Will a barrel-mount Commercial Ektar easily fit a shutter?

[Steve Goldstein]

I may have an opportunity to pick up a relatively late barrel-mounted CE (not sure of the FL, we're just talking long-distance at the moment). Are these easily moved to a shutter? I realize Kodak used a special version Ilex shutter, and I'd have to get one, but if the price is right I might go for the lens if it's an easy swap.

Thanks!

[imagedowser]

You can "try" LensN2shutter or S.K.Grimes for information. A Galli shutter fits ALL barrel lenses if you want to do it yourself.

[John Kasaian]

If you can find the right size Ilex shutter that's made for your Kodak glass it should be a straight forward swap. You'll need to take careful OAL measurements though and the scale might not be correct (or it might be!)
The bigger questions are---can you find the correct working shutter? And if you do find one, will the cost of all the parts exceed the cost of buying a complete, shuttered lens in the first place? I've seen good 14" Commercal Ektars range in price anywhere from $400-$500 What will the separate lens and shutter, including shipping for both parcels cost you?

[gleaf]

If you can stop down where a slow shutter (1/25th or slower) is OK then look to a Packard Shutter. You know part of the ambiance of Large Format is to be seen holding the magic air bulb in your hand.
Go big glass, go barrel lens, go air shutter...... Packard is still in business and there are several auction site or forum Packards for sale. 'eddie' usually has a few.

[Bernice Loui]

Better to simply get the Kodak CE in shutter than in barrel than trying to convert it to a shutter. Kodak shutters were different than standard offerings and be aware Kodak made a front element spacer ring specific to a given lens cell set. If this calibrated ring is not included with the lens cells, there will be a BIG problem as the lens cells will no longer fit directly into a Kodak shutter and the cell specific spacing will be lost.. affecting lens performance. Beyond this, the aperture scale for the shutter will need to be made accurately.

These Kodak lenses were not only hand made, they were individually calibrated and set up as a system.

While the low entry cost of a barrel lens might appear to be a bargain, in the overall picture, the cost could easily be far more than the cost of a Ektar in shutter.

Kodak Ektars are common in shutter and less common in barrel. I have use them in barrel with a Sinar shutter for a very, very long time and actually prefer using then this way as it solves the problem of shutter speed accuracy and reliability common with older shutters. Doing this also preserves the round iris common to vintage lenses and a problem with newer shutters.



Bernice

[Steve Goldstein]

Thanks everyone for your replies. This sounds like more of a project than I care for. Better to know now than later.