Mounting Ilex #5 shutter to Technika lens board

[Ari]

I just bought an Ilex #5 shutter, which included a Caltar 375mm lens; co-incidentally, the shutter fits my Protar convertible, though that lens does not screw all the way down into the shutter.
But close enough to hold the lens securely in place.

Anyway, once I saw the multi-use potential of the Ilex shutter, I had to find a way to mount it to a Technika board, since I use only those boards.
The usual retaining ring/flange method would not have worked, since the Ilex's flange would have made for a precarious fit on the TK board.

I had my local machine shop make a threaded "flange" that was bolted to a Technika board, just making it with enough clearance to still mount the board onto either of my cameras.
I just screw the shutter into this flange, and voila! I can change the orientation of the shutter by removing the silver flange, and turning it 90˚ or 180˚ and replacing the screws holding it.
The silver flange also acts a spacer.
It worked beautifully, and the photos tell the story better than do I.

I know it looks kind of unwieldy, but the lens, with both elements attached, mounts smoothly and painlessly to the camera.

[vlcak]

Ari, i have mounted lenses in Ilex5 on technica boards as well, not only Comm. Ektar 14" but Wide Ektar as well - it was little bit tricky (i need to grind down the linhof reduction) but it works perfectly.
I will post photos later.

[Ari]

Yes, please do; I'd like to know if there is a cheaper alternative to the method I show above.
Not that I'm complaining, because it works superbly, but it did cost $100 for the machining.

[vlcak]

it's not a cheaper alternative, but definitely I have a cheaper mechanist :-). The Ilex5 mounting including the lens board (board is made by him as well) cost around 60$ if I remember well.

Sorry for the poor image quality, i don't have so much time.
here you find the photos :

https://plus.google.com/photos/106259562033459564790/albums/5951037069273966385?authkey=COXg7unzr8T5EQ

with Commercial Ektar 14" in Ilex5 - mounting on Technika board,
Wide Ektar 10" in Ilex5 - mounting on Technika board (he made also reduction for 95mm filter),
&
Linhof technika reduction on KMV board (made his as well), reduction has not a circle hole, but a bit oval to mount the Wide Ektar with his large rear element.

[Ari]

Nice, and similar to my method; looks very well done.
Yes, I remember prices in the CR being much better than prices here; even the IKEA was cheaper! :)

And thanks for the warning about the 250mm Ektar's rear element; something to take into consideration, as I will have the Technika mount made next week.

[tgtaylor]

Ari,

Where did you find the Ilex #5 shutter?

Thomas

[Ari]

Thomas,
I posted a WTB for the Ilex, and a forum member in SF sold me his.

[Jac@stafford.net]

The Ilex #5 is a fragile beast. Both of mine are broken.

[tgtaylor]

I bought a 610mm apo-Nikkor barrel mount about a month or so ago and sent it to Grimes to have mounted on a toyo board that I had available. Been toying with the idea of having it mounted in a #5 Ilex but haven't been able to locate just the shutter for sale.

Probably the sensible path is to use it as a barrel lens as I had originally intended. A tad longer or shorter on the exposure wouldn't matter much and my watch and reaction time would probably match the shutters accuracy anyway. I got the lens back from Grimes last week and haven't used it yet but yesterday a B&W night image with the 81x10 to 4x5 reducing back came to mind and I'm waiting for the right conditions: no clouds or fog.

Thomas

[jcoldslabs]

I believe I've read--and my own shutter corroborates this--that the big Ilex No. 5's top shutter speed of 1/50 is really closer to 1/30th. If so, a Packard shutter will get you 1/25 or thereabouts on 'instant', which realistically leaves a gap at 1/15 and 1/8 before one can reliably use a lens cap or dark slide as a shutter at 1/4 and slower. So really the Ilex isn't getting you all that much vis a vis the Packard, unless you shoot a lot in the 1/15 - 1/8 range and are inflexible in your aperture settings. In fact, my Ilex No. 5 acts more like a barrel than anything for the lens that sits in it (a Kodak 12" f/4.5 Ektar). But I shoot a lot of really slow films, too.

Jonathan

[Jim Jones]

Keep in mind that the effective shutter speed of those large shutters depends somewhat on the lens aperture due to the relatively slow shutter blade opening and closing. This is most noticeable at the highest shutter speeds.

[Ari]

I believe I've read--and my own shutter corroborates this--that the big Ilex No. 5's top shutter speed of 1/50 is really closer to 1/30th. If so, a Packard shutter will get you 1/25 or thereabouts on 'instant', which realistically leaves a gap at 1/15 and 1/8 before one can reliably use a lens cap or dark slide as a shutter at 1/4 and slower. So really the Ilex isn't getting you all that much vis a vis the Packard, unless you shoot a lot in the 1/15 - 1/8 range and are inflexible in your aperture settings. In fact, my Ilex No. 5 acts more like a barrel than anything for the lens that sits in it (a Kodak 12" f/4.5 Ektar). But I shoot a lot of really slow films, too.

Jonathan

I hear you, Jonathan; that makes a lot of sense.
My own needs for a shutter arose because I found that I was quite inconsistent in my lens cap times (usually 1/8s).
In shooting portraits, it means one less variable to worry about.
And yes, the Ilex 5 is pretty wild; I think the indicated shutter speeds are really suggested, almost ornamental, shutter speeds. :)

[Michael Kadillak]

I bought a 610mm apo-Nikkor barrel mount about a month or so ago and sent it to Grimes to have mounted on a toyo board that I had available. Been toying with the idea of having it mounted in a #5 Ilex but haven't been able to locate just the shutter for sale.

Probably the sensible path is to use it as a barrel lens as I had originally intended. A tad longer or shorter on the exposure wouldn't matter much and my watch and reaction time would probably match the shutters accuracy anyway. I got the lens back from Grimes last week and haven't used it yet but yesterday a B&W night image with the 81x10 to 4x5 reducing back came to mind and I'm waiting for the right conditions: no clouds or fog.

Thomas

105561105562

I put a Packard shutter in front of my Nikkor 610 F9 lens and it works like a champ I had a piece of poly pipe from Home Depot that fit perfectly over the front of the barrel and affixed the shutter to it. Much less expensive alternative than a shutter.

[jcoldslabs]

Jim - Does that mean that at small apertures the effective shutter speed is higher since the blades are covering less ground (relatively speaking)? Is that true for most leaf shutters at small aperture settings? That never occurred to me.

Ari - I didn't mean to impugn your need for the shutter, just offering my observations having used all three: Ilex, Packard and hand. I'm sure I'll be glad to have the big Ilex speeds once I resort to shooting films with EIs greater than 6!

Jonathan

[tgtaylor]

105561105562

I put a Packard shutter in front of my Nikkor 610 F9 lens and it works like a champ I had a piece of poly pipe from Home Depot that fit perfectly over the front of the barrel and affixed the shutter to it. Much less expensive alternative than a shutter.

Thanks for the post Michael - I will certainly follow up with Packard! Interesting that they are located in Fiddletown. There's a private observatory in Fiddletown where I observed from with my telescope. It's been a while since I've been there.

Thomas

[Jim Jones]

Jim - Does that mean that at small apertures the effective shutter speed is higher since the blades are covering less ground (relatively speaking)? Is that true for most leaf shutters at small aperture settings? That never occurred to me. . . . Jonathan

Yes. Googling for "shutter efficiency test" pointed to this http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?105191-Shutter-Efficiency-amp-Picture-BEAUTY and several other discussions of the subject. It is true to some extent for small shutters, although their blades can move faster due to small size and often greater spring tension. For really critical work, shutters should be tested at all of the most used apertures.

[gaston M]

Hello Ari:
I just bought a Kodak lens on a Ilex $5 shutter and would like to see the photos of your adaptation to see if I can have it copied by a local machinist.
Please send photos, if you still have them, to my email = epicuriox@gmail.com
Thanks a lot and great photos in your site.
All the best,
Gadton





I just bought an Ilex #5 shutter, which included a Caltar 375mm lens; co-incidentally, the shutter fits my Protar convertible, though that lens does not screw all the way down into the shutter.
But close enough to hold the lens securely in place.

Anyway, once I saw the multi-use potential of the Ilex shutter, I had to find a way to mount it to a Technika board, since I use only those boards.
The usual retaining ring/flange method would not have worked, since the Ilex's flange would have made for a precarious fit on the TK board.

I had my local machine shop make a threaded "flange" that was bolted to a Technika board, just making it with enough clearance to still mount the board onto either of my cameras.
I just screw the shutter into this flange, and voila! I can change the orientation of the shutter by removing the silver flange, and turning it 90˚ or 180˚ and replacing the screws holding it.
The silver flange also acts a spacer.
It worked beautifully, and the photos tell the story better than do I.

I know it looks kind of unwieldy, but the lens, with both elements attached, mounts smoothly and painlessly to the camera.

[Jac@stafford.net]

[... snip Jim's usual excellent info ...] For really critical work, shutters should be tested at all of the most used apertures.

With respect to Jim Jones, that might be a sticking point. With problematic shutters, especially large ones, I take what I call a flat-rate shortcut - find two or three shutter speeds that are consistent regardless of how they match what's on the dial and make the best you can with a correct aperture for each.