18" Verito problem...

I bought an 18" Verito with the 22" extender about two months ago, and just got around to using it for the first time yesterday. The image on the ground glass is about the effect you'd expect from a Verito, (I have a couple of shorter ones), but it focuses at about 12" from the aperture to the film plane, or 13" if using the 22" extender.

I think I tracked the problem down to the rear element, which is supposed to work as a 30" focal length by itself, but this one focuses at 12". The only marking on it is the number "21" on the inside of the mount. It also only threads into the rear barrel about 4 rotations, and it would take 7 or 8 to seat completely. Also, it has threads at the very rear so something else can be screwed in. (Filters? Another element?) I can't figure out if it's missing an element (I think this one is a cemented doublet, from the reflections), if this is just the completely wrong rear element taken from another lens, or if something else is going on.

Soooo...

Could someone with another 18" Verito please check their rear element and see if it focuses at 30" by itself, and if it has the number "21" engraved in the inside of the mount, (visible only if you unscrew it)?

And, against the odds, would anyone have a spare rear element for an 18" Verito lying around?

Mine focuses at about 30" for just the rear element (though I'm doing this indoors at night with a lightsource about 18' away from the lens). There is no number engraved inside the mount that I see.

Joe

Bummer! Can you return it?? If not, I'd be happy to take the 22" extension off your hands... Good luck!

Kerik, I'll let you know about the extension. I'd like to find another 18" Verito, as I like the lenses, and it depends on whether the next one has an extender too...

I contacted the seller, but no response. BTW, his ebay ID is Budzeg, (full name Henry Zelgowski), and he regularly sells photographic equipment there, so be forewarned about dealing with him...

BTW, I had to try it, so an image from the "22 inch" Verito, which focuses at infinity at 14.5 inches. Wide open, this is actually about f/3.2. Very soft and still Verito-like. Wish I knew what that back element was...

For useless comparison, the same from an 18 inch Portrait Unar at f/4.5, on the right, which is surprisingly harsh for a portrait lens...