Mike in NY
12-Mar-2019, 09:34
I've been making my own lens boards for about seven years now. I got my start in LF through platinum/palladium, wet plate, and salt printing at the Center for Alternative Photography in NYC around 2011. I enjoyed it so much that I invested in an old ANSCO 8x10 camera to work on my own, beyond the studios at the Center. And that took me down the path of acquiring some very large and unusual lenses, which led me to make my own boards. I build Stickley furniture reproductions, so making my own lens boards wasn't difficult.
I typically use Mahogany or Cherry, but yesterday I took the day off to enjoy my birthday and used the time to make a masonite board for a sweet little 8-12-17 inch Rapid Rectigraphic lens in a Gundlach shutter. I've been shooting 8x10 film for about five years now, and am eager to see if the 17 inch configuration will give me a large enough image circle (the lens was primarily promoted for 5x7); if not, I'll use it on 4x5, which I'm just getting into. Anyway, the glass is pristine, although there is some balsam separation on the far edges. It's been sitting on a shelf in my darkroom waiting for me to test the speeds ever since I cleaned the shutter a year ago. I tested the speeds this past weekend with my simple electronic tester, and was pleased to see that the shutter's 1/50 setting consistently fired within an acceptable tolerance range between 1/47 - 1/55. Once in a while it would creep down to 1/42 or up to 1/57, but there were no crazy outliers. The slower settings are a different story, and I'd probably need to have the shutter professionally CLA'd to use those speeds. But at least I can count on 1/50. As for the masonite board, I know it can chip, but I don't plan to use this lens very often; or if I end up loving it, I'll re-make another board for it in Mahogany.
Now, as far as shutter speed testers are concerned, mine is very simple. I don't like assuming something is accurate unless I have a way of calibrating it with another tool known to be accurate, or benchmarking it in some other fashion. But I haven't been able to think of a way of testing it, so I've just made-do for now. So here's a question: does anyone know of a way of testing or calibrating a shutter speed tester to gauge how accurate it is, using something available to the layperson? In other words, I'm talking about something someone could do at home as opposed to using equipment they might have access to through an industrial shop or optical lab.
Edited to add the frequency distribution of tested shutter speeds at 1/50.
Thanks.
188692. 188693. 188695. 188694
I typically use Mahogany or Cherry, but yesterday I took the day off to enjoy my birthday and used the time to make a masonite board for a sweet little 8-12-17 inch Rapid Rectigraphic lens in a Gundlach shutter. I've been shooting 8x10 film for about five years now, and am eager to see if the 17 inch configuration will give me a large enough image circle (the lens was primarily promoted for 5x7); if not, I'll use it on 4x5, which I'm just getting into. Anyway, the glass is pristine, although there is some balsam separation on the far edges. It's been sitting on a shelf in my darkroom waiting for me to test the speeds ever since I cleaned the shutter a year ago. I tested the speeds this past weekend with my simple electronic tester, and was pleased to see that the shutter's 1/50 setting consistently fired within an acceptable tolerance range between 1/47 - 1/55. Once in a while it would creep down to 1/42 or up to 1/57, but there were no crazy outliers. The slower settings are a different story, and I'd probably need to have the shutter professionally CLA'd to use those speeds. But at least I can count on 1/50. As for the masonite board, I know it can chip, but I don't plan to use this lens very often; or if I end up loving it, I'll re-make another board for it in Mahogany.
Now, as far as shutter speed testers are concerned, mine is very simple. I don't like assuming something is accurate unless I have a way of calibrating it with another tool known to be accurate, or benchmarking it in some other fashion. But I haven't been able to think of a way of testing it, so I've just made-do for now. So here's a question: does anyone know of a way of testing or calibrating a shutter speed tester to gauge how accurate it is, using something available to the layperson? In other words, I'm talking about something someone could do at home as opposed to using equipment they might have access to through an industrial shop or optical lab.
Edited to add the frequency distribution of tested shutter speeds at 1/50.
Thanks.
188692. 188693. 188695. 188694