This is '4', I don't what this thing is, but it's got 4 of 'em connected to it, so I'm calling it '4'.   This glass bowl seems to work very well as base/stage for my SM, so I used it again for this.

I've angled my lighting so that the glass base is reflecting a good percentage of the illumination being reflected off the wall from my beauty dish, and should give you an idea of what the Kodak Portrait does w/these kind of highlights.  My small metal sculpture is picking some highlights. 

With quite a bit more highlights in the shot albeit still indirect lighting, the Kodak Portrait is acting more like what it is, a Semi-Achromatic w/a glow. 

I imagine that the more illumination/direct the lighting is, the less the 'Lumenized' coating is able to deal w/it, and you of course get more of a glow, I'm guessing at this point.  

Just looking at this shot, compared to my experiences w/the Pinkhams, and the effect of a modern multi-coating like on the Cooke PS 945, I get the impression that the coating process being a different animal back when this lens was 'lumenized'  was just right for a S/F lens(well...this one at least).  The Veritar, which is a coated Verito, never worked for me, but the Kodak's 'Lumenized' coating doesn't seem to 'knock out' what a Semi-Achromatic does best.

As to all of this, Steve Nichols had a very intuitive response about this, that holds true for these S/F lenses.  You can interchange looks between all of this glass by stopping down, manipulating your illumination/kicking it up/kicking it down.   

What do you think?

I haven't done a thing to this shot, I left it in color since the Kodak has a 'Lumenized' coating, and I think the departure for this lens versus the other S/F lenses excluding the Cooke PS945 is obviously it's coating.

I've got the feeling I'll have a long wait in terms of shooting the rest of the images I plan to do for my 'Blask Mask' project, which is usual, so I did this shot to keep loose and to see how the Kodak compares to the other S/F glass out there.

Whatever you want to call this glass, it's essentially later iteration of a Pinkham Semi-Achromatic w/coating, and w/a coating it will be more forgiving than the uncoated and less forgiving Pinkhams.  Said another way,  playing around w/your lighting, the kodaks 'Lumenized' coating will cut you some slack if you're trying to tone down halation, whereas using an uncoated Pinkham helps to play up flare if that's  your choice.

This is backlit with illumination coming through a window which has silk draped over it.  I've got the lid to my Apothecare jar sitting on a glass bowl which is on my posing stool.   It was shot wide open and the shutter was set to 1/25 sec.  This particular lighting set-up seems to agree w/the kodak personality and I love the 'smooth clarity' and 'sparkly' aspect of this shot.  'Pearlescence' again comes to mind w/this shot and w/this lens.

It is elegant in its treatment of the background.   This was one particular lighting set-up, from experimenting w/diff lighting set-ups I can tell that you'll be able to get plenty of glow/halation if you want it, as w/the Pinkhams and other glass.  

Where this lens will shine(ahem!!), is in the indirect/subdued/low intensity envelope illumination wise, where you want sparkle in the highlights while still retaining some detail(or the illusion of it) and and very little or no halation. 

On one end of the spectrum in terms of a look, you have the Cooke PS945/Kodak Portrait/Pinkham VQ-IV, and then the Pinkham Semi-Achromatics/Verito/Struss glass on the other end w/'balls out softness' and a tremendous amount halation if you want it.

Anyway, that's my take on it.   Each of these lenses has a personality/signature, the 305mm Kodak Portrait lens has the market cornered on the 'pearlescent' look and it can do this look w/crystal clarity.

I'm going to do 2 more shots for my tribute to 'Black Mask' mag, and I'm waiting for the right face, a feminine face, a face that exudes mystery to complete the last two shots of that gallery.   I may have a long wait, but I'm not in that much of a hurry, because it's never helped to be in a hurry.

Surfing around for the various portrait/soft focus lenses that had come up for sale while I was waiting was my first mistake.   My second mistake was talking myself into bookmarking the auction of the Kodak Portrait lens that I eventually acquired, and my third mistake was finding out how much these classic lenses have gone down in price lately.   I'd promised myself no more $1,000-$2,000 lenses, and in my twisted logic, and in the grip of an 'irresistable impule', I rationalized that I was somehow not betraying my promise to myself by bidding out under $500.00 for the Kodak.

It is after all, the Kodak version of the Pinkham & Smith Semi-Achromatic, with an Ilex #5 Universal shutter which used to be worth $300.00 all by its lonesome.

I expected this to happen, because the realization is finally sinking in that these lenses are harder to use than other lenses, and the 'honeymoon' is ending w/many realizing that these lenses want you to do more for them than what they can do for you.   Only after putting in a tremendous amount of work and sweat into these lenses, will they start giving you a 'glimmer' of what you can imagine they can do.

Some will never wring the imagery from these lenses that they expected, and it might end up a good thing, ultimately, nudging folks into another direction where they can flourish, and lowering the prices for those who want to keep on trying to 'hang' w/these 'beasts'. 

This lens came w/it's original box which is quite fancy, and best of all, it comes w/an original manual, w/the manuals slant on the Kodak portrait lens and how to focus it.   The manual sheds further light on how folks felt 'back in the day' about the concept of how to focus a portrait navigating between the ears, the eyes, and the nose, which is a neverending conumdrum for the portaitist.   Most importantly, the manual talks about the concept of sharp inside soft as opposed to 'mush', and again, it will never happen, but I'm so sorry that the creators of these lenses will never get to see how some folks in their future, got these lenses to live again by way of what's being produce today.

Take care

This was taken using the 14.5 Verito on 4x5 Ekfe 25. It was taken wide open -- f/4.

I used a light tent with a black background (I only have black or white).

When it's sweet, it's sweet.  This is about an 8 1/2" focal lens.  Wide open, as soon as I saw the ground glass I was hooked.  6 shots yesterday and 6 today.  I'll create a page at my website of images with this lens.  It seems to have the perfect blend.   Like butter.  It's found a home on the 5X7 Speed Graphic.