Verito 18" without aperture -- problem?

[Dirk Rösler]

Hi, I have the opportunity to buy a Verito at a decent price, but it has no aperture (don't know why). I know the mantra "you'd shoot it only wide open anyway", but isn't there a time where maybe you'd want to stop it down at least a 1-2 stops?

[SteveKarr]

Hi Dirk,
I have and Love my Verito, BUT it is not even useable wide open. It is SO soft. Is it in a Studio shutter, if so the f-stops are there ... If not I would not spend $20 on it. Really. I shoot my f/4 at at-Least f8. To start with.

PM me with your real email & I'll send you some tests I did today of my coffee and You'll see. It's a soft focus lens - first and for-most.

I first thought with mine, "Great an f/4! No ... it's really an f/8 or better"

Steve

[Dirk Rösler]

I think the whole shutter is gone, it is the plain lens in barrel only... thank you. I suppose one could manufacture a "permanent" aperture?

[goamules]

You can make this lens work for you. There are some who always shoot Veritos wide open, to good effect. Yes, they are quite soft at F4, but that's what the lens is made for. If you didn't know, the way the Verito works is it gets sharper as you stop it down.

If you do want it sharper, all you have to do is calculate the size of the holes and make some inserted stops. Take a look at the inside, maybe you will find a way to insert a stop made of cardboard. I like shooting my Veritos at about f5.6....

[Gene McCluney]

The Verito has either a studio shutter, or an iris built into the barrel. If you do not have an iris, then perhaps the middle part of the lens barrel is missing, which would make your lens an incomplete lens. Truly, the Verito is not at its best "wide open" in my opinion. It is so super soft there, that stopping down one or two stops makes it optimum for soft roundness of tone. The beauty of the Verito is the way you can control the relationship of soft and sharp percentages of the image by choosing the aperture.

A Verito is not like a Petzval, which retains its center sharpness wide open.

[Louis Pacilla]

Hi

Ditto,ditto,ditto if it's in barrel lens which is different from studio shutter. You could easily remove the aperture ring which will leave you w/ two slots (more than likely) tape one side up & cut some waterhouse stops really only need a couple 5.6, 8 ,11. or 4.4 4.8 5.6 & so on. But only if it is truly a Barrel & not two halves of a studio.
Peace
Louis P.

BTW- if by cheap you mean $50-150 cheap I say go man go. but again only if true Barrel.

[csant]

I can only confirm what has been said up to here - and I never managed to make anything decent at F4, way too soft. F8 at its widest! But I love the Verito, great lens!

[Mark Sawyer]

If it has a barrel, it had an aperture at some point. But if it's been stripped out, you could have a machinist cut a slot for Waterhouse stops.

I use mine at f/4, but I also use it at f/5.6 to f/11 (where the aberrations pretty much disappear). It's also quite nice down at f/32; surprisingly sharp and soooooo smooth...

[Jim Graves]

I also have a Verito and love soft focus ... but I shoot mine most at f/6, next at either f/4 or f8. I also think it makes a nice general purpose lens stopped down ... I shot all my landscape shots on a recent trip at f /22 and 32 ...very nice.

[eddie]

if you can "steal" it then buy it. i would say $300 or less......you can always tape a piece of paper with a hole cut into it to the rear element to make an iris. i realize you will get a bit of distortion as it is not at the nodal point (maybe that is the wrong word...basically not in the right spot) but i am sure it will work fine and it is SF anyway.

keep us posted.

oh! you r name needs to be galli or the like to get these babies to work really well at f4. i am verito challenged but i am working on ity. it IS possible.

eddie