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Thread: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

  1. #1

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    looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    I recently pickup up a 5" f3.5 Wollensak Series VII Velostigmat lens in a Alphax shutter from that big auction site. SN 484,xxx. I can't tell if it is coated and it doesn't have the Wocoated symbol on it. I checked Camera Eccentric and couldn't find any information on this lens there, and my google-fu is lacking with this lens. The closet I could find was the Varium but it seems the shortest length for that 14".

    This lens appears to be a triplet design, with two elements in front of the aperture and one behind. Rough coverage looks to be a little bit too small for 4x5" (though I am going to take a Polaroid and see how it turns out.)

    Anyone have more information about this lens? Did Wollensak ever rebadge other manufacturer's lenses as their own?

    -Darren

  2. #2

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Series VII is a new one to me. That also implies the existence of a series VI, but I have never heard of it. I am guessing that you are right that a 5" f3.5 triplet (Tessar?) is probably not going to cover 4X5.

    Very few lenses marked "Velostigmat" were coated.

    I have never seen any indication of Wollensak re-badging lenses.

  3. #3

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    pics of lens and from lens

    Here is a picture of the lens itself, one taken with the lens at f3.5, and another taken at f22. Brown cruft is from the Polaroids. I measure 115mm of coverage at f22, which i think makes it 65 degrees of coverage.

  4. #4

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    I have never heard of a series VII either. Here is a link to a site that has scans of some of the Wollensak lenses, it may help. I can only see a series II and III Velostigmat in the listings.

    From the listing of the series II Velostigmat, the 5" lens is meant to cover 3 1/4 X 4 1/4.

    http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/...ensakcatg.html

    --John

  5. #5

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Apologies for resurrecting this old thread, but there's a 3"/3.5 one of these beasts on eBay now (230628677560) and I can't find anything on it. Nothing in the Wolly catalogs on cameraeccentric.com and Google found nothing relevant except this thread.

    It can't be for 4x5 as advertised, I don't think there's a modern f/3.5 3 incher that will cover the format.

    Thanks for suggestions, pointers, even good answers.

    Dan

  6. #6

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Dan, there's lots of 3"3.5's. They came on many of the old Rollei wannabe cameras of the era post WW2, like Ciro-Flex etx.

  7. #7

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Jim, I know that. Lotsa fastish triplets and tessars. And in 1946 Wollensak replaced the trade name Velostigmat with Raptar.

    So, what design is a Velostigmat Series VII and when was that designation used? The VII on the lens on eBay doesn't look like an engraving error

  8. #8

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Fromm View Post
    Jim, I know that. Lotsa fastish triplets and tessars. And in 1946 Wollensak replaced the trade name Velostigmat with Raptar.

    So, what design is a Velostigmat Series VII and when was that designation used? The VII on the lens on eBay doesn't look like an engraving error
    Nope, you're 100% right and I don't have a clue. Interesting lens.

  9. #9

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    You guys don't think the Series VII refers to the filter threading do you? Series VII was a Kodak filter thread size of ~50mm so that looks about right. Also it says "Series VII Velostigmat", whereas other Velostigmat would say "Velogstigmat Series X".

  10. #10

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    Re: looking for information on a Wollensak Velostigmat series VII lens

    Domaz, from start (one version, anyway) to finish it reads: "Wollensak Velostigmat 3" Focus Series VII f 3.5 No 278693" The Series VII could refer to filter size but the lens is a bit small for a Ser VII filter to fit and it seems a stretch.

    Thanks for making me look closely at the listing. It gave me the idea of looking at serial numbers in catalogs on cameraeccentric. I found 504xxx in the 1949 catalog. I have a 3"/4.5 Velostigmat Series II s/n 452779 in Rapax, probably a 1945 lens. The Ser. VII that didn't sell has to be at least somewhat pre-WW-II.

    Does anyone know when Series filters were introduced?

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