Importent Notice: I will be travelling through Europe during the next couple of months. The shop will be open for orders in the meantime. The coming shipping window will be Dez the 15th to 20th. There i will be able to proccess any orders.

This will be the last shipping window in 2024. The next shipping window will be somewhen around March 2025. So if you want your lens sooner then later, order in the coming two weeks.

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 Triplet appeared in Ross catalouges around 1864. Having a similar layout as the Dallmeyer Triplet, the lenses were marketed as variable landscape and group portrait lenses. 

It features a non symmetrical layout and was quite well corrected for most aberrations, but not as well as the later introduced Aplanats (or Rapid Rectilinears). That is the reason that Ross stopped the production around 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: A large Actinic triplet in such a big size is quite rare. Especially since the lens comes in a nice and authentic condition. I decided not to polish it, in my opinion the patina adds to the authencity and most of the protective laquere is still present to prevent the brass from oxidation.

The glass is in a great condition condition as far as i can see. All three glass elements are present and in good condition, i even can hardly spot any cleaning marks here (which is quite rare).

With its focal lenght of about 460mm and an open aperture of about F12. The image circle of this specimen is very big, i think it is safe to say that it will cover at least 11x14.

If youre fed up shooting your landscapes with overcorrected APO lenses and Tessars and want to experiment with a very rare and authentic landscape lens, this is the thing for you.

The lens comes with the original flange!



height: 13cm
width: 8cm
weight: 950gr

Insured and tracked shipping cost:

Germany - 10 eur
EU* - 30 eur
Worldwide - 80 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.