Does a Linhof MT fold with a Xenotar 150mm on ?

[LargeJoe]

Hi !

I'm a photography enthusiast from SoCal and have been a Linhof user for 20 years now!
I've just found your site and was amazed by its content.

I've got the opportunity to buy a pristine Schneider Xenotar 150mm 2.8 but, as I can't try it before, I'd like to know if I can keep it in a closed Linhof Master Technika.

If any of you use this combo, I'd be really pleased to read about it!

Kind regards

[Bob Salomon]

There are two requirements.
1: Lens front diameter must be small enough to fit through the hole in the drop bed rails.
2: Lens has to be short enough to not hit the drop bed when it is closed.

Since there is no problem closing the camera with a 150mm Apo Sironar-S on the 001015 recessed Comfort board it is probably not possible to close the bed on a 150mm 2.8 lens since the front of the lens is much larger in diameter. The Xenotar 150mm used 77mm filters and the Apo-S 150mm uses 49mm filters.
Secondly, rather then a 0 size shutter the Xenotar was supplied in a 2 size shutter and this size shutter would only fit on a flat board so the overall length of the lens, on the board is probably too long to close in the camera.

But following is a statement from the book "Large Format Photograhy" from Grosbild that was sold by Linhof:

Page 46: Closing the camera

"Before closing the camera take care that the camera bed and lens standard are in their normal position, that the extension has been returned right back to the stop, that any large lens such as the Schneider Xenotar f/2.8 has been removed from the camera, and that the lens standard has been pushed back into the camera as far as it will go".

So that is the answer to your question, no it does not fit when the camera is closed. But you can mount a lensboard so quickly on a Technika does it really make any real difference?

You still have to open the camera and pull the lens standard out to the proper infinity stop, Placing the bottom of the lens board on the clips on the bottom of the front standard and swinging the lens board up till it clicks into place takes much less time then pulling the standard out.

Plus you only have to do that before the first shot. It stays on the front standard otherwise until you take the last shot and pack up or till you need to change lenses. No big deal!

[Richard Johnson]

Just get the 135 Xenotar with the correct lens board instead ;-p

[LargeJoe]

Thanks a lot Bob for your precise answer!
Obviously it's not a big deal and it won't prevent me to buy the Xenotar. 77mm instead of 49 for an Apo-Sironar S... The lens has to be a big piece for a 4x5 lens!
Thanks again !

Richard, concerning the 135 I must confess that I already had a hard time finding the 150mm one in perfect shape and I haven't planned a whole month of holidays to find the 135!!! :)

[jbenedict]

One benefit of carrying the lens on the camera is that it doesn't need to be stored in a bag or case. The act of putting the board in the camera all by itself is not that big of a deal. Getting it out, unwrapping it and the reverse makes it clumsy compared to just opening the camera and sliding the front standard. I had a Toyo 45A and could not fold it up with a lens onboard no matter which lens. I have a Technika III right now and, while it is a real cockroach of a camera otherwise, I really like being able to just leaving a lens on the camera. I have a 135 Rodenstock and a 207 Ektar- both pretty small. (I like the III so much, I might get a IV or V in good shape...)

Personal preference, really. I like to walk around with the camera basically ready to go to pick up street scenes, etc. I leave the camera on the tripod so it will be ready and want to close it between shots. Being able to leave the lens on is a big deal to me. Might not be to someone else.

[Bob Salomon]

One benefit of carrying the lens on the camera is that it doesn't need to be stored in a bag or case. The act of putting the board in the camera all by itself is not that big of a deal. Getting it out, unwrapping it and the reverse makes it clumsy compared to just opening the camera and sliding the front standard. I had a Toyo 45A and could not fold it up with a lens onboard no matter which lens. I have a Technika III right now and, while it is a real cockroach of a camera otherwise, I really like being able to just leaving a lens on the camera. I have a 135 Rodenstock and a 207 Ektar- both pretty small. (I like the III so much, I might get a IV or V in good shape...)
Personal preference, really. I like to walk around with the camera basically ready to go to pick up street scenes, etc. I leave the camera on the tripod so it will be ready and want to close it between shots. Being able to leave the lens on is a big deal to me. Might not be to someone else.

Then you just have to make sure that you get a lens that will fold. But there is a trade-off. A big fast lens isn't going to close, sacrifice speed of the lens and it will close. You just need decide which is most important to you. If it ends up speed then you will need to have a lens cap to protect the lens since the lens can be left on the camera, just not closed.

[Daniel Stone]

is it possible to reverse-mount the lens(so the shutter will now be inside the bellows) during storage or will the bottom of the board(since there's that taper on Technika boards) not allow this?

just a thought, since we're actually talking about a Linhof camera here, not a Chamonix or other camera that simply has a cutout for the boards.

-Dan

[Bob Salomon]

is it possible to reverse-mount the lens(so the shutter will now be inside the bellows) during storage or will the bottom of the board(since there's that taper on Technika boards) not allow this?

just a thought, since we're actually talking about a Linhof camera here, not a Chamonix or other camera that simply has a cutout for the boards.

-Dan

You have to be able to fit into the opening on the bed and the opening on the front standard for a lens to fold into the body. And a Xenotar 150 is too big to do either. in addition, it would be just as fast to mount the lens properly rather then reverse it and then mount it properly.