Lensboard Adapter

[hesseugene541]

Hello all!
New to this forum. And a little new to LF photography. I just had a question I just purchased my first field camera after using a calumet monorail for 5 years. A wista rittreck. I have used a friend of mines many times and love it, extremely bright glass sturdy, light in comparison to what i am use to carrying just an all around great camera in my opinion so i am very excited. However these cameras take a non typical sized lensboard meaning i have to get one specially made (unless someone knows where to get one?) I have been in contact with SK and they have told me that i will need to get a lensboard adapter as this is my first real experience with purchasing parts for a field camera i do not know what this is? It seems to me like they take a normal lensboard and than mount 2 or 4 pieces of metal on the back that will be caught by the normal catching mechanism but you will still have a say 5x5 board on the front of theses notches? Does anyone have any experience with these? Thanks for your help!

[Oren Grad]

Lensboard adapters are usually made to allow smaller lensboards to fit on to cameras designed to accept larger ones. It's sometimes possible to do it the other way around, or to adapt similar sizes, but that's usually mechanically awkward and can impose some functional limitations.

A factory-made adapter exists that allows use of Technika-type boards on the Rittreck. I have one, and it works fine. They're a bit uncommon but do turn up on eBay occasionally. You can expect to pay $100 or more.

SK Grimes can make a custom-machined board that has an appropriate recessed area and retaining sliders, for virtually any combination of smaller board and larger front standard. I have a couple of those as well, for larger cameras. They're beautifully made and function well, but again, one of those will be expensive - well over $100.

There have been several threads here discussing the Rittreck - you can use the search function to find them. Here's one example, that includes a snapshot of a Rittreck with the Technika adapter mounted:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=47086

[Chauncey Walden]

I make my dedicated boards out of .060 hobby shop aluminum which comes in 6 inch widths. After all, it is just almost a square with rounded corners with a hole in it. I made an adapter to take my Tech III boards out of 1.5 mm hobby shop plywood with a strips glued along the sides and just above the bottom and another wider strip across the bottom to retain the Tech board which is simply held against the top by the Rittreck's clamp.

[4byfive]

Try this guy...

Richard T Ritter rrlg4mat@sover.net

[ypres.bass]

Mo, I have TOYO 45G and lensboards aren't cheap, so i make homemade reduction...
costs: 1 original board from ebay (30USD), one aluminium plate to inner frame (25CZK>1EUR), six screws and material for new boards. every new board cost only material - 13x13x0,2cm aluminium plate for 25CZK (1EUR)

original reduction costs 40EUR + 15EUR every plate
picture (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs050.ash2/35867_1215860895121_1786807105_418026_4270617_n.jpg)