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Wollensack Raptar 101mm f/3.5 Lens Bokeh Test and Review


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This Wollensack Raptar 101mm f/3.5 is the first vintage still photography lens designed for this purpose, disregarding the Polaroid Land Camera Model 150 Lens, 130mm f/8.8, that we're going to test and review for bokeh quality and flare. According to numerous sources, Wollensack was an American manufacturer based in Rochester, NY, that was established in 1899 and was shut down after 73 years of work in 1972. Through these years, it produced lenses for a wide range of products from 35mm to large format and cine cameras as well as projectors and industrial imaging devices. Wollensack produced this specific lens for Clarus Model MS-35 cameras between 1946 and 1952. It comes with an M42 screw mount that helped us easily mount it on a Nikon Z7. Since some sources say these lenses had a distinguished Clarus mount that was NOT standardized, it's unknown to us whether this one was customized at some point or originally came with an M42 screw. It's in very good condition with minor scratches on the body, a smooth focus ring, and very, very little dust on the elements, if we neglect the flaking of the chromium plating around its tip. The aperture has 15 blades, and its f-stops range from 3.5 to 32. Like the previous lenses, we also tested this one with a wide-open aperture to maximize the visibility of the character that this lens has and gives to our still shots and videos. It is noteworthy that this lens comes without any coatings, as it was produced in the early years after WWII, when coatings were not very common. This vintage lens is very rare, and we couldn't find any photo or video samples taken with it, so we're the first website to do so.


Color Photos and Bokeh

For an f/3.5 lens, the bokeh that our lovely Wollensack Raptar 101mm f/3.5 lens creates is magnificent; soft and smooth, not too crowded, but dreamy and mesmerizing. On account of this, because of its mid-tele focal length, it doesn't create a swirly bokeh. Like many other lenses of its era, the center of the photo is sharp, and the edges are softer.



Black-and-White Photos and Bokeh

Lack of coating results in slightly lower contrast in black-and-white photography, but the photos are still amazingly sharp - and with a tiny touch of a good edit - very persuasive.



Flare in Photos

This vintage Wollensack Raptar 101mm f/3.5 lens fairly surprised us when it came to flare testing. As you see below, the flare creates a series of rainbow circles that repeat themselves around the light source. Scroll down below and see how these circles dance around the sun in the flare video. Another form of flare that it creates is the rays in the third photo.



Flare in Videos

As I wrote earlier, you can see the rainbow circles below, and if you want, you can always find a creative way of using this effect in your art of photography.



At the end, I'd like to remind you that you can always send us a comment or shoot us an email to ask for more photos and videos, and we'll be beyond happy to share them with you. Our strategy at the time being is to write concise posts and share a limited amount of text and multimedia material to maintain your attention in this hasty era of human history.


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