Heliar 360mm 4.5 on Eastman 2D 8X10

[Alex Hollmann]

I know from Jim Galli's website that this combination has been done, and so I went ahead and bought a Heliar which I happened to find in an antique mall with Packard shutter at a good price.

Now that I've taken the lens off the 9 inch square board it came with and mounted it on a 6 inch board for my Eastman 2D, I'm wondering whether the camera is strong enough for it. The front rise lock doesn't seem to able to take the weight. In inserting the board I've also lost one of the little brass screws that tighten the brass strips above and below the space for the board on the front standard, and wonder if anyone knows of a good source for them.

I don't have the sliding tripod block, but I do have the rear extension rail, and am hoping that will help if I position the front standard as near to the tripod base as poss. and rack the back out on the rear extension.

Any advice welcomed!

[Will Thompson]

Home Depot has quite a few.

[Jim Galli]

LOL, my poor old 2D is always happy with the Heliar. Made of aluminum, it's one of the lighter lenses that I torture the camera with. Your gear may be spinning on the shaft?

[ericantonio]

In my younger days, working as an assistant, I've seem many McGuyverisms (way before the TV show too!). I worked with a guy who had this huge lens on a wooden camera (forgot the make) but we had lots of A-clamps on the lensboard to keep it from slipping off. And my job was to rig something to a lightstand to hold the front of the camera (around the lensboard area) just for a little more stabilization. I think I used a lightstand or a tripod to hold up the business end of the 8x10 camer. Hope that helps. Then you'll have to carry some lightstands with you!

[Paul Metcalf]

I went ahead and bought a Heliar which I happened to find in an antique mall with Packard shutter at a good price. Sheez, all I find in antique malls are old 70's disco records and persimmon headed golf clubs. How do you guys find these great lenses? I've been thinking Galli has a "mafia:eek: " family that's sucked all of these up.

[Alex Hollmann]

Thanks to all for your responses!

Jim, yes, I think the gearing on the front rise slips a little when the lens is on the heavier size. It holds fine when I use my Wollensak Voltas and the 240 G-Claron (which I bought from you, incidentally), but I have to be careful with the 12" Commercial Ektar and obviously the Heliar.
Eric Antonio, that's a fantastic suggestion about using A-clamps - I think that will help a lot. And I'll try a lightstand.
Paul, since you're in Seattle, I'll let you know which store it was: Pacific Antique Mall, on Lander St, off 1st Ave South. It was in the case belonging to dealer No. 5 ("Mercer Island"), towards the south end of the store. I paid $225. There is a Graflex RB there that looks in good condition, I think 2 1/4 X 3 1/4, going for $240. But other than that, no large format stuff. Other cameras in that case: a Zeiss Icoflex, pretty pricey at near $300, and a Leica III series with 50mm Summar f. 2 for $500 something. Elsewhere in the store is a Crown Graphic going for $500, from a different seller - seems to me rather exorbitant. And there used to be a big Century-type 11X14 on a wooden stand, with posing mirror surrounding the lens, for about $1200. So it might be worth checking once in a while.

[Paul Metcalf]

Thanks Alex. I would have never thought to look there for large format stuff. I'll definitely check it out. But I still think the "Galli Family" runs the old cool large lens mafia!

[Ken Lee]

I just got an uncoated 360mm Heliar, in excellent shape, in barrel, with a retaining ring.

I hope my Sinar P will hold it up, once I get a huge hole drilled in a Sinar board.

I performed my 2-second bokeh test by examining an out-of-focus image of the Sun, reflected off a nearby car. The image is as close to a perfectly blurred disk as I've ever seen with any lens.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I just got an uncoated 360mm Heliar, in excellent shape, in barrel, with a retaining ring.

I hope my Sinar P will hold it up, once I get a huge hole drilled in a Sinar board.

It will. I use mine on a Sinar P with a Luc-type shutter on the front.

[Ken Lee]

Wonderful. Thank you. I have a Sinar shutter, and it's probably the smaller one. The hole is the same size as the rear of the lens, so I hope things work.

By the way, your avatar has not gone unnoticed. I was quite happy when the lens arrived, and it looked the same.

[Alex Hollmann]

Ken, do you have any pictures to post from your lens? I have finally begun to use mine, and also notice the beautifully round out of focus highlights. I'm attaching a scan below. Banding on right middle is caused by poor stitching (have to scan 8X10 in four separate actions and then assemble).

[Ken Lee]

Not yet. Thanks for asking. I will be using it on 4x5 and 5x7. I have it all set, but haven't used it yet.

I recognize the lovely effect in your photo.