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Budget 4x5 lens trio
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 12:27 am    Post subject: Budget 4x5 lens trio Reply with quote

All Schneider - Kreuznach; all under 50Eu (average was 25Eu), and none of them left the factory as general purpose taking lenses. However, the really handy thing about these, is they all use modern filter threads, unlike the older ones where you have to struggle with push-on filters and other such inconveniences.



On the left is a 135/5.6 Symmar-S enlarging lens, which will fit into a Compur #0 shutter.

The middle one is a G-Claron 210/9 repro lens, which I got a Prontor Press #1 shutter for - which was a wrong move, as it's a bit of an awkward one to mount.

The right hand one is a 150/5.6 Componon-S which will also fit a Compur #0 shutter.

So, I now need two Compur #0 shutters and a #1. The #0s are plentiful, available on lots of old folders, as I'm not too bothered about flash sync, so a pre-war rimset is fine for me. #1 is less common, but plenty still around and they come up frequently on 1930s 9x12 folders.
In the meantime I can swap the cells of the 210 into the rimset #1 I already have, but there's a good 1930s Xenar in there that belongs to that, so I want to keep it that way.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 4:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Three old time approved Schneider lenses.




Very Happy

You can't go wrong with it.

If you ever had need of a Acme #3 shutter I have an spare here and could send you, but it's not the case...
For this sort of adventures I acquired last month a behind the lens Sinar Copal shutter, which will work flawlessly with process/barrel lenses.

As soon as you have used the lenses, please send pics,

Cheers,

Renato


PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is going to be lovely - a Linhof with a Kodak lens on it, writ in BIG LETTERS - KODAK. Hahahahaha. I'll get some looks, I think. Actually, of course, it's not really a Kodak lens or shutter, but the BIG NAME on it would lead any casual observer to think it was. On second thoughts - an ignorant thief might think it's just an old Kodak.



Not sure whether this is a size 0 or 1 Compur, so will wait until it gets here to see what will fit.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cool!

Renato


PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Farside wrote:
This is going to be lovely - a Linhof with a Kodak lens on it, writ in BIG LETTERS - KODAK. Hahahahaha. I'll get some looks, I think. Actually, of course, it's not really a Kodak lens or shutter, but the BIG NAME on it would lead any casual observer to think it was. On second thoughts - an ignorant thief might think it's just an old Kodak.


You can remove the Kodak name plate very easy...(2 screws on each side of it)

Also not sure if its the light reflection.. but the front element looks like it needs to be
cleaned. If you have a spanner wrench.. you can remove the front name plate on the
lens and the front element will come out.. so you can clean behind it and the inside of
the second element.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is a #1.

The Xenar 13.5 will cover 9x12 but not 4x5. I have two CZJ Tessar 4.5/13.5s, one the same age as that Xenar, one a bit older, both uncoated of course, they are excellent lenses, a little soft wide open with a glow due to uncorrected spherical aberration, so they make excellent portrait lenses used wide open, but stopped down, they become critically sharp for general purpose use.

It's a shame to remove the lens from an old camera just for the shutter. #1 shutters are not hard to find, I have a dozen of them, last one I bought was a dialset Compur with Tessar 4.5/13.5, cost me 12ukp inc. shipping. Before that I bought four together in a lot, they were from a Polaroid gel cam of some sort, with Tominon and Rodenstock lenses fitted, two were Prontor Press, two were Copal Press, all standard #1s. Two of them now have Mamiya rb67 lenses (90mm and 180mm) fitted to them for use on my Speed Graphic, one still has the original Tominon 4.5/105 in it and the fourth has a modified Zeiss Distagon 50mm fitted (that one took a fair bit of work).


PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The lens isn't needed, it's just for the shutter, and if it's a #1 will house the G-Claron.
As for it being a shame to strip it - well, if another one comes along I'll put that one back on the Kodak / Nagel. Nothing is irreversible.
I was hoping to find a real scrapper with a decent shutter, but this is what came up at the right price.


PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't expect too much from the G-Claron, it needs to be closed to f22 to give good results at distance. I have a 9/150 G-Claron in a #0 shutter and I'm selling it because, apart from being much smaller, it is noticeably inferior to my Symmar 5.6/150, the Symmar is sharper at infinity at f8 than the G-Claron is at f22. Where the G-Claron is useful, is close-up, upto 10-12m, there it is okay, but still needs to be stopped down.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think this Claron will be ok for portraits, and if not, well, at least it gets me going with something. I'm not looking for pin-sharpness anyway - the camera is better than I am.