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Christopher Keth
20-Jan-2006, 18:43
I've recently purchased an old 5x7 Gundlach Korona. I would love to use appropriate-looking lenses on it and many of them seem to be mounted in a barrel, rather than in a shutter. Are there modern-made packards, or something like them I could mount in my Korona? If not, are old packard shutters reliable enough and offer enough shutter speeds so as to not be a hindrance? Also, if I purchase a packard shutter, what opening diameter should be sufficient to fit inside but not vignette 5x7?

Michael Graves
20-Jan-2006, 18:52
The best Packard knockoff is a Packard. Check them out at Packard Shutters. (http://www.packardshutter.com/)

Scott Davis
20-Jan-2006, 19:01
all depends on the size of your camera... Measure the dimensions of your lensboard, and that will tell you about what size packard shutter to get.

Christopher Keth
20-Jan-2006, 19:05
So they make new packard shutters but the best variation they have is 1/25th and bulb settings? I was hoping for something more akin to lensboard-mounted shutters in regards to shutter speeds available.

Ernest Purdum
20-Jan-2006, 19:49
It might not look right to you, but some large shutters can be mounted behind many barrel mounted lenses and provide a range of shutter speeds. Whether this will work without vignetting depends not on the format size but on the lens. In general, most lenses of narrow to "normal" coverage and moderate aperture will work. Wide angle lenses hardly ever will. The shutter has to be large, generally a number 4 or 5. These are no longer made, so you have to find an old Wollensak, Ilex or Deckel Compound. Making an adapter to mount the lens to the shutter is not a high precision job and will be much less expensive than having barrel mounted lens cells mounted on the front and back of a shutter.

There is quite a bit of information on this subject on the www.skgrimes.com website.

Jim Galli
21-Jan-2006, 01:23
Christopher, You can stuff a 5" Packard inside your camera. That will give you about 2 1/2" opening. I personally like a single packard that travels with the camera better than each lens / lensboard having a seperate one. There are a whole world of lenses you can experiment with fairly cheaply once you've got the "rig" set up and reliable. My personal workhorse is an 8X10 Kodak 2D. I hang the most ungodly stuff out in front of that camera and have gotten some remarkable images. It takes some time to get comfy with the packards. For a while I always took a Nikon FM along with me. I could duplicate 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 and longer by listening to the Nikon a couple of times and making the Packard do the same thing. With the pin in, my packard achieves 1/30 or darn close. I've meticulously cleaned and waxed areas where friction of moving parts occurs. It almost works too good. Beat the junk shops for old Bausch & Lomb magic lantern projectors with the brass lenses (or black later in the '20's - '40's). They have a wonderful look to them. If the meters calling for 1/60 or 1/125, take the picture anyways. Underdevelop a little. I always get my picture......one way or the other. Ebay's the best place to get old packard shutters. The 90 year old ones work just as well as the new ones.

medform-norm
21-Jan-2006, 05:45
Not too long ago I saw a pic of a Japanese guy who mounted a Sinar DB shutter on his 8x10 Dorff. It's not in the "period look" of your Korona, but you get more exposure options than with the packard shutter. Others ways to go: front mounted Luc(-type) shutters, these come in big sizes as well, or look for front mounted Thornton Pickard curtain shutters. Another option I can think of, is to look for a large curtain shutter assembly that was mounted on the back of the camera, also made by Thornton Pickard. We have a 4x5" and a 8x10" version lying in the repair shop right now. So I can't say anything about shutter shake yet, which some say could be a problem. If your prefer copal-type shutters: right now on eBay someone is selling a large (#5) Rittreck Shanel shutter with a max lens diameter of 65 mm. That's pretty big, but might not be big enough for some barrel lenses.
Good luck and enjoy your Korona.
Norm

Ernest Purdum
21-Jan-2006, 11:35
To add a few comments to Norm's message. Many years ago I did use a T-P type (but then new, made in Japan) roller blind shutter mounted behind the lens, I did get some shake, but only of the lensboard. Shimming it so that the lensboard was tight in the frame solved the problem. The Rittreck 5|A is unusual in that it is similar to a intra-lens type shutter but made for behind lens use with no iris blades. The 5B was essentially the same except with an iris. They were made to take Fujinar lenses and came with adapter rings to take three different lens sizes. In addition to T-P, several other makers, particularly Folmer Graflex, made focal-plane attachment shutters. They aren't often seen, though, and sell for high prices when found. They add a couple of inches to the extension of the camera.

In mounting a Packard, you have to consider that you need to get the air connection to the inside of the camera. This may reduce the size of the shutter you can use.

JBAphoto
10-Mar-2012, 16:25
Sinar shutter adaptation for woodies is not that difficult if one spends a few hours with paper, pencil, ruler and consideration for the work - However, the DB aperture mechanism has to be removed to fit the shutter - This is held on by two screw bolts accessible from the transparent aperture reading bit - If one is not careful the string holding the aperture indicator can be dislodged - I consider this important so the shutter can be returned to standard configuration in the event I should ever get a DB lens for my Sinars - Very unlikely, but. . .

69933 69934 69935

I decided to go this route as I have grown to rely on my Sinar shutter over the years and really should get a spare - The are clunky, but do the deed and give shutter speed consistency between lenses, important to me

For more information on the modification visit http://www.jbaphoto.com.au/johnaustinblog.html

Louis Pacilla
10-Mar-2012, 16:55
Very well done w/ the instillation of the Sinar shutter

Just so you know. The OP asked this question back in 2006. He hasn't posted here much since .