Waves on the Beach (Multi-Focal)

[Whir-Click]

I have my newest Wollensak treasure, a 9.5” Beach Multi-Focal lens, apart for cleaning and it occurred to me that I haven’t seen a good illustration of this lens’s distinguishing characteristic depicted elsewhere. For the minuscule number of people interested, here are a few photos to demonstrate.

At first glance, the lens design appears as a standard Tessar, indistinguishable from Wollensak’s contemporary Velostigmat Series II. However, as one looks closely and plays the light across the lens surface, the “wavy” or ringed pattern in the glass becomes noticeable.

Of the limited number of Beach lenses that I have examined, nearly all have had the “waves” on both the front crown and the positive element of the rear cemented doublet. Some examples show very prominent waves arranged in concentric bulls eye-like zones; the effect in others is quite subtle.

The operating principle is that the lens’s aspherical surfaces are ground into multiple focal lengths, thereby enhancing the apparent depth of field on the image plane. The patent (https://alphaxbetax.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1929-march-gb335696a-beach-lens-patent-issued-1930-applied-1929.pdf) explains and illustrates it best.

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[newt]

If I saw a lens element coming off the production line like this I would have to shut everything down to find out why such large mid-spacial frequency errors were being generated. It is hard to believe that this micro fresnel surface could be generated to spec once let alone in production. I look forward to hearing more about it, and seeing images once you finish cleaning, and reassembling it!!

[cowanw]

Keep us posted please. Years earlier there was one on Ebay. I wish I bought it.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Thank you! I always wondered what these looked like, but have never actually seen one.

[Whir-Click]

I’m an enthusiastic but admittedly mediocre photographer. If you want to see what the Beach lens can do in the hands of a skilled professional, Abel’s “Professional Portrait Lightings” has several examples. John Erickson’s contribution on page 72 is particularly illustrative of the look the lens claims in its brochure (https://alphaxbetax.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1929-a-startling-new-studio-lens_cynthia-conides.pdf), “not extreme sharpness in outline - not an unwarranted softness in outline but really the effect as it appears to the eye - a full rounded form.”

Erickson’s description includes, “Like most photographers I have a battery of lenses, but my pet has long been a 16” Wollensak Beach Multi-Focal which I have used in this case. . .”

[Vaughn]

Thank you. Both the patent and brochure were interesting -- as is the lens.

[John Layton]

I find this extremely intriguing...and wonder why this technology was not pursued further - both among different manufacturers and forward over time.

[jnantz]

I always imagined the wavy-ness to be less-subtle, and only on the rear element, thanks for presenting this !

[Whir-Click]

The brochure linked above is particularly neat because it depicts the collaborators in the Beach lens’s development (as reported by the Buffalo Evening News in 1929) . The front cover shows Rochester photographer J. Ernest Mock taking a picture of Howard D. Beach as he holds the eponymous lens. Inside, the gentleman wearing a pinstriped suit in the comparison photos is John C. Wollensak (company vice president, founder of the lens department, and brother of Andrew).

Indulging in pure speculation as to why the lens remained obscure and short-lived, I would cite the exquisitely bad timing of unveiling a novel, very expensive lens five months before the stock market crash in 1929. Combine plummeting demand, likely high manufacturing cost and complexity, and the 1933 death of company champion John Wollensak and the Beach lens was gone from Wollensak’s 1934 catalog.

[cowanw]

The brochure linked above is particularly neat because it depicts the collaborators in the Beach lens’s development (as reported by the Buffalo Evening News in 1929) . The front cover shows Rochester photographer J. Ernest Mock taking a picture of Howard D. Beach as he holds the eponymous lens. Inside, the gentleman wearing a pinstriped suit in the comparison photos is John C. Wollensak (company vice president, founder of the lens department, and brother of Andrew).

Mock was George Eastman's favorite photographer. Here is a portrait257195 by Mock

[Whir-Click]

Mock was George Eastman's favorite photographer. Here is a portrait257195 by Mock

I am very glad to know that!

[Whir-Click]

All cleaned up.
- Barrel and aperture diaphragm (selector ring, slot ring, retaining ring, and 20 iris leaves) fully disassembled, degreased, freshly lubricated and put back together.
- Glass removed, washed with mild dish soap, and blacking on the sides of the front crown and rear doublet renewed with India ink. I stripped the crown with acetone to remove all of its old blacking, but since the rear doublet already shows a little bit of balsam separation I didn’t want to chance it: I just put a new coat of ink on top of the old. Looks good.
- Front and rear brass cells cleaned with mild soap and a ring of nasty old tape residue patiently removed from the front cell.
- Period-appropriate Wollensak lens cap finally located (I knew I put it somewhere) and re-felted to fit like a glove.

I put the lens on my Eastman [all-metal] Commercial View to focus on a patient family member and also my outdoor view. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result: a generous rendering with smooth transitions. It really does appear to have more depth of focus (or perhaps it’s more accurate to say there’s less out of focus) than with a typical lens. But, that could just be wish-fulfillment after working on the lens all weekend. Nevertheless, I like what I see.

I’ve also been tuning up an Alphax #4: when I need a shutter or flash sync, the 9.5” Beach lens cells fit right in.

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[djdister]

How about posting some photos taken with this lens?

[Whir-Click]

How about posting some photos taken with this lens?

That’s a reasonable question, and I always enjoy when others on the forum provide illustrative examples. If I can produce a result that that does the lens credit (and my portrait victim wouldn’t object), I will share it.

But, being honest with myself, I’m a far more competent repairer and researcher than portraitist and printer. It doesn’t diminish my enjoyment, but I’m aware of my limitations.

[cowanw]

A still life can be of interest.
I am skeptical about the representation of depth of field as regards the paired photographs of John Wollensak. The text says they are taken at like speed but does not actually say they are taken at same F-stop or printed the same for that matter. Having said that I think a common use of the word speed at the time was in reference to f-stop. And I may be putting a modern degree of skepticism on it. Nevertheless what is actually in focus with the Anastigmat lens is less sharp. Perhaps this suggest a very poor comparative example of an anastigmat chosen for the test.
Still the lens is so unique perhaps all bets are off.
Please persist with this: I am sure there is lots of interest.