Plaubel Makiflex Standard.

[Nokton48]

I think it will be fine.

The tubes are very light in weight and the 300mm Imagon is not a heavy lens. Only two elements.

I do have a several heavy large square Manfrotto tripod plates that I use with the Makiflexes on a tripod.

Which is how I will use this lens for the most part.

 

[Nokton48]

Schneider 150 f5.6 Symmar-S on Makiflex Automatic.

For a good long while, I have been looking for a chrome 150mm F5.6 Schneider convertible Symmar, in good condition, in barrel mount. A fine Plasmat type, to complete my Schneider lens set for the Makiflexes. Have not had much luck. Some are overpriced IMO, a lot have the Schneideritis or look really rough, which I would prefer to avoid, if I have a choice. And, there are just not that many out there, at the moment.

Along came this really pretty Schneider 150mm F5.6 MC Symmar-S in barrel mount (at a good price), so I bought it. I debated a while, the idea of putting a more "modern" lens on an older "classic" camera. But I have many lenses which were not originally offered for the Makiflex, so what the heck.

I'm glad I did it! Here it is, on one of the Makiflex Automatics.

 

[Trask]

Nokton48, just as much as I like seeing your cameras I'd like to see some pictures taken with your cameras!

 

[Nokton48]

Here is my new Plaubel Makiflex MX1/551 Eyelevel Viewfinder Hood with 45 degree mirror and 2.5X Eyepiece.
It sold for $61.50 US$ in 1967 and was product #97490.

A quite rare bird and I am absolutely delighted to have acquired it.
Interesting though this viewfinder inverts the image.
So everything through the camera is upside-down.
Good thing I am a view camera user and used to that!

Shown with the 250mm Rodenstock "Soft Focus" lens,
mounted on the "Tube System" from China. And also
the Makiflex 9x12cm Plate Back, which will take the
Russian and German 9x12cm Plate Holders.

It looks like this thing should weigh a ton. But actually
it is not that heavy, just rather bulky. It is easy to transport
and use.


Trask:
I am in the process of putting my digital darkroom back together. I do have more Makiflex images I have made with these cameras, that I want to eventually post here. Working on it.

 

[Nokton48]

I acquired this Plaubel Makiflex automatic shutter for Twenty Euros on German Ebay.
Quite a lucky find. I'm quite sure I will find some proper cells to mount into it.
It bayonet-mounts into the Flat, or Extended "Prolongation" board, and allows automatic
iris stopdown right before exposure. This one is clean, and basically like-new condition. The mechanisms are snappy and operating perfectly. It has an F5.5 aperture with half-stop clicks to F32.

Additionally, I have acquired (but have yet to receive) two new auto-iris original Plaubel Makiflex lenses. These are, the 150mm F4.5 Schneider Xenar, and the 270mm F5.5 Tele-Arton. So I have now acquired the complete set of Makiflex lenses, with the exception of the 150mm Apo-Lanthar, which may be a bit too expensive for my tastes. Symmar lenses were also offered in my UK Plaubel catalog, although in all my searching I have yet to see one offered for sale.

As it warms up this spring, I will be heading out and using these cameras for some photographs I have had in mind for a long time. It has taken awhile to source the film and holders for these cameras, but I have a really awesome selection of choices at this point.

 

[AgX]

It has taken awhile to source the film ... for these cameras, but I have a really awesome selection of choices at this point.

Wephota in Germany should be able to supply you.

 

[Nokton48]

Wephota in Germany should be able to supply you.

Thank you for that! Yes I discovered Wephoto film while scouring for 9x12 emulsions last year.
I decided to fill up my deep freeze, with a variety of 9x12cm emulsions, to use in the three Makiflexes. Here you can see Ilford HP5, FOMAPAN 100, FOMAPAN 200, Wephoto ORWO NP22, EFKE 100, EFKE 25, WEPHOTO F05 (lith film) and some long expired Russian 9x12cm that supposedly works well at EI of 6.

Also here are my 9x12cm "Normalfalz" style single-shot plate holders, which fit my Plaubel Makiflex 9x12cm film back. 21 are Voigtlander, 9 are RADA (those are the ones with the ribs), 2 are unmarked French Holders, and 10 are Russian. I have rebuilt the light traps on all of the holders and they are all good to go. Just still a bit dusty inside, need a really good thorough final cleaning before loading.

 

[Nokton48]

Apples in A Bowl.

Plaubel Makiflex Standard, 240mm F5.5 Schneider Tele-Arton,
EFKE PL100 9x12cm film, eight seconds at F16, developed in
ADOX-Borax MQ developer. Scanned on Epson 4490 scanner.

 

[Nokton48]

Plaubel Makiflex Automatic, 180mm Schneider Xenar Plaubel Automatic lens, 1/60 at F9.5, EFKE PL100 9x12cm film. Developed in ADOX Borax MQ developer. Scanned on Epson 4490 Scanner.

 

[Nokton48]

And here are my two new Plaubel Makiflex lenses, in Automatic Plaubel shutters.
You cock the lens, and it stops down right before exposure, like an Auto Graflex.
I bought these from Helsinki, Finland

On the left:
The 270mm F5.5 Schneider Tele-Arton on a flat Plaubel Makiflex board.

On the right;
the 150mm F4.5 Schneider Xenar. This lens can bayonet-mount onto the new flat 270mm board.
The 150mm has a nice screw-in lenshood built into the front of the lens mount.

Both of these lenses are in the original Plaubel Makiflex catalogs.

The extra Automatic shutter, is marked F5.5, probably intended for another 270mm Tele-Arton.
I have some F5.5 lenses in barrel mount that I can probably use with these, after proper cell spacing.
I'm sure I will find a use for this extra shutter in the future.

 

[Trask]

Keep it up -- it's all good! Great thread, nice to see your focused, dedicated collecting and use of same.

 

[Nokton48]

One very serious consideration, is how does one develop a lot of 6x9cm and 9x12cm sheet film?
I have used the Unicolor Print Tank and Uniroller so far, with varying degrees of success. I have even
tried modifying the Unicolor Print Drum to properly hold 9x12cm film. I have given up on this idea.

What I do have presently, are some homemade BZTS film tubes, and a rack, which will hold eight film tubes.
I have used this once, and it worked great. Film was fixed by hand in a tray. Not so good for FOMAPAN, I am thinking.
Also, for 6x9cm and 2X3" I have an old Nikor Tank with sheet film rack, which I have used with success.

After alot of studying and internal debating, I have decided to bite the bullet, and have settled on the JOBO 2500 system.
I have acquired a JOBO Multi Tank 5 with two 9x12cm reels, and a Multi Tank 6 with Extension Tank. Also I am planning
to acquire a Multi Tank 2, with 9x12cm reel. So with this system, I should be able to process six, twelve, or eighteen sheets
of 6x9cm or 9x12cm film. And it is good it also works with 4x5" as I have alot of that, as well as 2x3". Not sure if I can process
2x3" in the JOBO, but I will know that soon as I get it. From what I have read on the internet, the Unicolor Uniroller works great with the 2500 larger tanks. The one reel tank will be great for inversion and stand development of this film.
I'm also after the JOBO Cascade Film Washer.

Shown left: Homemade BZTS Film Tubes with Rack.
Shown Right: Nikor Tank with Sheet Film Rack for 6x9cm or 2x3".

 

[Nokton48]

And here are some of the JOBO items that have just arrived, for processing 6x9cm and 9x12cm Makiflex negatives. The JOBO Multitank 5 with two 2509n sheet film reels, which have been set to 9x12cm, and loaded with some very old 9x12cm sheet film. Also the JOBO film loader, which might work with 9x12cm, not sure yet.

I also have purchased a Multitank 2 for still development, and a Multitank 6 with tank extension, for when I get more2509n reels and want to make really big film runs. Very nice well made processing equipment perfect for my needs.

 

[Nokton48]

Last Summer our annual camera show was coming up, and I called the dealer Igor up in Cleveland.
He has a Makiflex too, and the 150mm F2.8 Schneider Xenotar Automatic Makiflex lens as well.
He offered to bring it to the show, and was kind enough to let me borrow it overnight, and
make some photographs and measurements. You see, his 150mm Xenotar focuses through the whole
focus range, while mine hits the front of the mirror as you back focus towards infinity. At the
Plaubel factory, they removed about 5mm of material around the back of the Xenotar rear cell,
so it dosen't hit the mirror. After studying this, and a lot of thought and consideration, I put the 150mm Xenotar back on a Plaubel Peco Jr board, and using a hand file, carefully removed a lot of the heavy rear cell ring, so it now matches Igor's lens. Bingo! It focuses now through the full range all the way to infinity. Unfortunately the recessed boards will only go on the Standard model, won't fit on the Automatics. But I will just use the wonderful 150mm F2.8 Xenotar on the Makiflex Standard Body, and that will be it.

Here's the Xenotar, after alot of very careful metal cutting. On the back side of the lens, you can see how much material I had to remove. And it was very thick heavy brass.

 

[Nokton48]

Here is another view of the 150mm F2.8 Xenotar, mounted on a Plaubel Peco Jr recessed lensboard, with rear cell modified. The lens now focuses from infinity to closeup, and the rear cell does not strike the Makiflex Standard shutter, when you fire it.

I have several pictures in mind to make with this lens, as the time to do so arises.

 

[Nokton48]

More 9x12cm Holders and Plaubel Peco Jr Lensboards have arrived. These are from Germany and Hungary. All in good condition and will be cleaned up and added to the collection. I will need to do new light trappings on all of the boards, but I enjoy doing this work. It is warming up here and I am looking forward to going out with these cameras, lenses, and films.

 

[Nokton48]

Here is what I am packing for a short hop photo trip. Going to try some more 6x9cms:

Makiflex Standard with 45-degree Porofinder, and 150mm F2.8 Schneider Xenotar lens.
Two extra lenses, four Makina 6x9 rollholders, and 12 6x9 Makina single-shot holders (loaded with Efke PL21).
Spotmeter, Neopan 400, Delta 3200, Ilford HP5+, Agfa APX100 rollfilm, and I may add some Fuji 120 Acros.

It's a heavy bag with all those holders but it gives me a lot of options. For longer trips away from the car I will need to lighten the load. Everything fits in one of my old Domke F2 bags.

 

[Nokton48]

More 6.5cmx9cm Plaubel Makina Film Holders.

6.5cmx9cm Plaubel Makina Film Holders.

I now have fifty of these

Might seem excessive to some, but I am gearing up to use these 6x9's in my three Plaubel Makiflexes (see my avatar). When you consider that I often like to use three or four kinds of film while out there (sometimes I will duplicate two or three or four frames of different types of film if the subject is strong enough) giving me a choice back in the darkroom. So divided by four it is really not so many. But these are HEAVY.

Presently I have 6.5cmx9cm Ilford FP4+, some FOMA 200, Efke 25, and Efke PL100. I'm always looking for more. Want to try Wephoto.

 

[Nokton48]

360mm F11 Kern-Arau Apo-Repro Lens on Makiflex Auto.

Here's another interesting one.

The Kern-Arau 360mm F11 Apo-Repro Lens, mounted on a Makiflex Standard. With this combo of tubes (originally made for Wista, manufactured in China) the lens focuses sharply from miles away to extreme close-ups. It is exactly focused at infinity with bellows fully retracted. It is very lightweight and well balanced on the camera. I found this lens in the basement of Midwest Photo, when they had their giant Burke and James Chicago buyout. There was a mountain of stuff there at the time. I was there, my friend Charlie was there, and they flew Ron Wisner in so we could all look at the stuff together. We ate pizza and drank beer, it was quite a hoot. As I recall Wisner made a giant pile of stuff (Protars and such) to take home.

I was delighted to find the Kern-Arau 360mm. An amazing lens, obviously brand-new. Still has the original leather lens caps! I also have the 210mm f6 Kern-Arau (see above).

 

[Nokton48]

Homemade Plaubel Makiflex Stovepipe Viewfinder.

For years I have been planning to finish this homemade Plaubel Makiflex Stovepipe Viewfinder.
I scrounged a broken Mamiya RB-67 CdS Magifying Hood, took it apart, recovered it with leather,
and painted it. Then I put it on my studio shelf.

Today I spent several enjoyable hours in my workshop, finishing this project. First I took an old Makiflex
Waist Level Hood that wouldn't quite popup, and stripped it completely, to get the base frame, which goes in the camera.
Then I carefully placed the RB-67 Hood, and drilled and screwed it together. Finally I cut strips of adhesive
foam to fill the void in the Makiflex frame and eliminate light leaks. The Mamiya ocular is fantastic and I can
easily really crisply focus on the grain of the Makiflex groundglass. I really prefer this type of finder to waist level, especially working outside. The finder covers the full 9x9 Makiflex groundglass. I can see no downsides.

I think Plaubel made something like this, although I have only seen one in thirty years, and that was part of a package for sale. I am tired of waiting

To competely finish it off, I am going to attach some adhesive Rollei SL66 "Anniversary Diamond Rubber" around the eyepiece, so I don't scratch my eyeglasses. A friend in Germany helped me acquire sheets of this stuff from the Rollei factory years ago.

New finder shown below with the Maikiflex Porrofinder. And the 150 Symmar-S is now on a recessed Plaubel Peco-Jr board. I have a 240mm Symmar-S in barrel coming from the UK, due in tommorrow. Been using the 150mm Symmar-S quite a bit recently. Will be good to have the matching 240mm.

 

[Nokton48]

240mm Schneider Symmar-S in barrel on Makiflex Standard.

This arrived today from the UK. The 240mm f5.6 Schneider Symmar-S in barrel.
To replace a chrome 240mm Symmar with milky spots between the elements.
I have looked for one for a long time at a decent price, then this upgrade came along.
It needed a retaining ring, luckily I bought a few extra from Midwest Photo. Takes the same ring as the 250mm & 300 Imagons.
So I borrowed one of those to set it up. And I will need to cut another "flat plate" to fit the lens, also borrowed from the
Imagon. Not looking forward to having to make that

Anyway it is very clean and a definate upgrade from the chrome 240mm Symmar.
Shown focused at infinity on the Makiflex Standard. VERY sharp and contrasty lens.
And it matches my 150mm Symmar-S, which I have recently been using a lot.
Yes it's big but actually not that heavy and balances well on the Makiflex.
I have ordered more of the Wista tubes from China, for future use.

 

[Nokton48]

Modifying Plaubel Makina Roll Film Backs.

One thing I have noticed, when going out with my Makiflexes, and using them with Plaubel Makina Roll Film Holders, is that the unexposed roll in the film insert tends to want to UNROLL during loading, exposing the roll to light. This is particularly troublesome with the EFKE roll films. It unrolls like a spring! Perhaps modern 120 rolls have paper not as thick as in the olden times?

My solution was to add plastic foam, with double sided adhesive, and attaching it to the "springs" that hold the roll in the film insert. By adding three layers of double-sided foam tape, and a "cover piece" of plastic foam, the unexposed roll is now tightly held in the film insert, with no chance of unrolling.

I have nine Plaubel Makina Roll Film Holders in 6x6cm and 6x9cm, so I made a "pile" of these foam inserts, which I am slowly adding, as I open the film backs (some are loaded with film). End of 120 film issue.

On the right: A pile of the foam inserts, ready to be installed in the Makina rollfilm insert.
On the left: Three Makina film inserts, with the foam installed. Works great!

 

[AgX]

Why did you not just bent those springs a bit more?

 

[Nokton48]

I guess because I have no desire to have to re-form metal springy strips, eighteen times.
No guarantee that would work well. I found this solution on the internet, and I tried it with
one back initially, it is a solution that really works beautifully. Much easier than bending the springs IMO.

Also I have not damaged them :confused: I can take off the foam stickers

 

[Nokton48]

In case anybody is interested, Here is the RADA catalog which has been a great help to me.
The "Normalfalz" holders are what fit the 9x12cm Makiflex back, and the 6.5x9cm plate holders
fit the Makiflex 6.5x9cm back.

http://www.galerie-photo.com/manuels/dos-rada.pdf