on 4x5 cameras and lenses.

[walter23]

I have this stuff called 'wetting agent' that comes in a little bottle (about 1 oz or less). You add two drops to your final wash and the water (and mineral deposits) slide off your film like, well, something slippery.

I suspect it's just a detergent or something similar like a long chain alcohol (eg octanol), so calgon probably works just as well.

Hi Steph

Here's what I finally discovered after years of heartburn and white crudballs on my film. Calgon. Same thing that makes your wine glasses glisten in the dishwasher. It's cheap. Lifetime supply on ebay for 16 bucks or so. I don't know what the measure is, but enough to cover about a half a penny mixed with my final wash solved my problem. Well that one problem anyway. I've got others. :rolleyes:

For your old curtain speed, you'd be very hard pressed to find a finer lens than the old 18cm sunken mount Heliar I picked up the other day

Good luck.

[darinwc]

Charles,
I was not intending to bash you. I was simply disagreeing with you in an open discussion. If you feel strongly about your statements, I would be happy to hear more from you.

Here are the statements I disagree with:
1. "Just a year or so ago practically everyone on this list poo-pooed Wollensak lenses."
I've been on this board for a couple of years and I dont remember anyone saying that wollensak lenses are bad. In fact I did a quick search of this forum and I saw many people reccomending wollensak and some reports that the wollensak lenses were their favorite. A prime example from a year ago is a post titled: "Are there any good lenses from 'unclean' brands?" If you still think otherwise please post some examples of people "poo-pooing" wollensak.

2. "Today they are among the most sought after and "Pricy" on ebay."
I ran a search of completed auctions on ebay. Here is the query i used:
(wollensak, verito, raptar, velostigmat, veritar, Vitax , Voltas, Varium)
Here are the top 5 single-lens auctions that completed:
Extremely Rare & Desired Wollensak Veritar Lens 4x5 (10 inch) sold for $385.00 with 9 bids.
Wollensak Vitax Portrait Lens No.2 - Variable Diffusion sold for $293.88 with 10 bids
12" f 4.5 Wollensak Velostigmat Series II sold for $271.00 with 10 bids
Wollensak Velo. Wide Angle Ser. III f 9,5 8x10 6 1/4 sold for $245 BIN
RAPAX WOLLENSAK 135 mm f4.7 RAPTAR LARGE FORMAT LENS sold for $125.00 with 7 bids
Comparing these recent sales to other major lens manufacturers sales and I would say wollensak lenses are not the most sought-after or pricey. In fact i would say they are a great bargain. Allthough admittedly the recent ebay sales may be too small a sample.

3. "The Velostigmats and Raptars that sold for less than a hundered dollars are now selling for 250 to a 1000 dollars or more. " Here is where i think others may have gotten confused. because there are different series of the velostigmat and different types of raptars as well. I did not want someone to overspend on a common tessar-type 135mm raptar thinking it could be worth over $1000. I had wanted you to clarify which of these lenses were so expensive and why.

"My point in what I am trying to get accross is simply there is/was nothing at all wrong with the standard stock lenses that Graphlex placed on their various models of cameras." Definately agree with you there. But I would like to add that other lenses have different qualities that may make them more or less desireable.

"What I have said here is fact, not speculation as to how the lenses actually performed. As somebody once said, "Hell I was there!"" What you have said is an opinion, and should be taken with a grain of salt just like everything else. I dont want to trivialize advice from someone with many years of experience, but i will suggest some humility.

"I read it on the internet so it must be true!"

[Murray@uptowngallery]

APUG member Harrigan has a 250 mm f/6.3 Astrogon lens, described as apparently a process Tessar. He wants $45 + shipping. It's a barrel lens, decently fast, but I don't know any more about it.

I have a Kodak Enlarging Ektanon 10" also a Tessar, and I guess I do not need redundant lenses...