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Thread: Big Wollensak Lens, any idea what it is?

  1. #1
    Pat Vasquez-Cunningham
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    Big Wollensak Lens, any idea what it is?

    This is my first post here on Large Format Forum, and I'm hoping someone can tell me what I have here.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I bought this recently at a camera shop in Albuquerque. It came with a mahogany lens board that fits a Century Studio camera (I checked the fit on a Century Studio Cam). It is a Wollensak lens, but there seems to be no identifying words on the front of the lens.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Could it be an older Verito lens? I've searched the web for clues as to what this lens could be, but perhaps I've not delved quite deep enough.

    The aperture ring seems to go down to f2. Click image for larger version. 

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    The glass is pretty clean, very faint cleaning marks, and one tiny ding on the rear element.

    The front glass is made of what appears to be two cemented elements. The rear glass is comprised of two elements separated by a metal spacer ring.

    I'm hoping some kind soul could help identify this for me.

  2. #2
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: Big Wollensak Lens, any idea what it is?

    Looks to be an early version of the Wollensak Portrait Lens Series A, later renamed the Vesta. These were an f/5 Petzval design, which matches what you describe in the lens layout. The aperture may be marked in the Uniform System rather than f/stops. US/2 would be f/5.6.

    See page 19 here:

    http://cameraeccentric.com/html/info/wollensak_10.html
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  3. #3
    Pat Vasquez-Cunningham
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    Re: Big Wollensak Lens, any idea what it is?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sawyer View Post
    Looks to be an early version of the Wollensak Portrait Lens Series A, later renamed the Vesta. These were an f/5 Petzval design, which matches what you describe in the lens layout. The aperture may be marked in the Uniform System rather than f/stops. US/2 would be f/5.6.

    See page 19 here:

    http://cameraeccentric.com/html/info/wollensak_10.html
    Thank you so much Mark for the lightning fast response, and for the referal to camera eccentric.

    That sure looks like my lens in question, and it looks like the original lens hood had the identifying info etched into it (my lens hood was probably lost long ago).

    Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to using this on my Century Studio camera to create wet plate images. Cheers!
    Last edited by fatbrass; 23-Apr-2012 at 09:58. Reason: New to the forum, learning the tools

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