Swapping shutters / aperture scales?

[Ben Syverson]

I have a Fuji 300 A and a Fuji 300 C, both Copal 1 -- though the C is the newer all-black shutter. I'd like to swap their shutters and aperture scales. Is there anything I should know before I do it?

[Jan Pedersen]

You will know after you do it.
Should not be any problems as long as your scales line up on the "new" shutter.
Just check that your iris is on the very edge to become visible when the Fstop scale is lining up with 9.0 and 8.5 on the two lenses. (The two numbers are from memory so please adjust acordingly)

[Ben Syverson]

Thanks Jan -- I figured it must be pretty straightforward, but I got slightly spooked when I saw some stuff online about adjusting shutters for cell spacing with shims and so forth. I don't need to worry about that, right?

[Jan Pedersen]

Not being familiar with any or your two lenses but i doubt that any of them have shims installed.
If you do find a shim you would of course need to move the shim with the lens to the new shutter.
All Copal 1 shutters would have the same spacing.

[Ben Syverson]

Excellent... there are no shims as far as I can tell. What freaked me out was this page (http://www.rogerandfrances.com/photoschool/ps%20how%20re-shutter.html), that shows a Copal 1 Press shutter with 12 spacing settings on a dial. If I had that shutter, I would be under the darkcloth for weeks triple-checking the setting!

[Jan Pedersen]

The Press shutter may have a different thread size but spacing should be the same.
If in doubt please call Tim Sharkey at lens2shutter he is a very experienced guy when you have a need to get a lens custom mounted into a new shutter.
That said, i don't think you need anything custom for this swap of lens/shutter.

[Ben Syverson]

Thank Jan -- great reference if I run into trouble. I think I'll swap the lenses and shoot a sheet or two as a sanity-check. Otherwise, I'll assume I'm good to go!

[Peter K]

There is no difference in thickness and threads between normal and press shutters. The only difference is the press shutter is self-cocking.

One cannot change the thickness with the scalloped ring, it's only for the right pressure to hold the cover.

[Dan Fromm]

There is no difference in thickness and threads between normal and press shutters. The only difference is the press shutter is self-cocking.

One cannot change the thickness with the scalloped ring, it's only for the right pressure to hold the cover.Peter, you're right as far as you go but in fact press and cock-and-shoot shutters aren't completely interchangeable. It depends on the lens.

This because the diaphragm of #1 Copal Press and Prontor Press shutters is approximately 1 mm closer to the rear than that of #1 Copal and Compur cock and shoot shutters. See http://www.skgrimes.com/newcopal/index.htm.

This doesn't matter for all lenses, does for the 80/2.8 Planar I was given as a pair of loose cells. The rear cell's front element contacts a #1 Press shutter's diaphragm before the cell is properly seated in the shutter.

Cheers,

Dan

[Ernest Purdum]

Another mystery Why are the rear cell threads on most (not all) number 1 shutters smaller than those at the front? Why are self-cocking shutters called "Press"? Why do most LF lenses come in set and release shutters when self-cocking types make more sense on a camera always used on a tripod. And, why in the world would the diaphragms of "Press" shutters be located differently from their brethren?

Oh well, I suppose we should be grateful that someone is still making shutters for LF cameras at all.

[Ben Syverson]

Update: I was able to remove the scales on the 300C, but the screws holding the scales on my 300A would NOT budge. I have a variety of tiny screwdrivers, but nothing worked. Eventually I gave up for fear of stripping those tiny screws!

[Archphoto]

A screwdriver that I use for these things is the Belzer 787AM/5.
Otherwise I use the Bergon series, got the whole lot. (0,5 - 3 mm in steps)

Peter