Linhof cams

Having fun with my new Standard Press. I'm curious about the range finder cams. Will they work with all Linhof cameras or the Standard Press take certain kinds? Are there focal length limitations or as long a cam is available, the lenses will work?

The standard press is of the Tech III era, isn't it? Tech III cams were originally serial-number matched to one body, one lens. They don't make them anymore, but some repair technicians like Richard Ritter can machine Tech III cams.

Tech IV and V/Master cams are physically interchangeable, but IV cams also need to be serial-number matched to the body and the lens. The Tech V and Master Tech have a zeroed groundglass, so the cams need only be serial-number matched to the lens.

Lenses can be cammed from 72mm to 360mm, possibly 450mm and 500mm teles, though the close range would be limited on the longer focal lengths, just because of the maximum length of a cam that will fit the camera.

You can try cams that aren't serial-number matched, but they might not focus accurately with the lens wide open.

Thanks for the insight

David A. Goldfarb said:

The standard press is of the Tech III era, isn't it? Tech III cams were originally serial-number matched to one body, one lens. They don't make them anymore, but some repair technicians like Richard Ritter can machine Tech III cams.

Tech IV and V/Master cams are physically interchangeable, but IV cams also need to be serial-number matched to the body and the lens. The Tech V and Master Tech have a zeroed groundglass, so the cams need only be serial-number matched to the lens.

Lenses can be cammed from 72mm to 360mm, possibly 450mm and 500mm teles, though the close range would be limited on the longer focal lengths, just because of the maximum length of a cam that will fit the camera.

You can try cams that aren't serial-number matched, but they might not focus accurately with the lens wide open.

Click to expand...

From my research on the internet, It is from the Tech III era. I didn't know that the cams are so particular. I saw some on Ebay and I thought all I had to do was to match the focal length of the lens to the cam. I guess if I'm not to wrap up in the range finder being precise and bet on stopping down more to make up for the error, it's probably OK. Never used a rangefinder 4x5 until recently and I'm pretty amazed at the old technology. Before, I just used LF view cameras.

If you've got the camera and the lens, and the cams you find on eBay aren't too expensive, you could try them and run some tests to see how accurate they are with your lens, or how much you may have to stop down to focus accurately in different parts of the distance range. If you don't plan to shoot wide open anyway, you may be ok, or it might be at least as good as scale focusing by estimating distances. If not, it's possible for a technician to thin the cam with a hammer, expanding it a bit and to regrind the edge to match the lens.

The original reason for this was to compensate for inconsistencies in the actual focal length of lenses of the same model, usually due to inconsistencies in the refractive index of the glass used to make them.

Thanks for the tip David. I'm tempted I'm going to practice using my range finder on my 127mm lens. If I get good at focusing, I'd like to get a 90mm cam. They're not that expensive. Do you shoot with your range finder on your Linhof? I'm so used to using the ground glass for focusing, the rangefinder is going to be a bit difficult to get used to. Not having to shoot a 4x5 on a tripod is definitely freeing.

I've used the rangefinder quite a bit with the camera handheld and on a tripod.

Handheld, it's just a big rangefinder camera with the smooth tonality and fine detail of large format. You just have to stay in practice so you don't forget all the details--be sure you've got the right cam and infinity stop for the lens, don't forget to set the zoom finder for the right focal length and distance range (if you use the zoom finder), cock the shutter and pull the darkslide, and remember to focus before pressing the shutter. You don't have to remember to stop down the lens or change the shutter from the focus or T position to the actual exposure time, since you're not focusing on the groundglass through the lens. If you happen to have a lens in a self-cocking shutter, that's even easier. I seem to have the other shutter mechanics and darkslide removal down, but if I haven't used the rangefinder for a few months, it's remarkably easy to forget to focus without the feedback of a blurry image or an unaligned rangefinder patch in the viewfinder.

The rangefinder is also handy with the camera on a tripod for portrait sessions, so you can have a filmholder loaded, darkslide pulled, ready to shoot, and check focus before clicking the shutter, in case the subject moves.

Thanks for the tips David. Rechecking focus without removing the film holder and opening up the lens is something I've never done shooting 4x5.