B&L 12x15 Lens

[Mike Cockerham]

I have a Bousch and Lomb 12x15 barrel lens. Is it possible to put this into a shutter?

Thanks Mike

[sanking]

Mike,

Definitely. Best place to have this done is S. K. Grimes.

http://www.skgrimes.com/

If in good condition a large widge angle lens of this type (I assume it is a Series IV or V Protar) is a good candiate to have put in a shutter. It will give good performance on several ULF formats and is a desirable lens in that there are really no modern alternatives when boith size and coverage are considered.

[Ernest Purdum]

Mike, I'm somewhat less opimistic than Sandy. B&L made several types of 12 X 15 barrel lenses, some of which would be good candidates for shutter mounting, but some would not. Are there more markings on you lens beyond the maker's name and size? If not, the lens is probably a Rapid Rectilinear which would not be feasible to have shutter mounted. If there are other markings, let us know and we will be able to provide better comments.

[Mike Cockerham]

The lens is a Protar IV. It does not list a focal length but focused at infinty there is approx. 15 in of bellows draw which should make it aprox. a 15 in focal length. It is relativly small abouy 1.5 in in diamiter.

Thanks

Mike

[Ernest Purdum]

The Series IV is one of the earliest anastigmats, having been produced in 1890. It was not made for very long and is quite uncommon today. Since, as you say, it is quite small for a lens of its coverage, putting it in a shutter would be relatively easy, though this is always comparatively expensive, since it demands high accuracy of machining. It is small enough, I think, for front-mounting to a large shutter to be feasible and this would not only be substantially less expensive but would preserve the lens in original form. The Grimes people would be able to advise you on both alternatives.

[Polo Yang]

I have the same lens,the focus length is 390mm.I rebuild a Sinar shutter that can fit on Pillips camera,and I fit all my old shutterless lenses on it!