12" Commercial Ektar on a Cambo board?

I lent a 12" Commerical Ektar to a friend of mine and while that was happening, I got me a 4x5 Cambo SC. So while I'm waiting for that come back, here's a question.

I'd like to mount the 12" on to the Cambo and from what I read, my 21" monorail can accommodate the focal length.

Does anyone know what size Cambo lensboard I need? Its a 12" Ektar with an Ilex shutter.

Would I be able to get any inexpensive used Cambo lensboard and have it drilled out or is the lens to big for those? Or is there a Copal # size that I need?

Not sure exactly what size board the Cambo takes, but I think it's about a 6" board, with radiused corners. A Sinar board MAY fit, but you're probably better off getting an authentic Cambo board, or just get a sheet of good quality masonite, and drilling the hole yourself. The shutter on your lens is an Ilex #4. I don't know the millimeter dimension for this, but it is bigger than a Copal 1, but I think smaller than a Copal 3. If you can find a Copal 3 lensboard to try out, it MAY fit well enough to be serviceable.

If your SC takes a board roughly 6"x6" with two notches at the top for the locks, you might be well advised to get a factory board, since the thickness is not quite 1/8" or any other standard stock dimension, and needs to be fairly precise, at least at the top and bottom edges where it mounts. Also, without the factory groove for the light trap, the fit around the edges has to be pretty close. You can use any board with an opening equal to or smaller than the Ilex requires, and open the hole appropriately. The S. K. Grimes site should have the hole sizes for Ilex shutters, and the factory boards are made out of an aluminum die-casting alloy that is quite easy to machine.

Don't forget to look for "Calumet" branded boards as well as Cambo one. At KEH the Calumet boards are 2/3rds the price of the Cambo ones, despite being identical apart from the logo on the front. Just be careful that you don't buy the older boards for the C400 (4x4) or C1 (6x6).

At some stage Calumet went from being Cambo's US distributor to owning Cambo outright. In the US (at least) the cameras were then rebranded to Calumet. I think the 45N and 540 are compatible with the Cambo SC and the Cadet looks like it will use the same lensboards.

Eric,

Second vote for a Calumet board rather than a Cambo branded one. Same board less money.

The Sinar board is not the same and won't fit. The Cambo/Calumet board is unique to Cambo/Calumet cameras as far as I know.

Ditto on making sure you don't get an older Calumet (C-400) board. They are 4x4 inches and won't work.

Try Samy's or Calumet.

I had a 8 1/4 inch Commercial Ektar and man was it sharp. Have fun.