Mystery Lensboard (round, 92mm)

[David A. Goldfarb]

I recently purchased a lens that came with a nicely machined black anodized round metal lensboard that is about 92 mm in diameter, has 4 rounded notches around the edge 90-degrees apart, and a Copal 0 hole in the middle. Anyone know what it belongs to? Toho Shimo maybe?

[Bruce Watson]

My Toho lens boards are round black anodized aluminum, yes, but they don't have any notches around the edge.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Thanks. I'm guessing that this lensboard might be designed to fit bayonet-style onto the camera. The notches might fit over 4 bolt heads and then the lensboard twists into place. It looks like there is a tiny detente next to each notch.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

David,

I don't have one in front of me, but I believe the Toho boards are 100mm in diameter.

This sounds like one of those bayonet mounting disks that were sold for a while back in the 1990s. Anybody remember who sold those? MC Photographic, perhaps??

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Meridian Press cameras also used funky round lens boards. I have seen these at local swap meets. It's actually a pretty decent press camera - but hard to find lens boards for it.

Kerry

[David A. Goldfarb]

Thanks Kerry. Well, if anyone has a camera that can use one of these, e-mail me your address, and you can have it.

[Ernest Purdum]

I think I remember a Voigtlander view camera with a round lensboard.

[Struan Gray]

Are you sure it's not an enlarger lensboard?

[Arne Croell]

The round Voigtländer lensboards (for a 5x7" monorail they made in the 1950's) are much larger. I don't have mine (came with a lens that I bought) in front of me but the diameter is at least 20cm if not larger, and they were at least 2mm thick (aluminum), with a red crincle paint finish on the front. No notches.

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's not an Omega lensboard, which is more or less round, and it would be odd to mount a 75mm/4.5 Grandagon on an enlarger, so I don't think it's an enlarger lensboard.

Interesting about the Voigtlander boards, but that's not this. It's much more recent.

[jnantz]

hi david -

could it be a fatif lensboard?
i am not really sure, but they might be round and as you describe ..

[Pete Roody]

David,

It sounds like an MC Photographic product. I believe they called it a universal mount. They have been out of production for some time. The discs mount to your lenses and the lens then can be mounted to a special lensboard. MC made lensboards for most popular cameras (i have a sinar and tecknica version). The discs are about the diameter of a Copal 3 shutter (92 mm sounds right) and were drilled for copal 0,1 and 3 shutters. They also made adapters for Ilex 4 and 5 shutters (L&R may still have these). You can find the lensboards fairly easily if you are looking for a sinar board. The discs are harder to find. This system allowed mounting your lenses on various makes of cameras without changing the lensboards.

[Oren Grad]

I have a Horseman catalog that shows a "Horseman Bayonet Ring Mounting System for large format lenses", consisting of a Horseman/Sinar view-type board with a bayonet mount, and matching bayonet rings for Copal 0 and 1 shutters. From the picture, it looks as though the diameter of the rings might be somewhere in the ballpark of 92mm, but I don't have a specific measurement. Also, the ones shown in the catalog are clearly labeled with the Horseman brand, though I suppose it's possible that some were sold without the labeling.

[Pete Roody]

"about 92 mm in diameter, has 4 rounded notches around the edge 90-degrees apart,"

This describes the disc system used for the MC Universal Mount/Lensboard system. I have them but I can't get to them right now to measure them. The Horseman bayonet system uses smaller discs (I don't believe it worked with Copal 3's). The MC system was designed large enough to work with copal 3's and they also designed it small enough so they could fit it to a Linhof Technica Adapter Board. 92mm fit that design criteria. You will see these on eBay once in a while.

[Oren Grad]

Peter - your recollection of the Horseman system is correct, the catalog does not list a bayonet ring for Copal 3, only for 0 and 1.