Which shutter for a Schneider G Claron 210/F:9?

[DannyTreacy]

Hi all,

I have the above lens that I used to use on my Cambo 10 x 8 for my still life work, I now have a Rodenstock Macro Sironar N 210mm so I want to use my G Claron on my Linhof Technika 5 x 4 Field Camera for location work.

The issue I have is that I bought the G Claron sat in a Polaroid Prontor shutter/apeture mechanism, the fastest shutter speed is 1/125, this is not fast enough for my location work, I light my locations too so I don't even know if it would sync with a flash.

I figured if I could swap the whole mechanism for a different one with shutter speed up to 1/250 at least and that synced at that speed or 1/125 it would make the lens use-able for my location work, I have no idea what to look for though so if anyone could suggest some mechanisms that would be great.

On another note, I have read that the G Claron functions best at around F:22 / F:32, if I wanted to shoot at say F:11 to isolate the subject using DOF what kind of not so good things could I expect to happen at this aperture??

Thanks!

Danny.

[Kevin Crisp]

Copal 1 or Compur 1. Many of these shutters simply don't run faster than 1/125th on a good day, despite how they're marked. Maybe you could try a neutral density filter. Assuming your Rodenstock is in a copal 1, couldn't you just swap cells?

G Clarons are just fine at f:16 despite the internet lore. Can't say I've tried any of mine at f:11.

[DannyTreacy]

Thanks for your reply, the Rodenstock is Copal 3, I will have a look on the auction site for a Copal 1.

Cheers,
Danny.

[Kevin Crisp]

Some lenses are so cheap these days that shopping for one you might use, instead for a loose shutter, might be the way to go.

[DannyTreacy]

Some lenses are so cheap these days shopping for one you might use instead for a loose shutter might be the way to go.

Yes good point.

[Drew Wiley]

The top speeds on many of these shutters are generally off anyway, even new. Unless you're timing things by flash, typical Copal shutters are really best at slower
speeds. At f/11 you might get some mechanical vignetting from the shutter, esp if you are using tilt or rise much. The other problem is that film doesn't tend to
lie totally flat in the holder, so that's a factor at shallower fields. Otherwise, the 210 G should be optically decent at f/11. Just don't expect pleasant "bokeh". These
lenses aren't known for that.

[Jeff Keller]

If you are using your flash to light everything of interest in your scene, you might be better off to use a slow shutter speed and let the short duration of the flash determine the exposure (add an ND filter to slow down the shutter if necessary).

If a longer focal length will capture what you want, it can give a shallower depth of field.

Good luck