History: The Orthoskop is probably one of the most misunderstood and elusive lenses out there. The Orthoskop was the second design py Josef Maximilian Petzval, which he presented Voigtländer in the very begining of lens calculation/production. His portrait lens earned him (and Voigtländer) a great deal of respect and aknowledgement, while his second design: the landscape version of a petzval lens was almost forgotten. It was only around 1856 that Voigtländer started to produce this layout under the brand name 'Orthoskop'.

The most interesting part is, that the landscape version was not free of stigmatism and thus only a few lenses were produced by Voigtländer (and later Ross). But like with the portrait petzval version, flaws that did limit a lens in the past, do make a lens even more interesting today. Not unlike the portrait version the Orthoskop lens offers its own 'character', especially towards the edges and when shot wide open. There are not many landscape lenses that offer such a unique bokeh nowadays. This and the historical fact that it was the second lens design by Josef Petzval himself, make the lens even more sought after today.

The serial number is 8.737 which dates it back into the year 1860!

The lens offers a focal lenght of 290mm with a starting aperture around F8.7. It will work for formats up to 8x10.

Condition: This specimen comes in a very good condition. The brass still shows the nice and warm patina of time passed. The glass is mostly in good condition also, only minimal specs here and there, which wont affect the image qualitiy there.

Lens comes with a fitting flange.




height: 5cm
width: 6cm
weight: 200gr

Insured and tracked shipping cost:

Germany - 20 eur
EU* - 30 eur
Worldwide - 90 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.