No dumb questions here...What have I purchased?

[elkriverscott]

In the olden days I shot 35mm for a living and recently decided to go to large format and happened upon a B & J Grover commercial view. Mono rail in original box.
Looks great, nice lens and accessories, perfect bellows. What size did I buy. 5X7 or 8X10. How do I tell? Thanks for reading.
P.S. Are the lens and shutter usually sold separately?

No idea what I'm doing but having a great time.

215073

215074215075

215076

[DJG]

I think they made them in a couple of different sizes. Measure the ground glass on the back, it should approximately match the size of the format (ex: 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, etc.).

Lenses and shutters are up to you, you can really use any lens you want but it needs to cover the size of the film you're using. There's some links on the homepage here that will tell you which lens will cover which format. If you get a barrel lens (no build in shutter) you'll have to figure out how to time your exposure (lens cap on, lens cap off, etc). You'll need a lens board to fit and hold your lens.

[elkriverscott]

I will measure back glass now, thanks. I have the lens mounted on a shutter on a board and will post pic. Lens is a schneider kreuznach symmar 1:5 6/150

Thank you very very much.

[Len Middleton]

I will measure back glass now, thanks. I have the lens mounted on a shutter on a board and will post pic. Lens is a schneider kreuznach symmar 1:5 6/150

Thank you very very much.

Given that lens, expect the format to be 4x5.

Good luck in your new to you adventure.

Lots of guidance here if you need it. We all had to learn sometime ago...

[DJG]

My guess is it's a 4x5, based on the lens. It might just barely cover 5x7 with no movements, based on the link here: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/lenseslist.html

[Darren Kruger]

Can you measure the wooden size of the back? The one picture with the back looks like it might be a reducing back. You might have a 5x7" camera with a 4x5" back. I have a 5x7 Grover and the back is 8.5"x8.5"

-Darren

[Jon Shiu]

The lens is really 2 lenses in one. 150mm or 265mm. It is called a convertible lens. With both front and back elements it is 150mm f5.6, with one element removed (I think the front?) it is 265mm f12, green lettering aperture scale.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Since the front and rear standards are roughly the same dimension, I'd guess 4x5 150mm is a 4x5 lens

[Dan Fromm]

Um, eh, ah, grover2.img shows a shutter and a lens' front cell. Do you have the rear cell?

[Louis Pacilla]

Um, eh, ah, grover2.img shows a shutter and a lens' front cell. Do you have the rear cell?

Hey brother Dan the rear cell shown sitting along side of the shutter in the OP's 4th photo.

[Dan Fromm]

Thanks for the correction, Lou.

[Mark Sampson]

Mr. Shiu is correct- you remove the front group of the 150mm Symmar to make it a 265mm lens. Opinions vary on the optical quality of the rear element alone, but you'll soon find out for yourself. Looks like you have good find!

[Daniel Unkefer]

Mr. Shiu is correct- you remove the front group of the 150mm Symmar to make it a 265mm lens. Opinions vary on the optical quality of the rear element alone, but you'll soon find out for yourself. Looks like you have good find!

Yes use the green f/stop scale for 265mm rear cell only. BTW an orange filter in front of the shutter will improve and refine optical transmission through the rear group

[robphoto]

What I recall about the Symmar is that when you use the rear group alone, it's an appealing soft focus look when not stopped down much.

[David Lindquist]

In the olden days I shot 35mm for a living and recently decided to go to large format and happened upon a B & J Grover commercial view. Mono rail in original box.
Looks great, nice lens and accessories, perfect bellows. What size did I buy. 5X7 or 8X10. How do I tell? Thanks for reading.
P.S. Are the lens and shutter usually sold separately?

No idea what I'm doing but having a great time.

215073

215074215075

215076

I think that is a Prontor shutter. It looks like the Prontor logo on the right front, photo 4. Has anyone seen a dial-set Prontor? The lens serial number indicates circa 1961-62. The 1962 Symmar brochure on cameraeccentric shows the 150 mm Symmar came in a no. 1 shutter but doesn't list what shutter choices (if any) were available.

I was surprised to see the 150 mm Symmar came in a no. 1 shutter; I would have guessed no. 0. Looking a bit further I see the 150 mm Symmar-S came in a no. 0 shutter.

On edit: Googling this turned up an image of a dial-set Prontor with a Dallmeyer oscilloscope lens.

Does anyone know when the plasmat formula Symmar was introduced?

David

[Mark Sampson]

The first Schneider Symmars were f/6.8 designs; similar to a Dagor, I believe. Those were replaced by the "convertible" Symmars (as seen here) in the mid-1950s. I've used several of those lenses over the years; all of them were in Compur shutters. That lens series was replaced by the Symmar-S line in about 1972. I once had the introductory brochure for the Symmar-S lenses (long gone) where Schneider mentioned eliminating the convertible feature in order to improve optical performance. I've used both convertible Symmars and Symmar-S lenses and they are fine performers... never had a chance to do an A-B comparison, though.

[Oren Grad]

That lens series was replaced by the Symmar-S line in about 1972. I once had the introductory brochure for the Symmar-S lenses (long gone) where Schneider mentioned eliminating the convertible feature in order to improve optical performance.

215105

[Mark Sampson]

Thanks Oren, that's the one. When I got hired at Kodak in 1984 the English version of that brochure (along with a bunch of other ephemera) was in the desk they gave me. I still have some of those papers...