[LargeFormat] Shutter release for old lense
Clive Warren
largeformat@f32.net
Sun Nov 25 08:58:01 2001
At 12:36 pm -0800 24/11/01, lorenzo@pacifier.com wrote:
snip
>One of my projects which has been on hold for some time is a Kodak
>No 2-D, 5x7 camera with a Wollensak Velostigmatic, variable focus
>lense. I really want to take some portraits with this lens but
>can't figure out how to trip a shutter. I say 'a' shutter because
>there, apparently isn't one. The aperture leaves do move to a
>preset value with a lever on the lense. What puzzles me is that
>there is also a place for a screw-in shutter release but its got
>threads on the outside instead of the normal threads on the inside.
>Does this take a special gizmo? Or am I relegated to a
>take-off-the-lens-cap and count situation. Any insight would be
>appreciated.
>Thanks
>Loren
Hello Loren,
You have an excellent setup there for portraiture. If you have the
12" version of the lens and a 4x5 back for that Kodak 2-D then
head/shoulders shots will be wonderful.
There are at least a couple of us on the list who have these lenses.
It sounds as though you may have a Studio shutter on your (Series
II?) Velostigmat. There has been quite a bit of discussion on the
lens on this list in the past (go to the http://wwwf32.net web site
and tap into the search box at the top of the page something like
+velostigmat +wollensak and you will get loads of hits).
If you do indeed have a studio shutter then the shutter and aperture
blades are one and the same. I did post some photos of my Soft Velo
in the f32 Discussion Forum a few months ago at
http://www.f32.net/cgi-local/discus/show.cgi?6/99 The photos show a
studio shutter and you can just see the "open/closed" lever at the
top of the first photo. This opens the normally closed
shutter/diaphragm blades to the dial set aperture. Well, this is the
equivalent of a "T" shutter! So if you are using strobe lighting
then you can open the shutter and fire the flash then close again.
It works but depends on ambient lighting and aperture as to whether
you produce the desired effects....
The shutter will also operate through the cable release - open or
closed but more like a "B" setting. There are threads on the outside
and the inside for parallel threaded cable releases. These are an old
design but you can still find them in the junk boxes in camera shops
and of course at camera fairs. At least you have double the chance
for finding a suitable cable release as you can go for an internal or
external thread.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Clive