Wista/Technika lens boards and the Intrepid Camera

[mfoot]

Hi all,

First post here! I've currently got a Sinar Norma, but I'm currently awaiting the arrival of a newly purchased second generation Intrepid Camera. I live in London and don't drive, and while the Norma is fine in bike panniers, I'm currently gearing up for the 96 mile West Highland Way, which involves at least 7 days of hiking and camping. The Norma is simply too heavy and too large to fit in my pack.

Now, I don't have a lens board for it. I've a couple of Copal 0 lenses and most of the boards on eBay are around £45 (~$56). I have access to a 3D printer and think I could print myself one for under £5. All I need to do is draw a model and print it.

I'm using a 34.6mm hole for the shutter - the internet seems in agreement on this, special thanks to this site. The problem is the board itself. From what I've found on the internet, the (original) Technika lens boards are around 96mm x 98mm. This post says "exactly 96.55 x 98.75 x 2 mm". This site has them listed as 3.868 x 3.773 x .075 inches (95.8 x 98.2 x 1.9 mm). A guy who makes his own on eBay describes them as "made from 3mm mahogany board approximately 95 x 97mm"

Could anybody please answer the following questions:

1) What are the actual dimensions of the lens board?
2) For the Intrepid camera specifically, does it make use of any of the markings on the outside of the lens board, and would a simple rectangular board without the corner cutouts such as this fit in the camera?

Intrepid themselves have not responded to my question, and I'm hoping that they haven't changed the design between v1 and v2 such that somebody with a v1 can answer!

Many thanks!

 

[brofkand]

I have an Intrepid on order and have bought some Tachihara lens boards on eBay - Midwest Photo is selling Copal 1 boards for $9/ea right now.

You don't need to 3D print a lens board. In fact I'd recommend you didn't because a lot of folks say most 3D printed lens boards are not light tight. Just use a piece of chipboard or masonite. No need to be as precise and you can easily sand it down to fine-tune once you get the camera. I'm not sure if the camera will ship with a lens board or not - I know historically large format cameras usually have shipped with a lens board. If that's the case you could use it as a template.

 

[John Koehrer]

I'd guess that the differences are all within tolrance. There should be quite a bit of wiggle room.
The "precise" measurement may be from a particular sample.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Err on the side of slightly large and you can file the board down to fit exactly. You can then measure it and know exactly what you need for your application.

Doremus

 

[Ian Grant]

I usually use aluminium sheet to make odd lens boards, I just cut to the same size as a Wista/Linhof board. You might look at making an adapter board for your Sinar to take Wista/Linhof sized boards then you can use your lenses on either camera without remounting them on two different sized boards. I've made adapters so I can use some of my 5x4 lenses on my Agfa Ansco 10x8 cameras and also a Seneca 7x5 camera

Chinese Wista/Linhof style lens boards are quite cheap £16 at present inc postage, I have a few and they are as good as the actual Wista or Linhof boards I have.

If you can get to one of the Dead Link Removed - Bexeley on the 4th Beaconsfield on the 11th there's a good chance you might find lens boards there. I bought two for £15 at last Sunday's camera fair in Wolverhampton. welcome to APUG btw.

Ian

 

[brofkand]

The backs of photo frames (specifically 8x10 and larger frames) make good sources for smaller pieces of masonite - check your local thrift/charity store. At my local thrift shop, old ugly frames are less than $1 each. I will likely make one soon for an old beater lens I have that isn't worth the $9 investment for a real metal lens board.

 

[mfoot]

Chinese Wista/Linhof style lens boards are quite cheap £16 at present inc postage, I have a few and they are as good as the actual Wista or Linhof boards I have.

Thanks, I've ordered one of these. I hadn't been able to find them that cheap before and don't mind waiting. It's not much more expensive than a 3D print.

Thanks for the Bexley tip - I did go in the end but it was quite small and I didn't see much of use to me (yet!).

 

[DCphotos]

Randy at holgamods will 3d print lensboards for you. I've got three I had printed for my Intrepid and they are light tight, I don't see how they would be any less light tight that any other material as long as you get them done in black.