I recently acquired an absolute mint Wollensak 162mm f4.5 Raptar lens in Rapax shutter. I'm trying to determine the image circle at f4.5 and say f/16 or f/22. I will be using it with my 4x5 Arca-Swiss camera. Any assistance in getting this information is sincerely appreciated.
Regards;
Jeff
"I have this feeling of walking around for days with the wind knocked out of me." - Jim Harrison
I do not have that lens, but it is a Tessar formula design.
According to the "Wollensak Lens & Shutter Guide", by Woco Associates, it will cover 42.8 degrees horizontal and 34.6 degrees vertical.
Hope this was helpful....
Thats late incarnation of Wollensak Velostigmat series II.
Must be coated. Dedicated to 4x5.
You can find some info on www.alphaxbetax.com
I don't have a 162mm either but I have other focal length Raptars. They aren't the sharpest of the tessar-type lenses but IMHO they are among the very best among tessars in their out of focus rendition (stopped down about 1.5 stops). As for the coverage, it really depends on the application and on the photographer's sharpness requirements - naturally, sharpness improves with stopping the lens down, and the needs for sharpness differ with subjects and the negative enlargements wanted....
The old lenses didn't go from clean image circle to black outer space instantly. If you go outside their image circle, you might get a little less sharp, some coma or swirl or some distortion around the edges. For artistic uses, it might be welcome.
And as with any lens, image circle increases as you move the bellows away from infinity to a non-landscape distance.
Look at alphax-betax.com. That site is run by forum member "Whir-click" and is full of information on Wollensak lenses.
That lens' f.l. is exactly the diagonal of the 4x5 frame so qualifies as a perfect 'normal' lens, if that has any meaning.
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