Mounting Graflex XL lens in standard lensboard

[AFSmithphoto]

Hello all,
I'm trying to find out if the shutters for graflex XL cameras can be mounted in standard lens boards. I don't anticipate much trouble getting one out of the helical barrel, but after that are the lens cells the same size and thread as ones mounted in standard copal/compur shutters? Also are the shutters themselves the same standard sizes to fit standard lens boards? Any comments appreciated. Thanks.

[Dan Fromm]

They're standard shutters, sort of. I say sort of because not all have cable release sockets. The cable release socket is on the XL board. But the shutters' threading and tube lengths conform to the standards, so the cells are easily put in non-XL shutters.

I use an ex-XL 58/5.6 Grandagon. On the XL the cells are in a Compur #00 with, as mentioned above, no cable release socket. Since modern #00's don't have a T speed, when that lens is put on a non-XL board it has to be focused with the speed set to B. I use the lens on my 2x3 Graphics. In the XL shutter and the camera on a tripod, focusing it requires at least three hands. One to hold the shutter open, one to hold the loupe, and one for the focus knob. The shutter can be fired with a finger, but a cable release is much better.

Since I have only two hands, I've put the cells in a regular #00 with cable socket, focus with the help of a locking cable release and use the release to fire the shutter. I couldn't extract the front cell from the XL shutter, had to send it out for that.

Look here: http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/graflex_2.html I suspect that the only problems you'll have will be with the 47 SA and 56 Grandagon, both in #00 shutters; all of the other XL lenses seem to be in shutters with cable release sockets.

[AFSmithphoto]

Great! Thank you for the quick reply.

[Joseph Dickerson]

I have a Rodenstock Tele Rotelar (270mm) that works fine, it was originally mounted on an XL focusing mount. So the answer is probably yes, with the caveats as Dan noted.

JD

[Bob Salomon]

Xl cameras were not 45 so the short lenses really do not fully cover 45, especially if you want to use movements. Linhof did offer the last of these as a Tecnikon 58mm 5.6. Linhof claimed an image circle of 140 mm for the lens which would be 10mm short of fully covering 45. You may also need a 67mm center filter for it, especially on 45.