Linhof lens board does not fit to Linhof Master Technika!

[RussPhoto]

Hello everyone!
I recently acquired Linhof MT camera and was surprised to find out that some of my Linhof original lens boards don't fit properly inside of the MT slot and required some effort to put them in and out. I have few Toyo technika style lens boards that fit perfectly without any problems. What could be cause of that? Anybody had similar problem? And what could be solution to fix it?? I'll appreciate your time to reply to this thread and thank you very much in advance!

[Neal Chaves]

I had lots of experience with Linhof camers, including a new Master Technika in the 1970s but I am no longer an affectionado. However, I never had any problem fitting older Technika IV and V boards to the Master. It is possible the boards you have are knock-off clones? There is lots of fake stuff around now. They could clone everything, even the little crest.

[Bob Salomon]

You have not read the threads that I both started and contributed over the past 15 or so years about this.

Several years ago Linhof installed new CNC machines which considerably reduced the tolerances for lens board size on their cameras. These tighter tolerances prevented the boards catty corner movements in the front standard and are now so precisely made that older Linhof boards and many third party boards may no longer properly mount and will not snap into the lock on the top of the front standard. To make these older and third party boards fit properly you need to take a common butter knife and move its blade up and down the side edges of the board to remove a bit of the finish. Now the board will properly mount on the camera.
I hope I don't have to do this explanation again in 10 years.

[Neal Chaves]

Bob,
I don't remember the catty corner movements of the lens board, but I do recall the sloppy fit of the Super Rollex under the bar locks on the back. Did the new CNC machining correct that too?

[Bob Salomon]

Bob,
I don't remember the catty corner movements of the lens board, but I do recall the sloppy fit of the Super Rollex under the bar locks on the back. Did the new CNC machining correct that too?

Not that they have said. When the new board specs were announced they formally sent out a release about it. I have, over the years, had many comments about boards and how they do or do not fit. But I never received any comments about the fitting of the roll backs. Many about the problems with late model Fidelity and Lisco insertion and about the last Riteway not unlocking in a Linhof and hundreds of complaints with defective Grafmatics when Linhof was distributing them up till the mid 80s. But not one about roll backs.
As for the board fit. Mount a lens onto the camera, grab the front of the lens and wiggle it. On the old boards you will note some board movement. That was greatly eliminated with current boards and cameras made since the change was made.

[Teodor Oprean]

I've noticed this phenomenon myself. Some of the older Technika lensboards have a slightly thicker layer of paint along the edges compared to more recent ones, which is what made them seem to get stuck in the front standard of a Technika. I fixed it by gently grinding away a tiny amount of the excess paint from those lensboards with a piece of fine sandpaper.

[RussPhoto]

Bob, I just did as you recommended and it solved the problem. Thank you very much! Happy New Year to everyone and thanks so much to everyone for your replies to this thread!!

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, I just did as you recommended and it solved the problem. Thank you very much! Happy New Year to everyone and thanks so much to everyone for your replies to this thread!!

Glad it works. Happy holidays.

[Ian Gordon Bilson]

Sometimes 0.5mm is the difference between happiness and failure.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, I just did as you recommended and it solved the problem. Thank you very much! Happy New Year to everyone and thanks so much to everyone for your replies to this thread!!

Great! Happy Holidays!

[Greg]

On a related side note: I have a 4x5 Chamonix view which takes Linhof lens boards. I had 3 OEM Linhof boards which worked fine on the camera. A year or so ago bought 3 clone Chinese "Linhof" lens boards off EBay and stored them away. Recently I bought a 4th lens for my Charmonix and mounted the lens onto one of the Chinese "Linhof" lens boards. Went to use it on the Chamonix and couldn't mount the lens board onto the front standard. Turns out the circular "dimple" on the rear of the board is roughly a mm wider in diameter, just enough to not let the board mount. Had to grind off the "dimple" in order to use the lens board.

[Bob Salomon]

On a related side note: I have a 4x5 Chamonix view which takes Linhof lens boards. I had 3 OEM Linhof boards which worked fine on the camera. A year or so ago bought 3 clone Chinese "Linhof" lens boards off EBay and stored them away. Recently I bought a 4th lens for my Charmonix and mounted the lens onto one of the Chinese "Linhof" lens boards. Went to use it on the Chamonix and couldn't mount the lens board onto the front standard. Turns out the circular "dimple" on the rear of the board is roughly a mm wider in diameter, just enough to not let the board mount. Had to grind off the "dimple" in order to use the lens board.

Greg, I really don't see how this is related. You are talking basically about a cheap, counterfeit lens board made to a totally different specification, for some reason, then a real Linhof board. Caveat empertor, or however it's spelled. By the way, that round, raised ring on the back of the board is the light trap. So I hope that your girding it does anything to effect its purpose.

[Greg]

Bob,
Found out all to well that: If the price seems too good to be true.....
Greg

[Sal Santamaura]

You have not read the threads that I both started and contributed over the past 15 or so years about this...I hope I don't have to do this explanation again in 10 years.To paraphrase my favorite bumper sticker from among thousands I've seen over the decades, you'll feel much better when you give up hope. People just refuse to use this resource by searching the archive rather than thinking of it as a chat room. If, in your retirement, you haven't transcended your role as Linhof explainer, expect to repeat this process again and again, in far fewer than ten years. :)


...clone Chinese "Linhof" lens boards off EBay...


...You are talking basically about a cheap, counterfeit lens board made...I'm as disgusted with much of the junk coming out of China as anyone. However, I suspect Greg put "Linhof" in quotation marks because the seller neither labeled its product with an alleged Linhof badge nor claimed it was an actual Linhof board. It's not counterfeit. Rather, what's being described is a 'Technika style' lens board.

"You get what you pay for" is an erroneous, invalid expression. A high price is no guarantee of quality or fitness for purpose. The correct phrasing would be "One doesn't get what one doesn't pay for." I strongly advise against knockoffs, especially when buying lens boards, and particularly if considering those coming out of China. While there are some rare examples of quality Chinese manufacturing, they're few and far between. Most inexpensive products originating there are poorly made and, just to ice the cake, frequently contain unsafe substances.

[Tin Can]

I have seen knock-off 'metal' Linhof Style boards crack under load of a LF lens.

Do you trust your expensive lens and shutter on imitation made of 'metal'?

Humidity Dumpty comes to mind.

[RussPhoto]

After close inspection of Linhof Master Technika front standard slot I found two small notches from both sides that was cause of my lens boards fitting well (see pic. with red arrow). Second picture I took of front standard is Linhof 4x5 Color, as you will notice there is no any notch detected and I have never had problems fitting all my lens boards inside of it. I'd like to add that all my Linhof lens boards are originals - not aftermarket. I have few Toyo boards that fits well without any adjustments in both Linhof MP and Linhof Color. I also have Ebony Linhof style lens board that doesn't fit in both cameras, so if you buy Ebony lens boards with intention to use in Linhof camera, they won't fit or will fit with great force.144002144003

[roger-wilco-66]

Just for the record, I use new manufactured aluminum Shen Hao boards, which fit well in a Technika V. My front standard looks like the right one of your photos (labeled Linhof 4x5 Color). The lens board has a bit of lateral play (about half a millimeter), but I'm not sure if it is enough that the Shen Hao board would not get blocked if that notch in the MT standard extends beyond the normal dimensions. If it would block and this would be the culprit, this isn't anything a fine file (applied to the lens board :-) ) could not remedy.

Cheers,
Mark

[Bob Salomon]

Just for the record, I use new manufactured aluminum Shen Hao boards, which fit well in a Technika V. My front standard looks like the right one of your photos (labeled Linhof 4x5 Color). The lens board has a bit of lateral play (about half a millimeter), but I'm not sure if it is enough that the Shen Hao board would not get blocked if that notch in the MT standard extends beyond the normal dimensions. If it would block and this would be the culprit, this isn't anything a fine file (applied to the lens board :-) ) could not remedy.

Cheers,
Mark

Mark, the fit issue is with recent Technika, TK cameras made in the past decade or so. Don't confuse the issue by talking about a camera made no later then in 1976. The older cameras are not part of this.

[Greg]

However, I suspect Greg put "Linhof" in quotation marks because the seller neither labeled its product with an alleged Linhof badge nor claimed it was an actual Linhof board. It's not counterfeit. Rather, what's being described is a 'Technika style' lens board.

You are correct the boards were not labeled with any badges. Only description was something in the order of "will fit cameras that take Technika style lens boards". Their finish and visually their machining looked impeccable... unfortunately months later when I actually went to use them, the accuracy of their dimensions left much to be desired. They're history and now only use OEM Chamonix and OEM Linhof boards.

FYI: Chamonix list their lensboards as "Linhof type carbon fiber lens board: $80" They are a bit different from OEM Linhof boards. Both OEM Chamonix and OEM Linhof boards fit the Chamonix 4x5 with equal precision.

Bob, I believe I may have talked with you probably in the 1980s when my Rollei SL66 (+ back, prism, and lens) fell off a Linhof Heavy duty tripod (the Rollei Sl66 Quick Release Plate Tripod Adapter failed) and into a stream. SL66 was repaired and served me well for next 10 years or more.

Greg

[Bob Salomon]

You are correct the boards were not labeled with any badges. Only description was something in the order of "will fit cameras that take Technika style lens boards". Their finish and visually their machining looked impeccable... unfortunately months later when I actually went to use them, the accuracy of their dimensions left much to be desired. They're history and now only use OEM Chamonix and OEM Linhof boards.

FYI: Chamonix list their lensboards as "Linhof type carbon fiber lens board: $80" They are a bit different from OEM Linhof boards. Both OEM Chamonix and OEM Linhof boards fit the Chamonix 4x5 with equal precision.

Bob, I believe I may have talked with you probably in the 1980s when my Rollei SL66 (+ back, prism, and lens) fell off a Linhof Heavy duty tripod (the Rollei Sl66 Quick Release Plate Tripod Adapter failed) and into a stream. SL66 was repaired and served me well for next 10 years or more.

Greg

Greg, yes, that would have been me. Time flys!