Info on Wollensak 101mm f:4.5 Raptar

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Thanks Dan From! I'll need to study these charts and determine what make my Graphic Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter is. It says made by Kodak but maybe it wa

Dan McCabe said:

I have a Century Graphic 23 with a Kodak Ektar 101mm f4.5 lens in a Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter. I have never liked this shutter since I worked on them at National Camera in 1973. Like mine, most of them are flat worn out and erratic, no matter what you do to them! I'm looking at a Wollensak Raptor 101mm f4.5 in a Graphic shutter on eBay with a very scratched front element. I'm hoping and need to know if my Ektar, front and rear groups, will fit in this shutter in place of the wollensak?? My Ektar front group has 29.5mm thread. Does any one have information on this? Much appreciated!

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Thanks Dan Fromm! I will need to study these charts further. I need to determine what my Graphic Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter is. It says made by Kodak but maybe it actually something else like Alphax or Betax. I see nothing on the charts for Kodak shutters. Of course I see Wollensak with the 29.5 thread. I got to believe the 101 Ektar will fit in the Wollensak shutter but I want to be sure before I waste the money to purchase it.
Onward! Thanks again! Dan McCabe

Kodak is Kodak, Wollensak is Wollensak. Each sold its own lenses in its own shutters to Graflex. The two didn't agree on shutter specifications, and there's no reason why they should.

If you want to use a 101 Ektar you'll have to reconcile yourself to using one in an EKCo shutter.

That what I was afraid of. I'm now looking at a couple of Zeiss Tessar 100mm f3.5 in Synchro Compur, a much better shutter and a good lens. Thanks again for your help!!

Why are you limiting yourself to tessar type lenses? There are plenty of 100-105 mm plasmat types in modern shutters from, in alphabetical order, Fuji, Nikon, Rodenstock and Schneider. And Nikon offered a fine tessar type, the 105/3.5 Nikkor-M.

If you're concerned about closing y'r Century, well, I just closed a 2x3 Crown on a 105/5.6 Fujinon-W, second type with engraving on the barrel, not on the trim ring. It is a tight fit but it fits.

I agree, if I were going to do some serious work with this camera. For the more serious optics I just use my Hasselblad with its 5 lenses or my 4x5. This is just something I am restoring in my collection and would like to keep it more original with its normal lens. I like to restore and then use those in my collections. In that case I should just stay with my Ektar and Kodak shutter and try to find another one for a shutter in better condition. I don't need to go for the zeiss Tessar 100mm f3.5. The two I'm looking at are fungus jobs anyway.

I appreciate your input!

Thanks again, Dan McCabe

Dan,

If you want originality, go for the bottom of the line. Look for a 103/4.5 Graftar in Century (= Alphax). This humble triplet has the best coverage and sharpness of the standard issue lenses for 2x3 Graphics. No kidding, I measured. This is the consensus, such as it is, on graflex.org.

Very interesting! I will look into it. Thanks