Wollensak Vitax No.5 coverage

[Craig Tuffin]

I have the opportunity to get a Vitax No. 5. The only information on the largest Vitax on Dan's site is the No.3 which is a 16" lens.

Does anyone know of the FL and coverage of the No.5? It would be wonderful if it could cover 20x24 even at portrait distances.

[CCHarrison]

Craig, Wolly reclassified the Vitax numbers when a shutter was added - so the # 3 in the older ads became the # 5 in the later versions - the # 5 is a 16" lens. Ad from 1920 below

See attached
Dan

[Craig Tuffin]

Ahhhh damn!

Thanks again Dan, you're a wealth of information.

[pierre506]

Yep, No. 5 is the late version of No. 3.
The 16in f3.8 lens can not cover 20X24.
It's better covering 11X14 at portrait distances.

[Mark Sawyer]

Wollensak changed the numbers so a Number 5 Vitax fit in a Number 5 Studio Shutter. It's probably best to just call them 10-, 13 1/2-, and 16-inch. There is a second front cell to replace the usual front cell for the 16" that turns it into a 20-inch f/5 Number 7 Vitax. Good luck finding one...

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"There is a second front cell to replace the usual front cell for the 16" that turns it into a 20-inch f/5 Number 7 Vitax. Good luck finding one..."

Oops! Both of mine (No3 #3945 & No5 #4879) produce an image on the GG virtually indentical in size to a 500/5 Zeiss Tessar and a 500/4.5 Goerz Dogmar, slightly larger than a 480/4.5 Voigtlander Heliar or a 19"/4 Wollensak Varium. Wollensak did not engineer the Vitax, they bought it with Rochester Lens Co. as the 'Royal Portrait lens'. I guess they built them and sold them however they did, slightly fudging the f/stop rating.

[Mark Sawyer]

That's odd, Paul. I wonder if your Vitax was situated farther forward, making it closer to the subject? (They do mount with the optical center farther in front of the lensboard than other designs, but this would only matter if focusing on a pretty close subject.)

All I can say is my Vitax's 20" front element is pretty clearly marked as such:

[CCHarrison]

Here's some info on the Vitax Extension Lens - 1922

Dan

[Craig Tuffin]

Great info again guys....cheers! I've never seen the 20" f5 extension, I might just give up on finding that one.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"That's odd, Paul. I wonder if your Vitax was situated farther forward, making it closer to the subject? (They do mount with the optical center farther in front of the lensboard than other designs, but this would only matter if focusing on a pretty close subject.)"

Nice idea and it holds water. At 10 feet it matches a 500mm, at 250 feet it matches a 480mm. I guess the physical mount distance makes enough difference. The 10" Vitax matches 300mm on the GG. I do like both with just the front group, very nice soft focus wide open. You might want to check your 20" conversion set-up against a known modern lens just to see.

I really do think the Rochester Lens Co. was fudging the numbers in a speed war and Wollensak was saddled with it when the bought the company. A 19"/4.75 or 20"/5 would have been nothing special to brag about in advertising.

Either way I like the lens but I should sell one of them, not doing stereo.