Help with Alphax shutters

[_T_]

I’m looking into buying a wollensak amaton lens in an alphax shutter for use at long extensions on 4x5.

This is just for fun and because I’m curious about what kind of images I can get out of a $50 lens when used at the high magnification it enables.

My problem is that these lenses are completely foreign to me and have (or lack) features that I can’t wrap my head around.

Some of these systems seem to have no cocking lever and no attachment for a shutter release cable. I can’t seem to see how the shutter is fired on most of them.

Can anyone help me understand how these things function?

Any comments as to the efficacy of my plan or suggestions as to better solutions are also welcome.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Alphax shutters are self-cocking.
They either have a shutter lever "arm", a cable release socket, or both.
They were available with or without flash sync....(usually bi-post).
They were available with and without apertures.
Alphax shutters were used for all sorts of photo, industrial, military, and other applications...many have been re-purposed.
The Amaton is a process camera lens, so it most likely was originally a barrel lens that has been retrofitted to a shutter....
If you post a pic, we might be able to give more info.
A great resource for Wollensak information is www.alphaxbetax.com

 

[_T_]

Thanks for the info. This is the item in question. I cannot for the life of me see how the shutter is triggered.

 

[MarkS]

go to alphaxbetax.com and ask the proprietor.

 

[MTGseattle]

check out this other listing. I'm suspicious of the lens you posted images of.

Wollensak Amaton 35mm f/3.5 Lens in Alphax Shutter Vintage V24 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Wollensak Amaton 35mm f/3.5 Lens in Alphax Shutter Vintage V24 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[MTGseattle]

This one is a slightly different shutter, but you can see the cable release socket. I wonder if the shutter on the 35mm just doesn't have a cable release socket?

Wollensak 50mm f/4.5 AMATON Lens in ALPHAX Heavy Duty Syncro Shutter Very Nice | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Wollensak 50mm f/4.5 AMATON Lens in ALPHAX Heavy Duty Syncro Shutter Very Nice at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[_T_]

I was looking at that one too. Not quite as short of a focal length but I can clearly see how it operates.

From what I can see it looks like the amaton 35mm 3.5 that are available at the moment don’t have a cable release port but only a lever for operating the shutter. I think this is because they were intended for use with handheld, folding 35mm cameras. At least that’s what I surmise after a little research through the catalogs on aphaxbetax.

As for the suspicious item I posted pictures of I have asked the seller for clarification. Hopefully that will solve my mystery.

Thank you for airing your concerns it’s been very helpful.

 

[MTGseattle]

No problem. I get thrown for a loop sometimes when I see a somewhat common lens mounted in a shutter that I've never seen used with that lens. It doesn't mean that it is wrong, but it gets me doing a lot of reading.

 

[_T_]

So I received my wollensak amaton 50mm 4.5 and first impressions are very good.

Mounted it to my cambo sc and took some measurements. The image circle at f/16 (minimum aperture) at the minimum extension of 46mm is ≈83mm which means it has an angle of coverage of about 84°.

At 46mm extension the flange object distance is only about 110mm which means that the flange focal distance is quite a bit shorter than expected and too short for me to measure with my setup.

It just covers 4x5 at about 86mm extension, at which point it gives a flange object distance of ≈92mm and a magnification of about 1:1.6. I'm shooting true macro here with my bag bellows.

At the full extension of my camera (482mm) I get a flange object distance of about 65mm and a magnification of 1:9.2 which is very close to the predicted magnification 1:9.65.

Image quality at 1:9.2 far and away exceeded my expectations for this lens. I was stunned by what this little <$50 thing is capable of. The images are sharp and contrasty and I see no sign of chromatic aberration. At f/16 the depth of field approaches 3mm which means that it's just possible to take photos of tiny 3d objects without having to focus stack so long as you're willing to accept that the foreground and background elements will be artfully soft.

Overall I am very pleased with my purchase and although I have no real use for this lens besides the satisfaction of my curiosity, were there some call for me to shoot some serious work on 4x5 at such great magnifications, as unlikely as that may be, I wouldn't hesitate to reach for this lens.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Glad to hear the results...
Wollensak made high-quality lenses, and they are very under-rated...and therefore usually available at bargain prices.

 

[mshchem]

Wollensak, Ilex, Kodak etc. I'm speculating here, made optics for intelligence services, the armed forces, space guys etc. I used a Wollensak Raptar 161mm enlarging lens exclusively for 4x5 and 5x7 for 20+ years. It's a great lens.

I was looking at a very old, 5x7 Ektachrome transparency, I shot in the early 80's with an old Wollensak lens from the 40's, shot is of flowers in a window, old sheer curtains. You can easily see individual grains of pollen, each stitch in the curtains, amazing.

I have a bunch of modern large format lenses now, the way I shoot, I would say that the most noticeable advantage are modern shutters.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with shutters out of Rochester if they've been kept up with a recent CLA.

 

[MTGseattle]

Whenever I get back to my Folks house, we usually set up the old slide projector and run through a few carousels. The images my Grandma and great Aunt shot were largely on Kodak cameras, and I think 90% of the slides are Kodak film of some type. (likely Ektachrome?) I am always blown away by the color fidelity.