Question about lens boards, shutters and how to mount a LF lens....

[Drewdoo]

bit of background... amateur shooter and 35 mm and occasional 120 shooter that is migrating to (mostly) 120 and, now, 4 x 5. The genesis of my decision to try LF (4x5) is my desire to shoot portraits (b & w) of the matriarchs and patriarchs of my family, including my children's Great-Grandfather (WWII vet and extraordinary man). Having said all that, I am as clueless as you would expect about many things related to 4 x 5, which leads to my first question...
I also purchased the lens in pic below for the portraits but am not sure how to mount it to the lens board. Based on your knowledge, can that lens be mounted to the existing lens board (from the 135 mm lens included with the B&J) or does it need a different shutter? If I can switch it to the lens board, is there a tutorial that would help guide me, or does such a task normally take professional help (and in that case, to whom should I turn)?

Thanks much for your advice as I can't wait to get started on this project! Taking some test shots today as just last night I loaded my first batch of film..

 

[ChuckP]

That lens has a Copal 1 shutter that uses a 42mm lensboard hole. The 135 probably uses a smaller size hole. You need to find a lensboard for your camera that is sized for a Copal 1 shutter.

 

[Drewdoo]

Ahh, got it! THATS's what that '42mt' means...

Assuming I had a bird with the right sized hole, is it simple to dismount the old and mount the new?

 

[grahamp]

Read the documents on www.largeformatphotography.info about this - it will help a great deal. With a lot of large format cameras (not necessarily yours) the lens board is a flat panel with a suitable hole. So in many cases you can get a piece of suitable thickness plywood (hardware store 'crafts' area) and a suitable size hole saw. With the right size hole, you unscrew the rear element and locking ring from the shutter, insert the back of the shutter in the board, align to your satisfaction, replace the ring, and the rear element. Do get a suitable spanner/wrench or thin straight edge to tighten the lock ring - you don't want to damage the shutter blades. Don't try to use a hole saw on aluminium (aluminum) unless you really know what you are doing - the metal will bind with nasty consequences. Milling is the way to deal with metal.

If you have a complex lens board, with steps or grooves for light traps, you may need to make more effort constructing the board or just try to find one. Be careful with the lens threads, as they are fine and you do not want to risk cross-threading.

 

[Dan Fromm]

To dismount, unscrew rear cell from shutter, unscrew retaining ring, pull shutter away from the front of the board. Replace rear cell in shutter.

To mount, unscrew rear cell from shutter, unscrew retaining ring, hold shutter against front of board, screw retaining ring back on, replace rear cell in shutter?

No retaining ring? Buy one from, e.g., B&H or SKGrimes. Retaining rings for standard shutters (Compur/Copal #0, #1) are stock items.

Hole too small for new shutter? Get another board with the appropriate hole, have the old board rebored.

 

[Drewdoo]

You guys are seriously awesome! Obviously I am a total noob and it makes me feel better about pushing forward and learning knowing so many knowledgeable folks are so giving with said knowledge. Also, I have to give a big thanks to Ian C - he typed an incredibly detailed and complete 'how-to' via IM. Super helpful!!

About to read up at the referenced site and hope post results from my first negatives in a few weeks.

 

[Dan Fromm]

OP, since you're just starting out you'll have many questions. Believe it or not there are books that contain answers to them. The two that are most often recommended on http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/, a much better place to find help on LF than APUG, are Steve Simmons' Understanding the View Camera and Leslie Strobel's View Camera Technique. Jim Stone's A User's Guide to the View Camera is highly recommended on the French LF site. Its in English, that should tell you something. All three can be bought at very reasonable prices from sellers on alibris.com, abebooks.com, amazon.com, bn.com, ...

 

[Leigh B]

Ahh, got it! THATS's what that '42mt' means...
Assuming I had a bird with the right sized hole, is it simple to dismount the old and mount the new?

42mt is a generalization. The proper hole diameter for a #1 Copal shutter is 41.8mm.

The retaining ring has a sleeve projecting from the inner surface that fits in the mounting hole.
It's slightly larger than the actual thread diameter. It's function is to protect the fine threads from damage.

You'll need a "lens wrench" like this one from Rodenstock:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131992-USA/Rodenstock_260600_Metal_Lens_Wrench.html
or this from Toyo:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61131-REG/Toyo_View_180_625_Lens_Mounting_Wrench.html

The Toyo one is cheaper but won't do the #3 shutter. (BTW, there is no #2 shutter, only 0, 1, and 3.)

You may find a small flat-sided slotted screw in the back of your shutter, projecting backwards.
This is an anti-rotation screw, meant to hold the shutter in the proper position on the board once mounted.

Its use (or not) is highly controversial. Some folks (like me) always use it; others never use it.
Proper use requires cutting or filing a small semi-circular cut at the proper point in the mounting hole edge.

- Leigh