History: The Ross lenses are very well known and respected, especially the Ross Cabinet portrait petzvals are among the fines optics ever made. This specimen is not a portrait lens, but is still very fascinating, or maybe even more because of that. The Actinic Doublet layout was introduced by Ross in the very early days of photography as a landscape and still-life lens. It features a non symmetrical layout and was quite well corrected for most aberrations, but not as well as the later introduced Aplanats. That is the reason that Ross stopped the production in 1874 in favor of the Aplanat design. The fact of beeing not completly corrected was a weakness back then, but its rather what makes the lens more interesting today. There are plenty of overcorrected apo lenses or aplanats around, but this lens will not only offer a wide angle view, but also some character of its own.

Condition: The lens comes in a nice and authentic condition. I decided not to polish it, since the patina adds to the authencity and most of the protective laquere is still present to prevent the brass from oxidation.

The glass is mostly in a ok condition. The very big glass elements shows some scratches and cleaning marks front and back, but not nearly enaugh to affect the image quality here.

Interestlingly the lens features not only a working aperture dial, but also a shutter mechanism (no speeds, just hand operated). Both work here.

With its focal lenght of about 280mm. The image circle of this specimen is very big, i think it is safe to say that it will cover at least 10x12 and probably even 11x14 formats.

The lens comes with a fitting flange!



height: 8cm
width: 9cm
weight: 950gr

Insured and tracked shipping cost:

Germany - 10 eur
EU* - 20 eur
Worldwide - 70 eur

*(the site offers only 2 shipping variations, DE and worldwide. buyers from EU please either contact me beforehand for a reduced EU cost, or after buying so i can send a refund over the difference)

Importent Note: This item comes from my private collection and is around 100 years old (antique). I try my best to describe all the faults and major damage which are relevant for the function of this item. But the actuall item can show signs of wear and also some cosmetic blemishes/damage which is not described in the auction text! When buying this item the buyer agrees to this terms.