One size fits all

Curt · Mar 7, 2008

Do you think it's wise to put your lenses in shutters on one size of lens board? I'm moving toward a standardized lens board, the Wista board. That means I'll have to make a couple of adapters for the cameras I have that don't take the Wista board.

Curt

Ian Grant · Mar 7, 2008

The theory sounds good but the practice doesn't work if say you have a Speed or Crown Graphic, which take a smaller board.

I'm planning on fitting K-mount bayonets to a few of my lenses and then having a lens-board for each 5x4 and one 9x12 camera with the female body mount. It's not as daft as it sounds (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

Ian

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 7, 2008

I've tried to standardize mainly on Linhof and Sinar-sized boards, using an adapter board for Linhof boards on my cameras that take Sinar. Lenses that don't fit on a Linhof board are mounted on the larger Sinar boards. I've also got some lenses on Linhof 23 boards that I use with the Linhof Wideangle Focusing Device on the 4x5" camera or with a Linhof 23/45 adapter for longer lenses.

The exceptions are the Korona 7x17" camera, which I'll convert to Sinar at some point, as I did my 11x14" American Optical, and the 5x7" Press Graflex, which can't use such a wide variety of lenses anyway, but I've been thinking of making an adapter for Linhof boards on that one as well.

removed account4 · Mar 7, 2008

that's a great idea ...
i have all my lenses that cover 4x5 and 5x7 on speed graphic boards.
my toyo has a speed to 110mm adapter, and the 5x7 camera has
one of those graphic view to speed graphic adapters.

it is that much easier when i don't have to deal with lensboards ...

good luck curt!

john

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 7, 2008

The Linhof-Wista lensboard is as close as there is to a "standard" lensboard. And most modern lenses will fit on one, so long as they have a Copal 3 or smaller shutter (a few exceptions are the fast wides that have rear elements large enough in diameter that they won't go through the front standard of any camera designed around the Linhof board). The only problem with trying to standardize on one of the smaller lensboards is that some older lenses have big shutters or large-diameter barrels that wont fit, no matter how you try.

richard ide · Mar 7, 2008

I made some extra Cambo lensboards from 1/8" aluminum and made an adaptor for one to take my Crown Graphic boards. Makes things a lot easier.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 7, 2008

Another reason to standardize on a smaller board where possible and use an adapter board for cameras with a larger front standard, is that the lenses will pack more compactly.

Nick Zentena · Mar 7, 2008

I've got everything but one lens on Linhof type boards. The one lens that isn't uses a #3 shutter. Bought used it came without the bit needed to clear the Linhof board bits. So it's on a Sinar board.

I've got adapters for my cameras to take Linhof boards.

c.d.ewen · Mar 7, 2008

Standard size + adapter works for me. Any lens that can fit gets put onto a 4x4 board for a Crown Graphic. I've got adapters, with attached Packard shutters, to use them on the 8x10 'dorff and the 12x20 Korona.

Charley

argus · Mar 7, 2008

David A. Goldfarb said:
Another reason to standardize on a smaller board where possible and use an adapter board for cameras with a larger front standard, is that the lenses will pack more compactly.

That's why I mounted my 4x5 lenses on Linhof boards. I made and adapter plate for my Toyo.

Lenses for the 8x10 and 7x17 are on 6" wooden boards.

G

Curt · Mar 7, 2008

Thank you all, I was reticent about posting what seems like a mundane thought but I have learned a lot from each post here. I should have said that the huge Ilex and some Betax etc. will not fit on a smaller board and I have them dedicated to their 8x10 cameras. The lenses I will be using are for 4x5 and 5x7 and one board and an adapter or two seem to be the way to go. Should I want to use the 5x7 back on my C1 then I would need an adapter for lenses that cover that format.

The one conversion I saw here that looked pretty neat was the bayonet mounting.

Curt

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 7, 2008

There are ways of getting big lenses on small boards. One possibility is a top-hat style extension lensboard, which should work if you wanted to try to get, say, an Ilex 5 on a Technika board. Another is to have a custom flange made that uses the rear threads of the lens. I did this to mount an 11.5" Verito on a Technika board.

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