11 1/2 inch verito VS 14 inch series II wolly

[eddie]

hi all,

so i have a question for those who may know.....

i have not shot too much with either lens....but i will! i am interested in any experience with the two lenses compared to each other. i have an 11 1/2 in verito and a 14 inch wolly series II with the soft focus ring.

so far both look nice wide open. the 14 inch i used on an 11x14. sharp stopped down and it looks good with some diffusion. i just finished souping some 11x14 negs and they look nice.

i am interested in your personal experiences with the lenses. i will play more but i am curious to hear what you think. i will be using them on an 8x10 from now on.

cheers

eddie

[Mark Sawyer]

I have the Velostigmat Series II in 9.5" and 12" with the diffusion ring. Both are very nice, sharp and creamy. I haven't been impressed with the diffusion, but Daryl Baird has done some really lovely wotk with one modified to go beyond the "5" limit on the diffuser. Perhaps he'll chime in...

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=29047&highlight=velostigmat+diffusion

I've really grown to really love the Veritos, having four of them. These are my favorite soft focus lens. The only thing tough about them is that they're very soft wide open, but so beautiful that it's hard to make yourself stop them down to get a more subtle effect. Wide open is pretty heavy-handed, but it's almost like that's where you have to start. Veritos also give the "swirlies" more than any other lens I've seen. They are also quite sharp and lovely closed down. If I were restricted to only one lens (perish the thought!), I think it would be a Verito...

[Jim Fitzgerald]

No wonder I can never afford one! I will have to stick with my Voigtlander Hybrid Euroscop 16" for the time being. I have a few others that are nice but need to explore them wide open. One of the projects on the list.

Jim

[Darryl Baird]

ok, here's the current story... (still unfolding as yet)

The Wolly Velo II diffusion ring has a factory set screw inside the front series of lens elements. Once I figured out where it was, I cut it in half and slipped the ring past the 5 limit. This was already done (I assume) on my 9.5." But now the 12" was ready for testing. I didn't have a lot time until the semester ended, but did shoot a couple of shots as tests. I concluded the effect on the 12" wasn't as interesting as the shorter lens, but now I wonder if it wasn't more about the air space relative to the focal length, plus I shot outside for the test and the earlier image Mark posted was a much more controlled environment. I now suspect there was some potential destructive flare/bounce too.

Anyway, I just modified another 12" lens and sent it to Kerik Kouklis for his Scottish friend. I tried another test (outside again) and it got a bit more interesting. I'll try again soon, but rack the front element further than before and make sure I control the flare. Here are a couple of the tests, first is just the regular 5 diffusion, f/8, the second +15 diffusion at f/8, this is almost 1:1 so it's has very shallow DOF.

I don't consider these conclusive (or even helpful for a 14"), but I think for the money the Velo II have a lot to offer -- sharp to soft all in one package. I'm going to keep pushing this Velo thing as far as I can, but I have limited time until later this summer, then watch out... I still have some magnifying glass lenses to test :D

[Darryl Baird]

Jim, those Velo IIs are still really cheap... just keep looking on fleabay, they come up on weird places and sometimes as a package on cameras... but I bet you meant a Verito, eh?

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Daryl, yes I did mean a Verito. I have several "different" soft focus lenses to play with . Just need to get organized and in the right frame of mind to do a test with them on the 8x10. 6-7 come to mind. Better get busy I guess.

Jim

[eddie]

thanks so far. i will try and print he 1114 this week and some how digitize them.

it sure if fun playing with all the stuff! :) :)"

eddie

[seawolf66]

eddie: Which ever one does not meet with yours standards, Please be Advised I collect junk glass: [VBG] I will even pay the postage:

[Jim Galli]

hi all,

so i have a question for those who may know.....

i have not shot too much with either lens....but i will! i am interested in any experience with the two lenses compared to each other. i have an 11 1/2 in verito and a 14 inch wolly series II with the soft focus ring.

so far both look nice wide open. the 14 inch i used on an 11x14. sharp stopped down and it looks good with some diffusion. i just finished souping some 11x14 negs and they look nice.

i am interested in your personal experiences with the lenses. i will play more but i am curious to hear what you think. i will be using them on an 8x10 from now on.

cheers

eddie

Rather like having a Model A roadster and a '40 coupe in the garage. You take out whichever the mood strikes. Pointless to compare them.

[eddie]

Rather like having a Model A roadster and a '40 coupe in the garage. You take out whichever the mood strikes. Pointless to compare them.

i know, i know......i just have limited time for all the fun things in life and i was trying to see if i could get the heads up on the best way/application to play......damn work takes up too much time! :)

[Darryl Baird]

ok, I couldn't stand it any longer. Every since I modified the 12" I've been underwhelmed by the lack of softness it produced with similar diffusion added via the front ring =(with 0-5 settings). I theorized I needed more air space to soften the image more, still refocusing after changing the diffusion. Here's my today's tests, done after work while there was still light enough to squeeze out several versions.

first image is shot wide open (f/4.5) with four full revolutions of the ring... basically a +40 diffusion. The next is the same diffusion, stopped down to f/8.

so far so good, next test -- a portrait and a landscape

[Kerik Kouklis]

Darryl - Looking good! I like the idea of having a little less diffusion wide open for wet plate work in order to maintain the speed of the lens. Veritos wide open are a little too soft for me, so I usually stop down a bit. Using f/4.5 and an adjustable amount of diffusion is a great thing. A poor man's Taylor-Hobson-Cooke! I'm looking forward to trying out the lens.

[Kerik Kouklis]

OK, I got Darryl's 12" on thursday and had a little time for a test yesterday with a few wet plate images. First one is f4.5 at full sharp setting, second is f/4.5 with 6 full turns of the softness adjustment:

http://www.kerik.com/maple_1.jpg http://www.kerik.com/maple_2.jpg

And here are a couple detail shots that show the effect better:

http://www.kerik.com/maple_1_detail.jpg http://www.kerik.com/maple_2_detail.jpg

I'd say this is a winner! And unlike a Verito which for my taste needs to be stopped down a little, this lens you can shoot wide open and dial in your softness. With wet plate, we're often looking for as much speed as possible, especially in a low-UV location like Scotland.

[Mark Sawyer]

It does look quite nice, and in both settings. I like the softer one though, which is still not overly soft.

Hmmm... what kind of leaves are those...

[Darryl Baird]

Family is in town, a perfect opportunity to shoot a couple of portraits. Here's the twins shot with a 12" Velo II, f/6.3, and a double revolution (+20?) of the diffusion dial (Kerik, didn't the front element nearly drop out at six revolutions? ...wow)

I think I'd do f/8 to get the eyes sharper, but I do like the "feel" of their hair. There is something strange about these, but I can't quite put my finger on it. For flat, open shade lighting, they have a lot of sculptural quality. Is that due to the "normal" lens used so close to the subjects? I might get another chance to shoot tomorrow, but it is a full day of high school graduation stuff.. time will tell.

[Kerik Kouklis]

Hmmm... what kind of leaves are those...Ha! I didn't even think of that til you pointed it out because in real life those leaves are dark red - some kind of a small chinese maple in our yard. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Darryl it was not loose at 6 turns. I just went and tried again and made 11 full turns then I stopped because it was feeling pretty loose.

[eddie]

hello,

here are a few pictures from my outing two weeks ago in bar harbor maine. these are from the wooden boat building place in brooklin maine.

i used a borrowed 11x14 (thanks don!). i used my 14 inch series II wolly with a diffusion ring. my notes are not so good and i lost one image (never put film in the holder. DOH!). the two shots that are identical may be f 4.5 and f16. maybe with diffusion....maybe not. the last i am not sure. i know i should keep better notes....but i am having a blast anyhow. i used my dark slide as a shutter. i am very surprised how close i came. i do not remember the shutter speeds. (please note that my scanner only scans 8x10. i can not use PS. so these are just direct scans from an 11x14 sheet that would fit in my scanner)

this is a mast that they are manufacturing.

more to come. i still have to develop about 20 more sheets.

next time i will try and get a more high key shot

eddie

[eddie]

hereis one shot with the 14 in series II at f16 no diffusion.

i used my digital camera to shoot the print.

i printed it VDB today.