WOLLENSAK, more info needed

[anthony marsh]

Please I need info for WOLLENSAK 7" CONLEY anastigmat series v equivalent focus. Is it a decent lens? Is it usable for landscape work and portrait work? Also what is equivalent focus? Thanks.

[desertrat]

If I'm not mistaken, the Conley series V is a Wollensak Series I Velostigmat rebranded for Conley. The equivalent focus should be 7". It should cover 5X7 but would be a little wide. It would work fine on 4X5, just a bit longer than the normal focal length for that format. There are old Wollensak catalogs at cameraeccentric.com. The 1912 and 1917 catalogs should have all the info you might need on these lenses. They are designed for landscape work, but might be usable for portraits wide open. I took a portrait of some friends with a 12" version on 8X10, wide open, and the results seemed to be good. Not soft focus, but not clinically sharp, either.

[anthony marsh]

Sorry for the misinformation. upon questioning the seller he mistakenly referred to it as series v. It's actually series 1a.

[Louis Pacilla]

Hey Anthony

You may want to read through this page(from the 1910 Conley catalog) and pay attention to the last paragraph which I have also posted separately. It will give you the lens construction which seems to be 2+2][2+2 so two sets of two elements glued together in each combination which will lend to lower contrast as well as flare when shot towards direct light sources. This is true of any lens with 8 air to glass surfaces and lacking lens coating.

The 7" is given as the standard fl for 5x7 & stopped down it will cover 8x10 at least by Conelys way of seeing things back in 1910