[LargeFormat] Shutter release for old lense

[Clive Warren]

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