Rigging up an old 8x10 Korona View

[Colin Corneau]

So, I got myself into 8x10...figure, what the heck! I got 2 kidneys, and one of 'em will fetch a good price.

I received an old brass lens with this - not sure of make but it's a 12", flawless glass. No aperture or shutter; likely an old projection lens, perhaps?

I also have an old packard shutter. This can fit onto the front end of the lens; I've also seen it placed permanently onto the back end of a lens.

• To do this, however, it seems you have to drill 2 small holes into the lens board for the tube(s) to come out of. Is this true? Will I have to do this in order to use the packard shutter this way?

• At some point, I'd like to get a regular lens - Nikkor/Schneider/whatever in a Copal type setup...full apertures, shutter speeds, etc. Can I simply make a lens board to fit the Korona or are they relatively easy to come by, used?

Many thanks, both for the answers and patience with undoubtedly clueless queries.

Colin

[Mark Sawyer]

If there is no iris aperture and no slot for Waterhouse stops, a projection lens is a good bet. Could be a Petzval or a triplet formula...

I like the Packard shutters behind the lens; it seems like it would have less leverage to shake when set off, and leaks less light if you need to wait a bit between pulling the darkslide and making the exposure. But some like it the other way...

Just one hole in the lensboard for the tube to go through, perhaps another for a pin if your Packard has the "instant" exposure capability. Without a variable aperture and only a Packard shutter, you'll have limits on controlling the exposure. Options incluse density filters, choosing an appropriate speed film (or two), and photographing in subdued light to have longer exposures.

Lensboards are easy to make, but depending on the size, may be easy or hard to find. The Korona had both 6x6 inch boards (very common) and 7.5x7.5 inch boards (a bit rarer). But the bigger board will handle bigger lenses, if you decide to go that route...

Good luck with it! The Korona is a great camera, and one of the classics!

[Gary Beasley]

The Burke and James 6x6 is very similar and will fit but the flange is cut much thinner and will be a loose fit. You have to watch out for this when getting a used board. If you get stuck with one a piece of laminate glued to the back of the flange will likely fix the problem.

[Jim Noel]

Making wooden lens boards is a piece of cake. With a router the edges can be milled down for the lip. Lacking a router, go to a hobby shop and get a piece of ply the thickness of the front part of the board. Cut a smaller piece for the back part to fit inside the opening of the camera. Glue them together well, paint the inside with flat black paint, and then use a holesaw to drill the board for the lens.

[sly]

My husband made a lens board for my Korona. Only took him a few minutes. works fine.