Posted by Les on September 06, 2000 at 20:27:15:
In Reply to: Thank you Les, Bert, and Alex posted by Kent on September 06, 2000 at 19:07:32:
Wollensak made Optar lenses, just like (and I mean JUST like) Kodak made Ektars. We can argue until Royal Pan makes a come back as to whose was better. The Tele half of the name means there is less bellows draw than a lens of the same focal lenght.
the best example is the 14" Tele Optar. The Speed/Crown has only
12" of bellows, and as such shouldn't be able to focus a 14" lens,
but the Optar needs only about 11" of bellows to focus at infinity.
But with this comes a loss in overall performance. How big or small
is a matter of personal taste.
You will find all of the Tele Optars in both barrel (no shutter)
mount and shutter mounted. Barrel mounts are cheaper, but you are
depending on the focal plane shutter in the camera that may not be
accurate and or have pin holes. Shuttered lenses are more
expensive, but I find the front shutter more reliable, particularly
at slower speeds.