images.

I have written about that lens more HERE.

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

Steinheil Quarz f1.8 50mm and UV LEDs

So since the UV-LEDs for UV photography seem to work quite nicely, here now some results using very old (1933) and very recent (2007) technology hand-in-hand. It is (again) that Steinheil f1.8 50mm Quarz Objektiv (quartz lens) mounted with a suitable helicoid to an Olympus E-510 DSLR, which I start to like more and more. The life preview, also in 7x and 10x digital zoom, works acceptably well also in UV.

My favorate target was used again, that nice Rudbeckia flower which is known to sport some sharp UV pattern. Plus this time also UV fluorescence will be tested out.

As light source a 375nm UV LED was used here and no other modifications were done, not even an filter was used. Here now the UV shot using the Baader 2" U-filter, just color balanced to taste, no other modifications done.




The second shot I used the same UV LED, but the filter used was the Baader UV/IR Cut filter, to suppress UV.




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

Surprising STEINHEIL f2.8/50mm lens for reflected UV photography III

I had mentioned in my previous thread, that a few years ago I got an older lens, which was made decades ago by famous lens maker STEINHEIL . It is a possibly single coated, well made 2.8/50mm lens which attracted me, since it showed some seemingly good UV transmission when shining an 365nm UV LED beam through it. The surprise came when I had it under my spectrometer, revealing its high and deep reaching UV transmission, no other normal lens so far showed. But some outdoor images taken with it revealed, that it cannot be used fully open at f2.8 due to lacking sharpness and definition. So here now some indoor shots done in a controlled environment, using a modified Xenon flash for high UV output.

[click on image gets you a larger image]

VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) at f4:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) at f5.6:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) at f8:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) at f11:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) at f16:
 

VIS and UV image side-by-side both at f8:
 

As I had mentioned before, it got pretty clear that this lens has a very high UV performance, at 365nm it transmits around 75%, very close to the Kuribayashi 35mm which has 80%. Its peak transmission with Baader-U filter attached is around 68% at 360nm.

At f2.8 however the resulting images did not look as sharp as wished for, but stopping down has improved sharpness significantly, especially in reflected UV light, which by its shorter wavelength in theory resolves approx. 1.6x more. It gets quite obvious, that this lens is a clearly excellent and very useful lens for reflected UV at optimal f8/f11, especially since the image size deviation between visible and UV image is a bare 1.3% only.

I will in the next thread show the deep(er) UV performance of this lens...

I have written more about this lens HERE.

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

Surprising STEINHEIL f2.8/50mm lens for reflected UV photography IV

I had mentioned in my previous thread, that a few years ago I got an older lens, which was made decades ago by famous lens maker STEINHEIL . It is a possibly single coated, well made 2.8/50mm lens which attracted me, since it showed some seemingly good UV transmission when shining an 365nm UV LED beam through it. The surprise came when I had it under my spectrometer, revealing its high and deep reaching UV transmission.  I have already shown that it performs quite well using the Baader-U filter, and here now its performance using some even deeper reaching UV filters, using a 340nm shortpass and the IDAS 330nm filter.

[click on image gets you a larger image]

VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter:
 

UV image using IDAS UV filter (approx. 330-370nm) at f5.6:
 

UV image using IDAS UV filter (approx. 330-370nm) at f8:
 

UV image using IDAS UV filter (approx. 330-370nm) at f11:
 

UV image using IDAS UV filter (approx. 330-370nm) at f16:
 

UV image using 340nm UV filter (approx. 320-340nm) at f5.6:
 

UV image using 340nm UV filter (approx. 320-340nm) at f8:
 

UV image using 340nm UV filter (approx. 320-340nm) at f11:
 

UV image using 340nm UV filter (approx. 320-340nm) at f16:
 

VIS and UV (IDAS) image side-by-side both at f8:
 

VIS and UV (340nm) image side-by-side both at f8:
 

As I had mentioned before, it got pretty clear that this lens has a very high UV performance, as at 365nm it transmits around 75%. Its peak transmission with Baader-U filter attached is around 68% at 360nm. At shorter wavelengths it still has a very useful 56% transmission at 340nm and 22% at  320nm.

Before I had shown here, that stopping down has improved sharpness significantly, especially in reflected UV light using the Baader-U filter. Now it gets quite obvious, that this lens is also performing very well at even shorter wavelengths, making it a very useful lens for reflected UV down to 330-340nm at an optimal f8/f11 setting, especially since the image size deviation between visible and UV image is also only 1.3% there .

I have written about that lens more HERE.

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

Surprising STEINHEIL f2.8/50mm lens for reflected UV photography I

Quite a few years ago I got an older lens, which was made many years ago by famous lens maker STEINHEIL. It is a possibly single coated, well made 2.8/50mm lens which attracted me, since it showed some seemingly good UV transmission when shining an 365nm UV LED through it. The surprise came when I had it under my spectrometer, revealing its high and deep reaching UV transmission, no other normal lens so far showed.

[click on image gets you a larger image]

Today now the spectrometric results as one of the best performing "normal" lenses for UV, slso showing the transmissing with the Baader-U filter, as well as a 290-340nm filter:



It gets pretty clear that this lens has a very high UV performance, at 365nm it transmits around 75%, very close to the Kuribayashi 35mm which has 80%. Its peak transmission with Baader-U filter attached is around 68% around 360nm. Using that deeper 290-340nm UV filter which peaks at 334nm with 68% transmission, it still has a 32% total transmission at its peak at 338nm.

 A very useful lens for reflected UV this seems to be, but photographic tests still needs to be done...

I have written about this lens more HERE.

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

Surprising STEINHEIL f2.8/50mm lens for reflected UV photography II

I had previously mentioned that a few years ago I got an older lens, which was made decades ago by famous lens maker STEINHEIL. It is a possibly single coated, well made 2.8/50mm lens which attracted me, since it showed some seemingly good UV transmission when shining an 365nm UV LED through it. The surprise came when I had it in my spectrometer, revealing its high and deep reaching UV transmission, no other normal lens so far showed. Now some outdoor images taken with it, all at f2.8 to see if that lens speed could be used. Light was overcast sunlight.

[click on image gets you a larger image]

VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm):
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and 340nm shortpass filter stacked:
 

VIS image using UV/IR Cut filter:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm):
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm) and 340nm shortpass filter stacked:
 

It got pretty clear that this lens has a very high UV performance, at 365nm it transmits around 75%, very close to the Kuribayashi 35mm which has 80%. Its peak transmission with Baader-U filter attached is around 68% at 360nm. Using that deeper 290-340nm UV filter which peaks at 334nm with 68% transmissing, it still has a 32% total transmission at its peak at 338nm.

At f2.8 however the resulting images do not look as sharp as wished for, so another test will have to reveal if stopping down will improve sharpness considerably.

I have written about this lens more HERE.

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