# Wollensak 51mm f/1.5 Raptar lens - help identifying



## focalfiend (Jun 8, 2012)

Hi everybody; my parents recently came across a couple of interesting lenses at a swap meet, and I have no idea what they are for or how to use them. They are Wollensak 51mm f/1.5 Raptar lenses, but have no aperture blades or any moving parts at all. Projector lenses, maybe? Enlargers? I'm just not sure. I was hoping someone here has seen these before and can tell me more about what they are. They both came with screw-on "hoods," although I'm not sure if they are actually hoods, or serve another purpose. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## unpopular (Jun 8, 2012)

I am thinking its a projector lens.

Let me know if you want to sell it or need info on how to mount it.


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## focalfiend (Jun 8, 2012)

Thanks! That's what I was thinking, too, but since I haven't seen many projector lenses I wasn't sure. Do you think these would serve any practical use in photography today?


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## IanG (Jun 8, 2012)

It's a surveillance camera lens off an early  CCD camera, posasibly film, they had no iris blades and were set up and the focus fixed. Usually the lighting was constant so the camera was adjusted to suit.

I have a similar fast Cosina lens but they won't cover 35mm film.

Ian


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## unpopular (Jun 8, 2012)

I looked up Stereovision International, and found this article on a smut film from the late 1960's:

The Stewardesses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



> The film was shot in 35 mm color and projected in a new, single strip, side-by-side polarized format called StereoVision. A year into distribution, an improved format was added,where-in film was compressed horizontally in printing, then expanded with an integrated anamorphic, "unsqueezing" lens for projection. Unlike some of prior technologies it was impossible for the film to go out of sync. It was also released in a few large theaters in 70 mm StereoVision. All showings used plastic-framed polarized glasses, instead of the familiar paper ones of the 1950s. Silliphant was the original President of StereoVision International Inc., and was the co-inventor of the basic process. In later years Chris Condon developed a slightly different system to show wide-screen 3D. This was used in a number of successful 1980s feature films including _Jaws 3-D_, the most successful 3-D movie in that era, and Universal's _Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn_.



I thought that because the lens had no aperture, it was a projection lens. However, Raptar is a taking lens design. Without an aperture, that means it could be one of a few things. It is the front or rear element of a larger design used in a stereoscopic camera system with the aperture in the middle. What I am thinking, however, is that it's a part of the machine which makes teh prints for distribution.

Given it's size, I'd imagine it should cover 35mm easily. You can see if it will cover your sensor at a reasonable amount of extension my just holding it up to your camera without a lens attached. My bet is that this could make an interesting close focus lens.

ETA - I am deffinitely now thinking that this is part of the printer. Raptar is also available as an enlarging lens.


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## unpopular (Jun 8, 2012)

Whatever it is, it is not intended as a taking lens:



> In 1969, he and his partner Allan Silliphant received a patent for the world's 1st Single-Camera 3-D Motion Picture Lens and they formed the company Magnavision which was changed to StereoVision Entertainment. After the success of soft X, eventually R rated 3D movie The Stewardesses he and Silliphant founded Sierra Pacific Airlines.[SUP][1][/SUP] which continued to operate under several newer owners a fleet of Convair prop-jets and later, Boeing 737 jets, under the current owners.In 1972, he received a patent for a special widescreen 3-D camera lens for modern 35mm and 70mm reflex motion picture cameras.[SUP][1][/SUP]



(Chris Condon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Though it may be an intermediate lens within the camera or projector, or as I said, a component in the printer.


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