Verito --I'll need lots of help

[Bill_1856]

I just bought a 9" f:4 Verito, in a Copal #3 shutter with no aperture scale.
I don't expect to be doing portraits, mostly landscapes.
My first question: is there a "standard" way used to decrease the light to shoot wide open for maximum soft-focus effect. Use a 10X neutral density filter plus whatever color filter I would normally use for the scene?
(For better or worse, I'll be shooting 5x7 HP5 with stand development.)

[vinny]

100 speed film and/or neutral density filters. using the shutter at high speeds certainly seems like a good idea.

[Bill_1856]

100 speed film and/or neutral density filters. using the shutter at high speeds certainly seems like a good idea.

"High speed" on a Copal #3 is 1/125 sec. :-)

[jp]

filters including ND or shoot at the end of the day when the sun is gone.
That's what I do on my kodak 305 which only goes to 1/50.

Speed graphic goes to 1/1000 for the 4x5 stuff like my veritos.

[mdarnton]

Is this the one that was on Ebay from Japan? I wrote him a question as to whether it had a diaphragm or not, and he didn't answer, so I didn't buy it, but I wondered if the diaphragm itself was missing, or just the number scale. If it's just the scale that's missing (and it's not clear from you whether this is the lens, and whether it is missing both diaphragm and scale)--the pictures looked like the diaphragm IS still there--then why not just make a new scale?

The other thought I've had about the various Veritos that have shown up in minimally-functional Studio shutters, is how much bother it would be to saw a slot for waterhouse stops, since some came that way, and whether that would work. It seems like that would be a task of varying difficulty and success, both.

Hope my drawn-out, complex thought process up there ^ above ^ makes sense. . . .

[Bill_1856]

Is this the one that was on Ebay from Japan? I wrote him a question as to whether it had a diaphragm or not, and he didn't answer, so I didn't buy it, but I wondered if the diaphragm itself was missing, or just the number scale. If it's just the scale that's missing (and it's not clear from you whether this is the lens, and whether it is missing both diaphragm and scale)--the pictures looked like the diaphragm IS still there--then why not just make a new scale?

The other thought I've had about the various Veritos that have shown up in minimally-functional Studio shutters, is how much bother it would be to saw a slot for waterhouse stops, since some came that way, and whether that would work. It seems like that would be a task of varying difficulty and success, both.

Hope my drawn-out, complex thought process up there ^ above ^ makes sense. . . .
Yes, it was on eBay-- final price was $525 + shipping. There is a tiny 8mm scratch on the front element, and the glass is as clear as it must have been on the day it was made.
The Copal #3S shutter seems perfect, and the diaphragm works perfectly, there just isn't a scale, which set off my irritable psyche. (I understand that SK Grimes will make one for about $50.) An inquiry to the seller produced a semi-literate explanation that the previous owner didn't think it was necessary, after denying that he know what I was asking.
I have no way to know for sure, but it appears to me that whoever adapted the lens elements to the shutter did a superb job. I certainly hope so!

[Jim Galli]

Yes, it was on eBay-- final price was $525 + shipping. There is a tiny 8mm scratch on the front element, and the glass is as clear as it must have been on the day it was made.
The Copal #3S shutter seems perfect, and the diaphragm works perfectly, there just isn't a scale, which set off my irritable psyche. (I understand that SK Grimes will make one for about $50.) An inquiry to the seller produced a semi-literate explanation that the previous owner didn't think it was necessary, after denying that he know what I was asking.
I have no way to know for sure, but it appears to me that whoever adapted the lens elements to the shutter did a superb job. I certainly hope so!

Bill, aren't you the guy who gave me grief all these years about how dopey soft focus is?

What is the maximum aperture width of that shutter. Seems like you're going to maybe be at f6 wide open. Just measure in mm with a 6" rule is good enough.

Yeah, unfortunately, the answer to your question is slower film. Maybe somebody's selling some out of date Efke 25.

[mdarnton]

Making a scale is easy if it doesn't need to look factory. I'd take that route, then you won't have to worry about exposure. I think that was a good deal. If I'd known for sure that the aperture was there, I'd have bought it.

[Bill_1856]

Bill, aren't you the guy who gave me grief all these years about how dopey soft focus is?
1. Guilty as charged. You have a long memory, Jim.
I STILL don't like pre-Olan Mills portraits with one eye sharp, and the other eye, nose, and ears in varying degrees of fuzz. But everybody to their own....
OTOH, I really like many of the landscapes, (particularly the outdoor picnics) of the Czech photographer Josf Sudek, with just a touch of softness, and that is what I will be shooting for. Wish I could get some film without anti-halation backing to boost the highlights.

What is the maximum aperture width of that shutter. Seems like you're going to maybe be at f6 wide open. Just measure in mm with a 6" rule is good enough.
2. Aperture is 45mm -- calculates f:5.08 (9x25.4/45), but it seems to match the maximum diameter of the lenses exactly, and Wollensak claimed it at an f:4.0 lens. I will check it with my Horseman behind the lens meter when I have time.

Yeah, unfortunately, the answer to your question is slower film. Maybe somebody's selling some out of date Efke 25.
3. I got no problem with ND filters. I just wondered if there was a better way.
Thanks for taking the time and effort to answer my plea for help.
B.

[Jim Andrada]

Variable ND works every time. Use the ND to control exposure and the aperture to control "softness". I had Grimes make an adapter ring for my Veritar up to 82mm which is what I use for my video lenses so I can use the same variable filter for everything.

[jnantz]

hi bill

my answer won't be of much help ...
but i over expose and develop
the film in a slow working developer ...

when you focus your lens, stop it down a little bit it will help ...

have fun !
john

[goamules]

If the shutter/iris that the lens in that shutter is down to F6 already, it won't have the maximum softness, but it will be nice there. I think you'll be fine with black and white film. I shoot a lot during the late afternoon with Ilford 125, metered at 60. With bellows factor, I'm usually at a fairly slow shutter speed. Even into the seconds, as the light goes.

[Bill_1856]

hi bill

my answer won't be of much help ...
but i over expose and develop
the film in a slow working developer ...
john
Thanks, John.
What developer is that?

[jnantz]

caffenol c ...
i mix 1L at a time and add between 15-20 cc of print developer (stock ) to it.

i water bath first, then ...
sometimes i stand develop for about 30 mins,
but lately i dilute the same print developer about 1:8 shuffle the film for about 3-4 mins
and then switch to the caffenol c ( like dd23 with a borax afterbath ) and shuffle for 3-4 mins

the fllm is fine for contact prints and long duration enlargements ... ( not like 10 seconds stopped 3 stops down ) ...

the print developers i use to process film are ansco130 and dektol ... i can't complain ... ( but others might )

as they say at the dealership: YMMV

have fun!
john