Correct lens board for 4x5 Chamonix and a few other beginner things

[doyoudevelop]

Hi everyone,

i'm fairly new to the LF game and i'm about to venture into it all. I'm most certainly going to buy a 4x5 Chamonix 45H-1. I've been eyeing a few lenses from Nikon, but they are without a lens board and i'm not sure what kind of board I need to get for them? The lens i'm looking at right now is a Nikon 8/120mm Nikkor-SW S. On the chamonix website I can pick between a sinar type or linhof type lens board, I'm not quite sure if they apply? If not, where can I get one?

Then I wanted to know if anyone could recommend me a good place to get a good dark cloth and a cable release?

Thanks!

Jahan from doyoudevelop

[cp_photo]

Hello Jahan, all of the Chamonix 4x5 cameras take Linhof-style lens boards. I believe they offer one model of 5x7 that takes Sinar-sized boards and the 8x10 models also take Sinar-sized boards.When you shop for and/or buy a lens you will take note the size of shutter it has (e.g. Copal 0, 1 or 3) and get a lens board with an appropriately sized hole for the size shutter you have. Chamonix offers their own carbon fiber boards. You can find inexpensive Chinese clones on eBay that work. I use a "Luland" Linhof sized lens board with my Nikkor W 210/5.6 in a Copal 1 shutter on my Chamonix 045-N1.

[jose angel]

With regard to the cheap chinese lens boards, notice that some work and others don't. I have a couple of them that were wasted money, one doesn´t fit because the shape is close but not the same, the other is too thin and moves inside the standard.
I`m not saying avoid third party boards, just make sure they work or buy with an easy returning policy.

BTW, I`m not sure the Nikkor 120/8 is a 4x5" lens. If I remember it correctly, the 120/8 SW *is* an 8x10" lens.
Obviously it will work on 4x5" with extreme movements, but consider that you can find more suited lenses for your format (smaller, lighter, faster). Just thinking aloud...

[Huub]

As a first lens i would advise you to get something in the 135mm - 150mm - 180mm area. And when you have planned to do portraits: a 210mm will do very well too as a first lens. A 120mm has a slightly wide angle effect on 4x5 and the 120mm f8 is a big lens: 610 gr, 77 mm filters and an image circle suited for 8x10.

When lens and shutter are in good shape it doesn't matter much which make you buy: Nikon, Fuji, Schneider and Rodenstock and a few other less known makers all made very good lenses. Multi-coated is a premium, but not that important and comes at an extra price. I would choose on shape, price and availability.

[David de Gruyl]

Lens board for 4x5, as said above, is linhof technika. There are a ton of these on the market and they are much cheaper than the Chamonix version, but the Chamonix board is very nice.

I'd recommend a 150mm lens as a first lens, but that is based on what I use. I have a 90, 135, 150, 240, and 360 in modern lenses that all occasionally get used in the 4x5, but my "go-to" lens is 150 for about 80% of my shots.

The real reason I am bothering to write: a good cable release is a godsend and a bad one is terrible. Pay for quality. On the other hand, two black t-shirts (potentially sewn together with arm holes sewn closed) is a fantastic darkcloth if you are anywhere it gets remotely warm. And you can leave it around your neck and just pull it over your head when focusing.

[Alan Gales]

I've got a couple of these Shen Hao boards for my 8x10. I don't own a Chamonix but these should work on it. Badger Graphic is a great company to deal with too. Scroll down to see the new Copal 0, 1, and 3 die cast metal boards for $30.00 a board. They are quite a bit less expensive than the Chamonix carbon fiber boards. Badger Graphic calls them lens panels. As mentioned, you can find cheaper used boards on eBay or this forum if you are patient. If you are wondering, there is no such thing as a Copal #2 shutter or board.

http://www.badgergraphic.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/category&path=2_22_95

As Huub recommends above. You don't have to limit yourself to one brand of lenses if you don't want to. I own Kodak, Wollensak, Schneider and Fujinon. I've owned Nikkor and Rodenstock in the past. One of the really neat things about large format (especially 4x5) is the huge selection of lenses that you can pick from!

[Greg]

Be careful to check the placement of the hole. Some non OEM Chamonix boards place it dead center and others place it off center. Also some non OEM boards have rear protruding rings that make the boards unmountable on a Chamonix.

[Alan Gales]

After reading what Greg said, I checked my Shen Hao boards. Mine do have a protruding ring on the back so according to Greg they probably won't work. You can ask Badger Graphic if their current Shen Hao boards will fit. I do know that there is some slop in some aftermarket boards and the Shen Hao boards are well made. I didn't realize that they needed to be flat on the backside for Chamonix cameras. You can learn something new every day on this forum!

[doyoudevelop]

Wow, thanks for all your answers! This really helps a lot! I'll be posting again once I have the camera and if I need anything else!

[David de Gruyl]

After reading what Greg said, I checked my Shen Hao boards. Mine do have a protruding ring on the back so according to Greg they probably won't work. You can ask Badger Graphic if their current Shen Hao boards will fit. I do know that there is some slop in some aftermarket boards and the Shen Hao boards are well made. I didn't realize that they needed to be flat on the backside for Chamonix cameras. You can learn something new every day on this forum!

They don't, but the hole needs to line up with the ring. I have at least one board that has that configuration and works. I believe it is an actual technika, though. I can't recall if it is off center or on center, but it is one or the other. If necessary, I can check at a later time.

[Bob Salomon]

They don't, but the hole needs to line up with the ring. I have at least one board that has that configuration and works. I believe it is an actual technika, though. I can't recall if it is off center or on center, but it is one or the other. If necessary, I can check at a later time.
All Linhof boards for the lV and later have the light trap rear raised ring on the back of the board.
All, except for 2 special order Z boards have the hole positioned so that the lens is centered on the film. This places the l
Hole lower on the board.
The 2 Z boards are meant for 240 and longer modern lenses whose rear cell diameter is too large to let the board fully mount onto the front standard due to the rear cell hitting the front standard when mounting.

I am not aware of any Linhof or Linhof copy boards for the IV or later without the raised light trap.

On lll boards there was a round groove on the back of the board that formed the light trap.

Possibly anyone having a Linhof manufactured board without the raised ring has a lll board and not a modern one. All Linhof copy boards are the raised ring type and size.

[Greg]

All Linhof copy boards are the raised ring type and size.

Addenum: Years ago bought a second "Linhof" board on-line that didn't have a raised ring on the backside. The board just never mounted on the camera as securely as my OEM Linhof board did. Then one time later took a very close look at the Linhof crest/coat-of-arms with an Agfa loupe... it was of poor quality and obviously a rip off. Ironically I had specifically bought that board from a dealer here in the states to assure myself that I was purchasing an OEM Linhof board... live and learn.