Velostigmat for 8x10

[Two23]

I have a Velostigmat 12 in. in Betax shutter that I love. I use it for film portraits on my 8x10. I did some reading and found there were two longer lengths made, both in series II. One is about 15 in. and the other 19 in. How come I never see these for sale? I would think the 15 would have been perfect for 8x10 and common.


Kent in SD

[Dugan]

I would posit that back in the day, more 8x10 portrait photographers used Veritos, Vitaxes, etc. in those focal lengths than Velo's.
Less demand, fewer made.
Also...those who have them aren't selling.

[Vaidotas]

Velostigmat series II is tessar type lens. In 15 or 19 in f/4.5 it’s quite a load for front standard.
You can find them from different makers. Just for comparison - Berthiot Olor 500 mm f/6 in brass barrel (modified tessar with additinal element in back group) weight is >4 lbs.

[Whir-Click]

The Series II Velostigmat was made in three sizes for larger than 8x10: 14” (for 10x12), 15.5” and later 16” (for 11x14), and 19.5” (for 14x17).

Of these, the 15.5/16” lenses are not uncommon today, but you might have a wait a few months for one to come up on eBay. I find the 15.5/16” lens extremely agreeable for h&s portraits on 8x10.

As to why longer Velostigmat Series IIs aren’t seen more often, I’d offer that these were some of Wollensak’s most expensive lenses. Here is the cost comparison for a photographer shopping for a ~16” portrait lens from the 1926-1927 Wollensak catalog. Inflation-adjusted dollars are in parenthesis.

Velostigmat Series II 16”: $240 ($3,769)
Vitax 16”: $185 ($2,905)
Varium 16”: $150 ($2,355)
Verito 18”: $110 ($1,727)

[jim_jm]

I've got the 15.5 inch Velostigmat Series II, which I was using on an Eastman View 2D 8x10 and now have fitted to a Deardorff board. It's a beastie (~6 lbs), but a very nice lens for 8x10 format. Image circle is somewhere around 450, so lots of room for movements.
Mounted in a Studio shutter, I had a tough time finding a decent cable release that would fit in the threaded socket securely. I managed to front-mount a Packard #8 shutter to the front of the lens, and it's been working out great.

[Darren Kruger]

Looking through the Wollensak Catalogs, there are a few more focal lengths for Series IIs that are larger than 12":

Lens Number	Focal Length	Film Size	Catalogs
No 6	12"	8"x10"	1912-13, 1916
No 7	15.5"	11"x14"	1912-13, 1916, 1919*
No 5	12"	8"x10"	1919*, 1922
No 6	14"	10"x12"	1922, 1928, 1935
No 7	16"	11"x14"	1922, 1928, 1935
No 8	19.5"	14"x17"	1922, 1928, 1935

* The 1919 catalog has a note for the 9.5", 12", and 15.5" lens stating "Only these sizes supplied in Studio Shutter. Fitted with Diffusing Device, regardless of mounting". The price list has the 9.5" listed with options for barrel, studio, auto, and optimo shutters. The 12" has options for barrel, studio, and auto shutters. the 15.5" has an option for barrel and studio shutter.

Velostigmat IIs are in the 1912-13 catalog but not in the 1906-07 catalog. In catalog 43 (1940s), the largest Series II is a No 5, 12", for 8"x10".

I just weighed my 15.5" Velo II and it is ~4lbs 12oz (~2.2Kg). My ~15.5" B&L Tessar 1c for 11"x14" in barrel comes in at ~6lb 2oz.

-Darren

[Mark Sawyer]

I don't know why, but for a string of focal lengths Wollensak made the Series II in half-inch increments, 14", 14.5", 15", 15.5", and 16". There's also a 19" and a 19.5".

[Whir-Click]

I don't know why, but for a string of focal lengths Wollensak made the Series II in half-inch increments, 14", 14.5", 15", 15.5", and 16". There's also a 19" and a 19.5".

Wollensak changed the 15.5” Series II Velostigmat to 16” in 1922, but I am unaware of a 14.5”, 15”, or 19” version of the lens.

[Tin Can]

Make sure you get flanges, as they vary, with SF adjustable and not adjustable

I know as I am missing a flange

[Greg]

My first lens for my just acquired 8x10 B&J Commercial view camera in the mid 1970s was a 12 inch f/4.5 Wollensak Velostigmat Series II with the front element's swift focus ring in a Betax #5. This combo was my 8x10 system for probably the next 10 years. My negative numbering system ended in the high two hundreds. Never ran out of movements. Negatives for contact printing were impeccably sharp. Only problem with setup was in the wintertime when I was shooting brightly lit snow scenes. Light reflected off the inside of the bellows caused excessive density on the sides of the negatives, but it was easily dealt with when contact printing and just burning in the sides. Betax shutter broke in the field twice and amazingly I was able to fix it in the field with a Swiss army knife and little knowledge of the shutter's mechanisms. Sold the equipment in the late 1980s. A few years ago when I acquired an 8x10 Chamonix, I also acquired a 12" Velostigmat in a Betax. It was like being reunited with a long lost friend. Attached a mid 1970s image taken of me in one of the many gorges in Western New York State.