Shutter #00 to #0 adapter available?

[ondebanks]

Hi all,

I am wondering if it is possible to take the lens cells out of a #00 shutter (Seiko electronic, in this instance) and adapt them into a #0 mechanical shutter? Since the lens cells will be threaded for a smaller shutter, is there some adapter which they can thread into, to "bulk them up" to fit the #0 size, and also to space them correctly? Has anyone ever done this?

Cheers,
Ray

[David A. Goldfarb]

You could have a machinist make a pair of threaded rings to do this. You would need to maintain the same cell spacing. skgrimes.com and lensn2shutter.com are two sources for this kind of work.

[Dan Fromm]

Ray, replacing the #00 will cost less.

Cheers,

Dan

[dpetersen]

I've been told by 2 reputible repair facilities that the #00 to #0 conversion is not reccomended. The cost involoved in machining the threaded rings and some machine work to the lens itself (to maintain proper element spacing) would quickly become more expensive than just buying a good lens with the #0 shutter on it. I have a 90mm Super Angulon with the 00 shutter and aside from not having a preview lever it seems to work well enough.

[ondebanks]

Thanks for the replies so far. It is not quite as simple as it might seem. I deliberately left the description a little bit vague - "a #00 shutter (Seiko electronic, in this instance)" - to see if any one would figure out what devious little plan I am thinking of. Well, no-one got it, so I'll spell it out - I am thinking of remounting Mamiya 6/7 lenses.

The idea is to take the lens cells out of a Mamiya 6 50mm lens (the same optics as the more expensive Mamiya 7 50mm, I believe) and remount them in a Mamiya Press 50mm barrel & shutter, for 6x7 work. Hence the need for a #00 to #0 conversion. My 50mm Press lens is really excellent, but it is a bit slow for astrophotography; so I wondered if this would get me from f6.3 to f4 with the same-or-better optical quality, multicoating, and full manual control.

I could also do the same thing with the Mamiya 6 150mm f4.5 APO lens, which would be a marked improvement on the old Mamiya Press f5.6 (Tessar type) lens.

I just can't imagine that 2 small threaded rings could be _that_ expensive??

The thing that does bother me though is dpetersen's remark that there might need to be "some machine work to the lens itself (to maintain proper element spacing)". Is a #00 shutter significantly shallower than a #0? If that's the case, then I'll forget the whole idea. I don't want to irreversibly deface a perfectly good lens.

I know what you're probably going to say...just buy a Mamiya 6 body with these lenses, and forget the conversions. But I would rather have 6x7 format, interchangeable backs, and no battery drain in long exposures. The Universal Press is still my "do it all" camera; I'd just like to upgrade the glass that mounts on it. Besides, where's the fun in getting an off-the-shelf kit?! (Dan knows what I mean!)

[walter23]

I just can't imagine that 2 small threaded rings could be _that_ expensive??


If there's one thing LF photography has taught me it's "never underestimate the cost of a small, threaded ring." That could almost be a motto.

[Dan Fromm]

Ray, the late Steve Grimes one explained to me, very patiently, that setup costs don't vary much with the size of the piece. Little ring, big ring, it doesn't matter. You still have to pay for setup.

And don't count on having a machinist friend who will do the work "for beer" do it. I have a couple of Wolly 47/5.6 cells in the drawer with adapters to #0. The adapters, made by a friend of a friend for beer, aren't quite right. Doesn't matter because one of the cells has spectacular separation that shows as Newton's rings.

[BrianShaw]

Ray, the late Steve Grimes one explained to me, very patiently, that setup costs don't vary much with the size of the piece. Little ring, big ring, it doesn't matter. You still have to pay for setup.

... and any aquisition professional will stand by this since much higher cost of first-article procurements vs. manufacturing-production procurements is well known. There will likely be some design work required in addition to the machine setup, too. That often mean$?$?$?$?$.

Might I suggest, Ray, that you pose your question to someone in the position of bidding on your job, like the Grimes shop - that might be the only way to find out what the real pricetag might be.

[ondebanks]

Thanks again, guys.

I will never disrespect little threaded rings again!

It's all Mamiya's fault, really. They had #0 shutters as standard on all their Press and TLR lenses. Size #1 is standard on the RB/RZ67 lenses. Why did they have to go changing to #00 for their Mamiya 6 and 7?! That downsizing probably had repercussions for the max aperture of the lenses as well...as in the slow 75mm f3.5 and 80mm f4, when you'd expect the normal lens to be f2.8.