Wollensak Vesta or Veritar or Verito

[skwal4]

Hello everybody,

I would like to buy a 8 or 10 inch lens for portrait that fit my 5x7 view camera. I have heard of Wollensak a lot of time, in particular these type of model : Vesta, Veritar and Verito.
I cannot buy all of them so I need help to choose one.

I need a Wollensak lens 8, 9 or 10 inches mounted with a shutter, fitting my canham 5x7 and easy to focus, and have contrast.

Thank you,
Christophe

 

[removed account4]

christophe
of the 3 lenses you mentioned, the portrait veritar is the only one in a flash synced shutter ( and coated ).
the other ones for the most part are in a single speed ( "studio" ) shutter, no flash sync.
some of the veritos are in a "betax" shutter, factory installed, but they aren't seen for sale very often,
AND there is no flash sync.

me? i would get a vesta, it affordable. but if you need a modern shutter, i'd search for a portrait veritar.

 

[scheimfluger_77]

christophe
of the 3 lenses you mentioned, the portrait veritar is the only one in a flash synced shutter ( and coated ).
the other ones for the most part are in a single speed ( "studio" ) shutter, no flash sync.
some of the veritos are in a "betax" shutter, factory installed, but they aren't seen for sale very often,
AND there is no flash sync.

me? i would get a vesta, it affordable. but if you need a modern shutter, i'd search for a portrait veritar.

Not all of the Veritars are in flash sync shutters. One or two of the Wollensak books on cameraeccentric mention the lens is available with or without a flash sync. My 10" does not have a sync.

 

[removed account4]

hey steve, thanks !
i didn't know that ... i was told by the fellers who sold me mine
that they were all sync'd. i guess it is like the betax mounted verito
or the 8x10 covering 150 symetrigon or the slr/graflex grafmatic back .. the stuff that legends are made of
i love the veritar, it has just enough softness and not too much, too much i get a headache/feel queasy ..

 

[mdarnton]

I use an 11-1/2 inch Verito and a synced Packard shutter for both 5x7 and 8x10. If you are only going to be in the studio, Packards are great. The fuss between focus and firing is absolutely the minimum compared with large regular shutters. I have hung mine on the front of the lens. It looks a little strange, but it's easy to use, and that lets you put the larger lens on a smaller camera because the shutter doesn't have to fit behind the board.Of the lenses you've named, I think the Verito is the most extreme, and the Vesta the least. You can tame a Verito by stopping down, but you can't go the other way with a lens that starts out too tame.

The cheap shuttered option, which I don't recommend, is the soft focus Fujinon. If you like the old look, that one doesn't have it. Comparatively, it's just an unsharp lens, without the sharp core that real portrait lenses have. But it's easy to find and very cheap.

Another option is one of these: http://www.re-inventedphotoequip.com/Lenses.html I have two and they're not too bad, especially for the money.