Has anyone used this lens? Wollensak 15" f/5.6 Tele

[mbarnett]

Hi,

I just picked up a Wollensak 15" f/5.6 Tele in barrel from the local camera dealer. Serial # 420354. It doesn't appear to be even single coated.Any clue as to year of manufacture? The price was right at $50. It is spotless. I searched the web and found little info. I have yet to use it as I am in the process of locating a Pacemaker board to mount it on my Speed Graphic 4x5. Will it cover 4x5 dead on? From what I have read about Tele's I don't expect (and can't imagine for its intended use) that I would need enough coverage for movement. I am concerned that it have sharpness to edge. Is the lens relatively sharp over-all? How far would I have to stop it down for best sharpness? Not a lot of f/stop range at f/5.6 to f/32. Is diffraction an issue at f/32? I figured sharpness would be OK at wide open for portraits. I also plan on using it for landscape and general subject matter, for those times when I want to limit the elements of compostion, also for stretching out to frame when/where it is not appropriate or practicable to "climb over the fence". I'd appreciate any feed-back. Anybody have any tips for keeping a the mounting hole centered when enlarging an existing hole in a used board? Thanks in advance.

 

[John Kasaian]

Hello!

I've got the same type lens on my Keystone F8 aerial camera. It will cover a 5x7 sheet of film all the way to the edge. Its quite sharp. Mine is a coated "yellow dot" version and meant to be shot wide open or close to it which explains the lack of f-stops. I've heard of them being used on Speed Graphics---you can get more details from www.graflex.org. Hope this helps!