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View Full Version : Objet bizarre - name & history?



RJ-
20-Apr-2008, 11:52
Hi there,

Trying to research a few historical items left me wondering about the (original) name and history of this shutter unit.

I'm not sure whether it was an original British or German designed item - does anyone know which country these were originally manufactured?

Kind regards,

RJ

David A. Goldfarb
20-Apr-2008, 11:59
This is a front-mounted leaf shutter. They were made by "Luc" and perhaps other manufacturers. It fits on the front of a barrel lens with the three set screws. They usually have one "instantaneous" speed, an open position and a bulb setting.

RJ-
20-Apr-2008, 12:06
Hi David,

Thank you for your thoughts. I wondered if it was a Luc shutter, although was dissuaded by posts such as:

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00472Q

since no variation in time setting seems possible (other than manual)

I wondered if there was another name, possibly European, which has been lost to modern terminology for this shutter. None of the versions of this shutter I've seen have instantaneous shutters although one has x-synchronisation for flash related photography.

Kind regards,

RJ

David A. Goldfarb
20-Apr-2008, 12:31
Yours looks like it doesn't have the three-position knob for the instantaneous setting, which mine has, so I'm guessing it just has open and closed like a Studio shutter.

Ernest Purdum
20-Apr-2008, 18:36
My recollection (which may not be trustworthy) is that it is a "Silens" and made in Italy.

RJ-
21-Apr-2008, 09:42
I've had a look, and I get the impression that there were several variations of the same shutter design. Ernest - did the Silens shutter have an insignia with a double scripted 'S' overwritten on a smaller 's'?

A web search doesn't reveal much in the way of Silens although with the built-in x-synchronisation, I'm guessing that these shutters came after the Luc shutters?

Kind regards,

RJ

Ernest Purdum
21-Apr-2008, 15:56
RJ, yes, that is the logo I associate with Silens.

Regarding X-synch, I am trying to remember if I have seen Luc shutters with this feature, but I'm just not sure.

Shutters of this type were sold in England by a chap named Day, if I recall correctly. They may have been the Silens make.

Best regards,

Ernest

RJ-
24-Apr-2008, 06:30
Many thanks Ernest.

I've not had any success in searches on the european internet - no light shed on the Silens company nor the manufacture of this kind of shutter.

Re-reading David's post, I've realised that there are three settings on one of the Silens shutters which offers an instantaneous shutter in addition to B and T variations. This seems to make the Silens virtually analogous to the Luc shutters (with the exception of the logo?) The other Silens shutter seems to only have B and T settings, perhaps because of the surface rust on the aperture blades causing a jam.

I see now that with a little woodwork, it is possible to rear mount a Silens shutter onto a lensboard such that any barrel lens could be conveniently used. That is, once the weight loading tolerance of the front standard is calculated.

Thanks for all your help.

David A. Goldfarb
24-Apr-2008, 07:56
If you're going to rear mount it, you might be better off using a Packard shutter, which is designed for that purpose, and they make them with sync. The attraction of this type of shutter is that it fits easily on the front of any barrel lens within the range of the three set screws.

You can see it on the front of my 36cm/4.5 Heliar in this photo--

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9044&d=1200787167

And that's a Sinar filter holder in front of the shutter.

Mark Sampson
24-Apr-2008, 11:02
Lookks like it might be lab equipment- to be used on an optical bench rather than for photography.

RJ-
24-Apr-2008, 11:04
Hi David,

Your set up looks like a practical and well brought together solution for copy and macro studio work.

Apart from seeming overembellished, the Packard shutter option isn't a system I comprehend very well. Perhaps the greatest factor in choosing one over the other is geographical: Silens shutters seem relatively easier to find in slightly under 4" mounts in Europe, whereas comparable Packard shutters seem to localise in the States.

I wondered whether the retromounted Silens shutter offered the advantage of obviating the need for more than one lensboard for a variety of lenses, that's all. I gather it is not possible to use a Packard shutter with solely one lensboard for 8 different barrel lenses. The second factor pertains to its' weight; somehow the Silens shutters seem lighter than Packard shutters of the same size.

Kind regards,

RJ

David A. Goldfarb
24-Apr-2008, 13:07
Just in case my post was confusing. That photo I posted doesn't show a Packard shutter behind the lens. It shows a Luc-type shutter similar to the Silens shutter that you have in front of a barrel lens. The shutter just attaches to the front of the lens with the three thumbscrews. I also use it for portraits.

A Packard shutter is square and mounts most straightforwardly behind a lensboard. Some people make a kind of box with a lensboard mount on the front and the Packard on the back, so that they can mount lenses on separate lensboards in front of the Packard shutter.