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[pat808]

I have a Raptar wollensak 135mm F4.7 without any lens cap and i would like to either get a cap or a uv filter for protection.
The thread size seems odd..are filters available for this old size of thread?
Maybe an adaptor is needed?
Any help appreciated!
Thanks

[Henry]

If your Wolly Raptar 135 is the same as the 135 Optar (as I believe is the case), then you need not a screw-on filter but a series VI slip ring of 38 mm (1-1/2") diameter, into which you would place a series VI UV filter and secure it to the slip ring with the screw-on retaining ring, usually (but not always) found with the slip ring. This all sounds more complicated than it really is; the hard part is locating the series slip ring and filter(s), since they haven't been made for many years. Flea market/camera shows and swap meets are your best bet, and there's always the well-known internet auction site. Perchance a camera shop, preferably an old-line firm that has handled lots of trade-ins, will have a miscellaneous parts drawer on premises; these can often be mined for choice ore suitable to fuel our "obsolete" equipment.

Likewise, mutatis mutandis, for the lens cap. I have often improvised lens caps from suitable sizes of bottle caps, and there are generic caps too, or caps made for other lenses which will fit yours; in fact, I have the latter such cap on my 135 Optar front element, and a bottle cap cap for the rear element (off of a Snapple bottle, IIRC). Sometimes one must build up the inner diameter of the cap with gaffer tape to make a secure fitment, or, conversely, perform a bit of judicious shaving. Where there's a will....

The following is purely editorial; please feel free to ignore! I think that lens caps are an excellent idea for protection when the lens is off the camera, but I'm not so sure about UV filters for our Graphics. They add two more glass surfaces into the equation, with all the downside potential that implies, and I wonder whether the gain, if any, is worth it? I can see the point on 35mm cameras, where the lens is jutting right out front, all exposed and vulnerable, but that's not exactly the case with a Graphic where you have the protection of the bed as (usually) the forward-most piece. But these are answers to questions that you didn't ask!

[ This Message was edited by: Henry on 2006-11-06 12:18 ]

[Tom]

If, as Henry says, your Raptar is the same as the Optar the filter thread size is actually 36.5mm. SRB in Luton (www.srbfilm.co.uk) who found me this information from their files were able to supply an empty filter ring which I adapted up to standard 49mm to suit all my existing filters, and with it being such an odd size they probably have something left for you.

[Henry]

Mm, now that's interesting. My Optar 135 front element is definitely not threaded for filters, so it's a different beast than pat808's Raptar.

[Tom]

It probably isn't an 'official' filter thread, merely being the thread used by the retaining ring for the front element. I don't believe that individual screw-in filters were very popular on older US cameras anyway (correct me if I'm wrong there, Henry), but the thread is 36.5mm and certainly on my Optar there is sufficient showing for it to utilised for filters.

[Henry]

You're right, Tom, there is thread showing and I agree that it's part of the lens element retaining set-up. You say there is a UK supplier for 36.5, and it works, so maybe pat808 should "go for it." If cost is a factor, he could always compare with the series VI slip ring; finding one of these is part of the "fun," if that's the right word, of owning Graphics. It took me quite a few trips to camera shows to finally come up with a 38mm slip ring, surprising in view of the great popularity of this particular lens. BTW, a recent catalogue from B&H Photo in New York lists every conceivable threaded step-up ring size in whole numbers, but none in .5mm increments ("B&H" is not Boosey & Hawkes, in this instance, but as a musician I'm always mindful of that great firm whenever I see those letters.)