PDA

View Full Version : Verito: the Loch Ness of Lenses



Toyon
20-Jan-2007, 16:27
Yes, I've analyzed the literature and searched the web and libraries. There seems to be no consensus on the actual design of the Wollensak Verito. Some claim it is a symmetrical lens (supported by Wollensak's own literature). Others claim it is periscopic in design, with a large single achromat in the front and a doublet in the back - similar to Wollensak's later Veritar design. Still others claim it is a wide open rapid rectilinear. Has anyone here actually taken apart a Verito to determine its layout? X-ray photos anyone?

Mark Sawyer
20-Jan-2007, 16:33
As the Verito was made in a lot of different focal lengths for a lot of years, there may not be one definitive answer...

(I've noticed that some have fairly long barrels with quite a bit of airspace between the front and rear elements, while others are as compact as a conventional lens.)

Jason Greenberg Motamedi
20-Jan-2007, 16:41
The Verito is an asymmetrical Periscopic lens. Singlet in front and a cemented doublet (achromat) in rear. B&L made a similar design called the semi-rectilinear, although I don't think it was a SF lens. The Veritar is the same design, but at f6 rather than f4, usually coated and better corrected for color aberrations.

The Pinkham Smith Visual Quality IV and the Hermagis Eidoscope are both RR designs with uncorrected spherical aberration, while the Busch Nicola Perscheid is a Periscopic.

Jason Greenberg Motamedi
20-Jan-2007, 16:43
PS: I have taken a number of Veritos apart for cleaning and the joy of seeing big pieces of glass...

Toyon
20-Jan-2007, 18:00
Jason, your answer seems to make the most sense. However, the following is a line from their 1919 catalog page describing the Verito:

The Verito is unique in construction, being a double lens, free from distortion because it is rectilinear.

Is it possible that the design changed? Have you had a chance to take apart your Verito and determine its construction?

Jason Greenberg Motamedi
20-Jan-2007, 19:43
Although I am not quite clear what "double lens" means, I guess that it means that it is a two group lens and perhaps it has less barrel (or pincushion?) distortion than a single group lens like the Imagon, the Graf Portland or the majority of the Pinkham Smith lenses.

I really doubt that the lens design has changed. I have opened a few Veritos and all were identical. I can't exactly date the ones I have examined since I can't find a Wolly serial correspondence, but would guess that they have run from the 1910s to the late 1940s.

David A. Goldfarb
20-Jan-2007, 20:39
I have two Veritos (Veriti? Veritoes? Veritae?), and I agree with Jason's interpretations. "Double lens" in this context seems to mean that it is a two-group lens, and "rectilinear" is just an adjective describing the quality of being a low-distortion lens, not an indication that it is an RR design.

wfwhitaker
22-Jan-2007, 20:55
..."Double lens" in this context seems to mean that it is a two-group lens, and "rectilinear" is just an adjective describing the quality of being a low-distortion lens, not an indication that it is an RR design.

Perhaps "Double lens" could also be taken to mean "convertible", a feature of the Verito which Wollensak liked to promote. Without the front element altogether, you're left with a doublet behind the stop which seems very reminiscent to me of the Kodak Portrait lenses. I have often wondered if the Kodak Portrait lens is not merely a Verito equivalent without a front element.

Jim Galli
22-Jan-2007, 23:12
I have had many Verito's apart for a soak in the detergent. They are as Jason has described. 3 elements 2 groups with the doublet at the rear. They seem less like an ahromatic meniscus when used singly than other AM's I own like the Gundlach. But that may well be attributed to the fact that as a single they are already at or beyond f8 which would have them pretty well corrected. Frank has a beauty for sale right here in the classifieds. Buy it and make some pics.