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Shooting with barrel lenses
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:54 pm    Post subject: Shooting with barrel lenses Reply with quote

Many of my potential LF lenses don't have shutters & often there's no aperture as well.
Having just started to shoot (rather than just collect) my 5x4 kit, I've found this causes more difficulties than adapting to digital bodies!
Looking on-line for shutters I see the range of sizes is limited & e-bay seems to want as much for an empty shutter as for a random lens in the same shutter. Either way the price is too much for me.

Restricting the aperture can be arranged with paper/card 'waterhouse stops' directly in front of the lens, or with a purchased iris if I have one the right size.

For longer exposures simply uncapping & recapping should work, but that's not an option below 1"
I have managed to get a few ancient Thornton Pickard shutters that might work & could be used with some of my lenses, but the speed range is limited even when they work well.

Things get particularly awkward with lenses like this 150mm f/1.2
A challenging lens by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

Six inches across is actually bigger than any of the Thornton Pickard shutters made according to the old 1920's TP catalog I browsed, as well as any standard LF shutter...

My efforts with a 'Galli shutter' (usually 2 dark slides, but need to be bigger sheets for this beast) have so far not given usable exposures so I want to investigate other budget DIY options.
Any suggestions?

Does anyone else shoot with barrel lenses? If so your experiences would be most helpful!
Friends


PostPosted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Apologies for the late reply.

For barrel lenses in general, think Speed Graphic. These cameras have focal plane shutters.

I've had adapters made for hanging smallish -- not like your 150/1.2 monster -- lenses in front of Copal #1 and Ilex #3 shutters, also for hanging a Compound #5 in front of a 900/10 Apo-Saphir.

https://packardshutter.com/ will sell you shutters that open as wide as 5".


PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromm wrote:
Apologies for the late reply.

For barrel lenses in general, think Speed Graphic. These cameras have focal plane shutters.

I've had adapters made for hanging smallish -- not like your 150/1.2 monster -- lenses in front of Copal #1 and Ilex #3 shutters, also for hanging a Compound #5 in front of a 900/10 Apo-Saphir.

https://packardshutter.com/ will sell you shutters that open as wide as 5".


Thanks Dan, I have had a look at Speed Graphic (& the MPP equivalent) however both of these have lens boards too small for my lens (as does my Thornton Packard Ruby - which also has a focal plane shutter when I finally get it working again).
The packard shutters would solve things nicely but they cost considerably more than my 5x4 camera & lens combined - as a hobbyist I can't stretch to anything like that Sad

When winter comes I'll try using it in the dark with flash, then eventually I'll hopefully get round to building a crude falling curtain type shutter.


PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a trick for mounting large lenses on smaller lens boards. A stepped adapter. I've had several made for various big fat lenses.

One type is cup shaped, internally threaded at the front to accept the lens' rear mounting threads.

The other is externally threaded at the front to screw into the lens barrel's internal rear threads. I had these made for some TTH aerial camera lenses that were threaded internally to control stray light inside the lenses. The threads acted like baffles, were very effective.

A third type, that I haven't tried, is cup shaped but not threaded internally and with three radial set screws (I think these are called grub screws in the UK) to hold the lens in place. Ideally the screws are rubber tipped so they won't damage the lens' barrel. The adapter that holds a Compound #5 in front of a gigantic lens is made this way, but reversed.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 5:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromm wrote:
There's a trick for mounting large lenses on smaller lens boards. A stepped adapter. I've had several made for various big fat lenses.

One type is cup shaped, internally threaded at the front to accept the lens' rear mounting threads.

The other is externally threaded at the front to screw into the lens barrel's internal rear threads. I had these made for some TTH aerial camera lenses that were threaded internally to control stray light inside the lenses. The threads acted like baffles, were very effective.

A third type, that I haven't tried, is cup shaped but not threaded internally and with three radial set screws (I think these are called grub screws in the UK) to hold the lens in place. Ideally the screws are rubber tipped so they won't damage the lens' barrel. The adapter that holds a Compound #5 in front of a gigantic lens is made this way, but reversed.


Very clever idea - thanks for that!
Guess this is that adapter you were referring to (from your site): https://www.galerie-photo.com/1-lens-6x9-dan-fromm.html




Great to hear from you again, been quite some time we had contact... Wink


PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adapting the lens to be mounted in front of a shutter, as described by Mr. Dan Fromm, is the most simple and cheap solution. That's what I did, too.
For larger lenses there are some other, even if more expensive, solutions.
- Sinar made a Copal behind-the-lens shutter;


- Linhof made an accessory focal plane shutter for 4x5 cameras, but it's scarce and expensive;
- Plaubel made an accessory focal plane shutter for Makina but, unfortunately, only for the 6x9 format.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="kds315*"

Very clever idea - thanks for that!
Guess this is that adapter you were referring to (from your site): https://www.galerie-photo.com/1-lens-6x9-dan-fromm.html




Great to hear from you again, been quite some time we had contact... Wink[/quote]

That's it exactly.

Cheers,

Dan


PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've recently had a chance to play with a Delta 77 projector lens, which gives a much wider FOV than the one above
Focal length as yet uncertain but it gives roughly a 120degree FOV so is probably less than 100mm.
delta 77 - deluxe & GG by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr

The lens has to be mounted VERY close to the ground glass (less than an inch of clearance at infinity focus) as this shot with the ground glass removed shows
delta 77 - GG removed by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr
Even with bag bellows & the lens within the camera, I had to reverse the front standard to get things close enough. This doesn't leave any room for a behind the lens shutter.

For the moment shooting the ground glass with digital is the easy option, but I will have to try film soon! Shooting the ground glass square on does exaggerate the vignetting Sad


PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2024 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DConvert wrote:
I've recently had a chance to play with a Delta 77 projector lens, which gives a much wider FOV than the one above
Focal length as yet uncertain but it gives roughly a 120degree FOV so is probably less than 100mm.

The lens has to be mounted VERY close to the ground glass (less than an inch of clearance at infinity focus) as this shot with the ground glass removed shows
Even with bag bellows & the lens within the camera, I had to reverse the front standard to get things close enough. This doesn't leave any room for a behind the lens shutter.

For the moment shooting the ground glass with digital is the easy option, but I will have to try film soon! Shooting the ground glass square on does exaggerate the vignetting Sad


Hmm. I have a gross fat lens -- 900/10 Apo-Saphir -- that is too big for front mounting to work. It blocks access to the shutter controls.

I have an industrial Compound #5 -- no diaphragm -- and SKGrimes made an adapter that lets me hang the shutter in front of the lens. In ancient times there were a variety of roller blind shutters made to be mounted in front of lenses. Start looking.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2024 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

danfromm wrote:
DConvert wrote:
I've recently had a chance to play with a Delta 77 projector lens, which gives a much wider FOV than the one above
Focal length as yet uncertain but it gives roughly a 120degree FOV so is probably less than 100mm.

The lens has to be mounted VERY close to the ground glass (less than an inch of clearance at infinity focus) as this shot with the ground glass removed shows
Even with bag bellows & the lens within the camera, I had to reverse the front standard to get things close enough. This doesn't leave any room for a behind the lens shutter.

For the moment shooting the ground glass with digital is the easy option, but I will have to try film soon! Shooting the ground glass square on does exaggerate the vignetting Sad


Hmm. I have a gross fat lens -- 900/10 Apo-Saphir -- that is too big for front mounting to work. It blocks access to the shutter controls.

I have an industrial Compound #5 -- no diaphragm -- and SKGrimes made an adapter that lets me hang the shutter in front of the lens. In ancient times there were a variety of roller blind shutters made to be mounted in front of lenses. Start looking.


I have managed to get a couple of the roller bling shutters, but the biggest is 80mm diameter too small for both my mega lenses, and neither works well. Sad
Looking at Thornton Pickard catalogues from 100 years ago it seems only the biggest size they made would be suitable. I've yet to see one for sale (and probably won't like the cost when I finally do see one) I have seen instructables for DIY shutters that might be an option (rescaled if necessary) but I'll probably have several more years procrastination before building one.