What shutter can I use with each lens?

[JorgeCL]

Hello, my name is Jorge, I've been working during this last year with a home made medium format box camera ith which I take photos in the street, here you have some examples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jconlar/sets/72157635909362113/

Is time for me to go to large format!!! for the moment all I can afford is the lens, so I'll do a new box camera!
I'm looking for lens in ebay and realized that there is quitte a large offer of lens without shutter, I've seen some affordable external shutters, for example, an Gauthier Pronto Verschluß 00 M-20 ( Shutter 3 ), or Seiko Prontor Press Verschluß 1 ( Shutter ) DEFEKT, but I don't know with what kind of lens can I use with it, does it depend only on the diameter of the lens? or there ae some lens compatible with some shutters?
Also, is mounting the lens on the shutter an easy operation or I need any particular tools or knowledge?

I'm so excited about my new project, thanks so much for ur help!

Jorge

[Lachlan 717]

Try searching for a Sinar Auto Aperture Shutter.

It might be a bit more than you're thinking about paying, but, if yo can afford it, it will serve you well for many lenses and many years.

Also search for a Universal Iris Clamp. Have one of these fitted to a Sinar lens board and, with the Sinar shutter, you'll be able to mount and shoot most lenses.

[Bill_1856]

Looks like you're doing great already. Why change something that's working right?

[DrTang]

first - great photos

second - save yourself a big headache and buy a lens already in a shutter


what size negatives will you be producing?

[Alan Gales]

first - great photos

second - save yourself a big headache and buy a lens already in a shutter


what size negatives will you be producing?

Save yourself even more headaches and buy a cheap monorail to go with the shuttered lens, unless of course you just enjoy making the box camera.

[JorgeCL]

Thanks to all of you!
I'm so glad you like my pictures. I'm also happy with them, but I do have two good reasons to go for a large format camera. First, size, my negatives are 89mm x 76mm (with croping in the corners), I use photographic paper as a negative and take a picture of the negative to positive it. That means that the final copy is also rather small. The second and more important reason, curiosity! I learned a lot with my first one and took a long and fantastic time to be able to understnd and take good pictures with my old camera, now I want more!
I'll probably take your advice and buy a lens in a shutter, once I have the lens, doing the camera is easy enough.
I'll update about the results in a few months!

[JorgeCL]

I've just posted another thread in the lens subforum, since I'm completely new in this world I'm having a big trouble deciding what lens to use, if you could give me some advice, I'd be very thankful!
What lens to choose? http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?108769-Which-lens-to-choose&p=1083429#post1083429

[Drew Bedo]

The advice to buy a lens and shutter together is a very good idea. As to what lens to get: I would get any lens between 90mm and 210mm that you can afford. Work with that lens for a while and you will better know what you really need.

[DrTang]

Save yourself even more headaches and buy a cheap monorail to go with the shuttered lens, unless of course you just enjoy making the box camera.


OH... I like the whole box thing..

that's super cool

[Alan Gales]

OH... I like the whole box thing..

that's super cool

I agree. It is cool!

It's also got to be fun when people ask him what camera he used to make such great images. :)

[Jody_S]

Excellent photos, I assume your box camera is made somewhat like the 'Afghan box camera' model?

For a lens in shutter, my advice is to buy the best you can afford. You should be able to buy a decent lens in shutter for 4x5 for well under US $100. My latest purchase of ebay was a Fujinon-W 210 in Seiko shutter, for $60 + shipping. It would be excellent for what you are doing, plus it covers up to 8x10.

[premortho]

You don't really need a shutter for paper negatives, although I do. I use a Packard 3 speed (Time, Bulb, and Instataneous) shutter, which is pnuematicaly actuated with a bulb. It is mounted behind the lensboard, with the actuating hose coming out through the front of the board. The lens I use with my 8X10 is a Turner-Reich Triple Convertible of 12, 18, and 26 inch focus. I do more still lifes than portraits, and use two 250 watt blue photo-floods, because the paper negative is sensitive to blue light. Regular white photofloods transmit red light which paper is not sensitive to. If you decide to go this way, be sure the lens elements are all in front of the back of the lensboard, and buy the shutter whose opening is big enough for the diameter of the lens back element.

[Dan Fromm]

.buy the shutter whose opening is big enough for the diameter of the lens back element.

The shutter doesn't have to be that large. If you want the lens' diaphragm to take effect from wide open, then the shutter has to be at least as large as the lens' exit pupil. If you aren't going to shoot with the lens wide open, then you can get away with using a shutter that looks undersized. For example, I've shot a 480/9 Apo Nikkor at f/16 hung in front of a #1 shutter (maximum opening 30 mm). And in fact, thanks to the fine details of that setup's geometry, the lens' diaphragm was effective from roughly midway between f/11 and f/16.

[JorgeCL]

Thanks to all of you! I know the shutter is not a must, I've been taking photos all this year with a lens of which the shutter is broken, but for the portraits I take (often one second exposure) it does happensome times to miss a costumer beacuse of a bad exposure... Finally I've taken your advice, Jody, found a Fujinon that was in fact not the best I could afford but even a little more... still I'm pretty sure the result is going to worth it, i'm very excited to start working with it! pitty I have to wait a few months untill I go back to Spain and get it. I'll get back to you and post some photos as soon as I take them. Thanks again!