Linhof Technika III 3D printed lens board

[Kyle M.]

I just purchased a Linhof Technika III without a lens board. I knew going into this that they are hard to find and expensive. But I figured I could just 3D print a couple. The only issue is I can only find files for the later Tech IV/V boards which I have printed in the past. I was hoping someone here might have a .STL or .STEP file for a Tech III lens board with a Copal #0 hole that they would be willing to share.

 

[reddesert]

I don't have an STL file, but I have had lensboards that fit a Technika III. They are (from my notes + memory) about 93mm wide, 99mm high, about the same thickness as a Technika IV board (whatever that is maybe 1.5-2mm or so), with a small notch a few mm wide at the bottom center, and a very shallow circular recess on the back around the lens hole to fit a felt light trap on the camera standard.

The circular recess probably isn't really needed and is only roughly the depth of a sheet of paper. One could make the boards from flat metal or wood stock, or basically design a STL file from the dimensions approx 93 x 99 x 1.5-2mm, plus the lens mounting hole and small notch at bottom.

 

[Kyle M.]

I don't have an STL file, but I have had lensboards that fit a Technika III. They are (from my notes + memory) about 93mm wide, 99mm high, about the same thickness as a Technika IV board (whatever that is maybe 1.5-2mm or so), with a small notch a few mm wide at the bottom center, and a very shallow circular recess on the back around the lens hole to fit a felt light trap on the camera standard.

The circular recess probably isn't really needed and is only roughly the depth of a sheet of paper. One could make the boards from flat metal or wood stock, or basically design a STL file from the dimensions approx 93 x 99 x 1.5-2mm, plus the lens mounting hole and small notch at bottom.

Thank you for the dimensions. I should be able to do something with that. Though I would like to find the position of the hole for a Copal #0 shutter since they don't seem to be centered. Or could I center the hole and still get full coverage, I wouldn't see why not unless I used a lens that barely covered 4x5.

 

[reddesert]

I think the lens mounting hole probably winds up centered in the circular hole in the front standard. So you can probably measure the standard to figure out where the hole should be. If I can find a Technika III lensboard later (if they are not stored away), I will try to measure it.

For the Technika IV lensboard, IIRC the lens hole is a little below board center to put the lens on axis with the film center. There are lensboards with centered holes, which gives you a default position with several mm of front rise, like-it-or-not. The Tech III board might be similar, but I don't recall.

 

[Kyle M.]

Thanks. I'm going to try one out with the hole centered and see how it goes. I was able to find someone on another site who has made them from both wood and metal without the rear ring and it didn't seem to affect anything. So I think I have everything I need to design and print a test board and I will go from there.

 

[awty]

I make mine from sheet aluminum, easy peasy.
You can use up to 90mm lens on a flat board, but you need to back it right back on the tracks to get infinity.
The Linhof Technika III is a great camera, I use mine as my main travel camera.

 

[igmolinav]

Hi,

How are you? I hope doing well : )!!!

Look, if you can, take a look at this shop:

Misure di sicurezza

www.ebay.it

The lady who runs it, should be able to
help you.

I purchased from her some lens boards for
a Toyo Field camera.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

igmolinav : )!!!

 

[Sean Mac]

Rough measurements are something like this.

 

[reddesert]

I did find a Technika III lensboard, which looks similar to the one Sean Mac posted. My measurements largely agree with his:
just under 93mm wide by 100mm high,
about 1.5mm thick,
the notch in bottom center is about 1.5mm wide x 2mm high,
the lens hole is centered about 8mm below board center.

The light trap recess on the back is centered on the lens hole, not the board, is a ring of about 71mm inner diam, 78mm outer diam, and is about 0.4-0.5mm deep. This recess fits the felt on the front standard, and is not absolutely critical I think.

 

[Mal Paso]

Don't mean to be rude but some very nice new aluminum lens boards are available on ebay from china for less than $20. I bought 5 and the quality is excellent. I can't imagine printed plastic being as durable.

Lens Board #1 For Linhof ShenHao Technika Wista Tachihara Copal Shutter Prontor | eBay

Note: We have center-hole Linhof type lens board Copal #00, 0, 1, 2, 3. Lens Board Size: 96x99mm.

www.ebay.com

 

[reddesert]

Don't mean to be rude but some very nice new aluminum lens boards are available on ebay from china for less than $20. I bought 5 and the quality is excellent. I can't imagine printed plastic being as durable.

Lens Board #1 For Linhof ShenHao Technika Wista Tachihara Copal Shutter Prontor | eBay

Note: We have center-hole Linhof type lens board Copal #00, 0, 1, 2, 3. Lens Board Size: 96x99mm.

www.ebay.com

That's great but those are the much more common boards for Technika IV/V and the many other cameras that also use a Technika IV board. They will not fit in the Linhof Technika III that the OP has, they are too wide (~ 96mm vs 93mm) . I am not certain at this instant, but I think the raised light trap ring on the back of a Technika IV [board - edited for clarity] also interferes with the front standard of a Tech III. I don't know if any of today's makers of inexpensive boards offer Tech III boards, I kind of doubt it. (Of course SK Grimes can/does make one, but it's not inexpensive.)

A Technika III board is a few mm narrower and possibly a smidge taller than a Technika IV board, does not originally have the clipped bottom corners, and does not have a raised ridge on the rear. I have seen a few lensboards that seemed to have been modified with the corners clipped so they could fit in either a Technika III or IV.

 

[Mal Paso]

That's great but those are the much more common boards for Technika IV/V and the many other cameras that also use a Technika IV board. They will not fit in the Linhof Technika III that the OP has, they are too wide (~ 96mm vs 93mm) . I am not certain at this instant, but I think the raised light trap ring on the back of a Technika IV also interferes with the front standard of a Tech III. I don't know if any of today's makers of inexpensive boards offer Tech III boards, I kind of doubt it. (Of course SK Grimes can/does make one, but it's not inexpensive.)

A Technika III board is a few mm narrower and possibly a smidge taller than a Technika IV board, does not originally have the clipped bottom corners, and does not have a raised ridge on the rear. I have seen a few lensboards that seemed to have been modified with the corners clipped so they could fit in either a Technika III or IV.

Thanks for the info! I did see other variations without the rear light trap but I didn't check the size. All my view camera lenses are on Linhof boards now mostly for the small size and to fit my Wista. I have adapter boards for my Cambos.

There are a few Chinese ebay sellers with a huge assortment of Linhof boards if you look at their other items for sale.

 

[Kyle M.]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I designed a board the other night and printed a prototype. The camera will be here later this week and I will let everyone know it it works. When I get a working 3D model I will post it on Thingiverse and a few other places and make it public. As far as the durability of 3D printed boards I have printed some Technika IV boards at 100% solid infill out of PLA and I am not strong enough to easily bend them. Long term exposure to heat isn't good for PLA but I don't think that will be an issue as I never managed to warp my previous boards. I can't say I've ever left a camera in a hot car or in direct sunlight before.

 

[Kyle M.]

My test board fits my Super Technika III and is light tight. I have designed boards in Copal #0, Copal #1, and Copal #3. I printed my test board with black PLA with a layer height of .1 and 100% solid infill. I'm sure ABS would be even stronger, but I've never printed with ABS due to ventilation issues. I am offering these files for free to anyone who wants them. At this time, I am unable to offer to print them, I am just too busy with work and other projects. If someone were to need a custom size hole, I can probably work that in. I centered the hole in the board instead of offsetting it. If you need an offset hole let me know and I'll see what I can do. I'm still very new to 3D design.

These are for the 4x5 Linhof Super Technika III and Technika III not the 6x9 or 5x7 versions of the Technika III.

Linhof Technika III Lens boards by kmichaels1990

Copal #0, #1, and #3 sized lens boards for the 4x5 Linhof Technika/Super Technika III. Note: These are for the 4x5 Linhof Technika/Super Technika III not the 6x9 or 5x7 versions of the Technika III. They also will not fit the Technika IV, V, or other newer models of Linhof 4x5 cameras which use...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[reddesert]

Thanks for posting these!

 

[Kyle M.]

Thanks for posting these!

Your welcome.

 

[Kyle M.]

I got bored tonight so I did some editing to the original design and offset the hole like an original Linhof board, I also added the recess for the light trap. If you need a hole size that is not Copal #0, #1, or #3 let me know, also I can do a centered holed if for whatever reason you need one.

 

[Sean Mac]

The offset becomes important when the lens you're using is tight on coverage.

One of my favourite lenses to use with my Technika is the 100mm Wide Field Ektar.

It just covers 4x5 at infinity.

My camera is from 1947 or so and the front standard was wrecked when I bought it so it has a Tech 4 style front standard now. This makes getting extra boards easy.

 

[Kyle M.]

The offset becomes important when the lens you're using is tight on coverage.

One of my favourite lenses to use with my Technika is the 100mm Wide Field Ektar.

It just covers 4x5 at infinity.

My camera is from 1947 or so and the front standard was wrecked when I bought it so it has a Tech 4 style front standard now. This makes getting extra boards easy.

I figured it had to do with lenses with less coverage. I'm not sure why they didn't make the whole thing centered from the beginning. It took me all of 20 minutes to design the board once I had dimensions.

Now any time I need one all I have to do is hit a button and 2 hours later I have a new lens board.