Last year I bought a Voigtlaender Collinear Series II No. 8 off eBay; it was billed as a No. 5 and represented as 250mm focal length. Its maximum aperture is f/6.3. The brass was pretty dark, and when I bought it I didn't notice that the '5' was really a very clear '8' when seen with a magnifying glass.
I've just been through a long protracted move from the Yukon to central Manitoba (and it isn't all over yet, had to put some things off for spring when winter arrived with a bang), and just now getting back to things photographic. So the lens stayed packed for several months before I got around to a close inspection.
It's a hefty beast weighing in at 3 lbs. 13 oz. Engraved on the brass barrel: "The Voigtlaender & Son Opt. Co. - New York" and opposite, "Collinear No. 58560 - Series II No. 8 - F 6.3". The front element measures around 70mm, pretty big for an f/6.3 10-inch lens. There is no focal length indicated on the barrel. I held it up to the front end of my 4x5 view but even at full bellows draw (14") things weren't in focus. (I was inside on a cold day with the wind ripping outside, so I didn't take it out for an infinity check.) The front element would suggest a focal length on the order of 475mm.
Does anyone have the correct focal length for this old Voigtlaender? I'm just sitting here idly wondering, before I try to decide whether the lens will be useful mainly for 8x10! My smaller formats may not have the bellows draw for it.
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