An Illustrated Guide to Antique and Classic Soft Focus Lenses
Authors note: The definitive work on Soft Focus Lenses and their development in the history of photography is The Soft Focus Lens And Anglo-American Pictorialism by Mr. William Russell Young, III ( "Russ Young" ). This thesis was submitted by Mr. Young for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews in 2008.
While I make no attempt to challenge this superb work, I am creating this page as a basic primer on Antique and Classic Soft Focus Lenses with an emphasis on period advertisements and images of the equipment being discussed.
Dallmeyer Patent Portrait Lens
The history of Soft Focus Lenses typically starts with John Henry Dallmeyer.In 1866, Dallmeyer patented a lens based on Petzval's design, called "Diffusion of Focus Portrait Lens." This lens was later marketed as Dallmeyer's "Patent Portrait" Lens. Dallmeyer basically took the rear element group in Petzval's original design, flipped it and re-worked the lens a bit. He marketed the lens as having numerous benefits over Petzval's original design. It claimed better sharpness, reduced flare and vignetting, and less distortion. Additionally, Dallmeyer touted the feature of being able to unscrew the posterior cell of the lens to obtain greater "depth of definition."
In reality, unscrewing the cell just increased the amount of spherical aberration produced by the lens, which gave the illusion of greater depth of field, and along with it reduced sharpness ("diffusion") of the entire image.
This lens, in many ways, gave birth to the idea of purposely manufacturing lenses that did not have sharpness as its primary goal, but rather allowing and manipulating lens aberrations to create soft, diffused or "pictorial" imagery.
There were four models; "C" models at f/2, "B" models at f/3, "A" models at f/4 and "D" models at f/6. Although the larger "A" and "D" Lenses were always in a rigid mount, later versions of these lenses were, "supplied in lacquered brass or black aluminum mounts with iris diaphragm, also if desired in rack and pinion mounts with Waterhouse stops."
The Patent Portrait lenses were in high demand as they were of the highest quality and featured the option of diffusion. They would continue to be listed in Dallmeyer catalogues through the early 1930's, which equated to a sales run of close to 70 years.
Early model "2B" in brass lacquer with Waterhouse Stops. Image Courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com
Dallmeyer 5B. Image Courtesy of Westlicht Auctions
Later model "4A" in Rigid, black aluminum mount with iris diaphragm. Image Courtesy of Ebay User NALBOR
The next lens to be manufactured as a soft focus lens was the Dallmeyer-Bergheim lens, designed in 1893 and produced in 1896.Designed by John Dallmeyer's son, Thomas, at the request of painter J.S. Bergheim, this lens was made to produce soft definition without losing the natural structure of the object being photographed.As a result, this lens utilized both spherical and chromatic aberrations to achieve the desired look.It was also touted as the first lens to bring about a uniform diffusion to the entire image.
Anthony's Photographic Bulletin of 1896 states, "The Dallmeyer-Bergheim lens is composed of a single front lens of positive focus in combination with a single back lens of negative focus, the distance between the two being variable, thus giving considerable latitude of focal length. A softness and delicacy is obtainable with this lens that will please photographers. When stopped down, defining power and sharpness increase, this being absolute with about one-third the full aperture."
Interestingly, this lens was telephoto in construction (with variable focal length), which made it even more applicable to portraiture - however, it was slow with maximum apertures in the range of f/8 to f/15 (depending on the focal length), and was quite massive in size and weight - both which limited its usability. Despite some of its limitations, the lens was marketed for over 30 years and was updated in 1920 including a very light aluminum version ( #1 ) for reflex cameras.
1904 Advertisement from Kodak Ltd Catalogue
Bergheim # 2. Image Courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com
Bergheim # 1 (fixed focus). Image Courtesy of Liveauctioneers.com
Number 3 in original box. Image Courtesy of Alejandro Martinez
The New Photo Minature Magazine of 1921 describes the D-B Lens
At the turn of the century, the optical firm of Pinkham & Smitth from Boston, produced America's first Soft Focus Lens, which became known as the "Smith Lens" Series I with an aperture of f/6. Below you will find The New Photo-Miniature magazine's article from 1921, describing the Pinkham & Smith line of Soft Focus Lenses:
The Pinkham & Smith lenses were the most popular Soft Focus lenses in America from about 1901 thru about 1930 for those interested in "pictorial" image making.
From my research of period advertisements, it appears the original "Smith Lens" was being sold by 1901, the "Semi-Achromatic" Doublet by 1909, the Series III Doublet lens by 1910 or 1911, the Visual Quality by 1915 and the Synthetic by 1920.
Below you find some select pages from Pinkham & Smith's 1920 Soft Focus Lens catalog which are courtesy of Mr. Geoffrey Berliner, Director of the Center for Alternative Photography http://www.capworkshops.org/
P&S Semi-Achromatic Lens ( Series I ). Images Courtesy of EBAY User aoz_103
View through the front of the lens
Advertisement 1913 from American Photography Vol. 7
Arrow shows direction of light through the lens
Four versions of Pinkham & Smith's original Semi-Achromatic Lenses ( also known as the original "Smith Lens" and Series I ). Images Courtesy of Geoffrey Berliner from www.capworkshops.org
Version with knob adjusted iris
Version with iris adjusting ring
Brass version with Waterhouse Stops
Late version marked "Series I"
Pinkham & Smith Visual Quality Lenses
Note aperture ring and font differs from version to the right. Image Courtesy of Geoffrey Berliner
Image Courtesy of Jonathan Brewer
Pinkham & Smith Synthetic Lens including rare "Doublet" version. Images Courtesy of Geoffrey Berliner
"The "Pinkham Bi-Quality" lens is actually not a true Pinkham & Smith lens, but a later reproduction of an original Pinkham & Smith lens formula. Although I haven't yet been able to pinpoint the exact date of manufacture, to the best of my knowledge the lens was manufactured as a limited edition most likely in the mid-1950's. The lens formula used was taken from the Pinkham & Smith "Visual Quality" lens. [Interestingly, this same lens was used as the basis for another limited edition soft-focus lens made recently by Cooke Optics: the PS945.] Frank Peckman, a fine portrait photographer and lab owner, was a fan of the old Pinkham & Smith lenses. Pinkham & Smith were opticians in Boston, Massachusetts whose primary business was dispensing eyeglass prescriptions as well as making lenses for binoculars and telescopes. They had an interest in photography and gradually grew to have a store location on Bromfield Street, Boston's camera store street, which sold a full line of photographic supplies. In 1901 photographer F. Holland Day brought to Henry Smith a soft-focus lens made by Dallmeyer which he had brought back from a trip to Europe and asked if he could duplicate the lens. While Mr. Smith didn't duplicate the lens he did create his own formula for a new soft-focus lens which was new for an American lens manufacturer. Smith and Walter Wolfe, another Pinkham & Smith employee, would go on to produce several different styles of soft-focus lenses which would become the favorites of most of the U.S. pictorial photographers through the teens. Their "Visual Quality" lens is generally regarded as being their best (it has the least amount of diffusion) and was made from the late teens through the 1920's. Long story shorter (sorry!) Frank Peckman did his own fair amount of research into the defunct Pinkham & Smith Company and located the son of former company owner William F. Pinkham. He convinced the son that there was a legion of photographers who admired his father's legendary lenses and that they should manufacture a limited edition lens based on the original lens formula since it was becoming increasingly difficult to locate the original lenses. Pinkham's son was living in Lexington, Massachusetts which is why that is the city engraved on the lenses. They chose the most popular lens size for the time, the 14 inch (f4.5) which covers 8x10 and fits the large studio cameras. I haven't been able to find who did the actual lens manufacturing. Though based on the "Visual Quality" the "Bi-Quality" does not appear to have the hand-ground lenses of the original. The aperture appears to be most similar to the aperture used by Kodak for their own soft-focus lenses. I have compared image quality between the two lenses ("Bi-Quality" and "Visual Quality") and they are very similar, which is BEAUTIFUL! Since the vintage lenses were hand-ground I have noticed that image quality actually varies with each individual vintage lens--akin to a hand-made musical instrument having its own distinctive voice. Some lenses have a greater or lesser degree of softness at full aperture. As for the name "Bi-Quality", unfortunately I have yet to uncover the definitive answer to that as well. My guess would be that it is a combination of an homage to the original's name and references that the lens can either be used soft-focus or as a sharp focusing lens when stopped down. I'm also trying to find out how many of these lenses were produced in the total edition. I had heard an (unreliable) estimate of only 50, but I have personally seen three examples of this lens now bearing the engraved serial numbers: 45, 51 and 102."
Below is an example of this interesting lens:
Pinkham Bi-Quality Lens. Image Courtesy of Ebay User aoz_103
In 1903, the French optical house of Hermagis introduced the Eidoscope Lens. It was a 4 element, rectilinear design that produced its soft focus effects by retaining excessive spherical aberration. The soft focus effect is controlled by aperture changes. Note that this lens can also be used with just one lens group (2 elements), front or rear, just as most other rectilinear designs.
Wilson's Photographic Magazine of 1907 ran the following article to describe the Edisoscope:
The Photographic Monthly of 1906 had the following to say about the Eidoscope:
Image Courtesy of Leicashop.com
Image Courtesy of Leicashop.com
Below is a Hermagis Catalogue page showing the specifications of the Eidoscope. Image courtesy of Sven Schroder.
Later versions of the Eidoscope would be sold with an aperture of f/4.5 (down from f/5) and were finished in black paint. An example is found below - image courtesy of Liveauctioneers.com
The French partners of Puyo and Pulligny started designing soft focus lenses by the turn of the century.
The 1911 version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Camebridge, England), wrote, "Since 1903 Messrs C. Puyo and L. de Pulligny have been experimenting with various combinations of uncorrected lenses for producing the same effect in portrait and landscape photography by the diffusion of focus produced by chromatic aberration, and suitable lenses of this kind have recently been brought out in Paris as Les Objectifs d'artiste. In their construction the principal points to be considered are spherical aberration, to be minimized in the form and arrangement of the lenses selected; distortion, corrected by using a symmetrical system; astigmatism, avoided by using combinations of low power. The lenses used by Puyo have been: (1) a plano-convex crown with convex side in front at f/8 or f/9, or even f/5 for heads; (2) a simple thin concavo-convex meniscus, with concave side in front, is better and suitable for full lengths at f/10; (3) a symmetrical system formed of two similar crown menisci, concave sides inwards, is generally useful when worked at f/10, or even f/5. Arrangements are made in mounting these lenses for automatically making the necessary correction for colour. Another form is the "Adjustable Landscape Lens," formed of an anterior plano-convex crown, 3 cm. diameter, and a posterior plano-concave crown, each of 10 cm. focus, and the same radii of curvature. In contact they have an infinite focus, but when slightly separated any focus can be obtained up to about 10 cm. In such a telephotographic system, properly stopped down, anastigmatism, flatness of field, and rectilinearity are secured over a_ fairly large field. These lenses are fully described in Les Objectifs d'arliste, by L. de Pulligny and C. Puyo (Paris, 1906), and various forms, portrait and landscape, have been made by Messrs Hermagis, [Darlot], Turillon & Morin."
The Objectif d’Artiste Formule Anachromatique lens is shown below.
Objectif d’Artiste Formule Anachromatique. Image Courtesy of Antique-photography.com
Note in the above advertisement that two types of the Objectifs d'Artiste lenses were produced, the original "Formule Anachromatique" as well as the "Formule Demi-Anachromatique."
Aluminum version by Darlot. Image Courtesy of Westlicht Auctions
Aluminum version by Darlot. Image Courtesy of Westlicht Auctions
The L'adjustable Landscape Lens is usually attributed to only Pulligny, but was another well known soft focus lens that resembled the Dallmeyer-Bergheim lens. An article from the Amateur Photographer 1907 is shown below, describing the lens (click on the thumbnail to open in another window).
L'adjustable Landscape Lens. Image Courtesy of Collection AMI
Optical layout of the L'adjustable Landscape Lens
Other designs made by Puyo and Pulligny are shown to the right (from Photo-Gazette 1903, translated)
First design : "plano convex curve with opposite front and rear diaphragm, suitable for studies of heads"
Second design : "plano convex, with flat face forward and diaphragm in front, is preferable for the standing figures: opening must be maintained between f/:10 and f/15"
Third design : "The simple meniscus, turning its concavity towards the model; opening f/10"
Fourth design : "The symmetric two meniscus, gives a fairly large angle; opening f/5"
About 1904, Bausch & Lomb produced its Portrait Unar f/4.5 and Portrait Series A f/4 lenses which both featured a diffusing mechanism to be able to add varying degress of softness to otherwise sharp lenses. Based on the same principle of the Dallmeyer Patent Portrait lens, that is, altering the spacing of the rear elements to introduce spherical aberrations, the B&L lenses featured a convenient ring* on the lens to achieve that task.
Below is a 1912 catalogue entry for the Portrait Unar lens, courtesy of cameraeccentric.com.
Portrait Unar. Image Courtesy of Liveauctioneers.com
Below is an advertisement from the Photographic Times 1905 for the Portrait Unar.
Below is an 1904 ad for the Series A Portrait Lens and the lens itself ( image courtesy of Liveauctioneers.com).
*Early versions of the Portrait Unar have a different device for adjusting the diffusion than the later models which have a serrated ring. I speculate the projecting, tab-like device on early models was easily damaged, prompting the change.