On the heals of the Biotar 75mm f/1.5, I came across a posting for a Biotar 70mm f/1.4 in a Leica L39 mount. Was this a real lens? The serial number of the lens is 2620709, and it was selling for ca. C$78K. The serial number suggests it was produced in 1939.
This is a strange lens because there is very little information regarding its provenance. CollectiBlend suggests only 116 lenses were produced between 1929 and 1939. Most seem like they have been adapted to mounts such as M42. The early 1930s Zeiss catalogs do specify a 70mm f/1.4 lens, however it is for cinematographic work, specifically recommended for 40×35mm format. By the late 1930s they were also being advertised for miniature, i.e. 35mm cameras. This was however not advertised for use with either Contax 35mm camera offered by Zeiss-Ikon, which advertised a 85mm as a portrait lens.
According to the catalogs of the period, there were a series of f/1.4 Biotars, in 2cm, 2.5cm, 4cm, and 5cm focal lengths in addition to the 7cm (70mm). The Biotar initially played virtually no role at all for still image cameras. In fact one of the most numerous Biotars produced at that time was the Biotar 2.5cm f/1.4 which went into production in1928. By the end of WW2, just over 1,300 units had been manufactured, most of which were delivered to Bell & Howell or Kodak, but also to Siemens, among others. The Biotar 4cm f/1.4 was created as a medium focal length for 18×24mm standard film cameras – the format used in 35mm cine cameras.
Now I have seen three different versions of this lens, none of which really meshes with the descriptions found in early catalogs – here the lenses are cited to a mount diameter of 60mm, and come in either an “N” mount (for cameras with bellows extensions), or an “A” mount (for folding and other hand cameras). The few lenses available today are in the form of re-housed optics, i.e. the lens has been adapted at come point to fit mounts like the Leica mount. Some of these lenses were made for “miniature” cameras, and so some may actually have native LTM mounts.
Crafting Pixels 