Graflex F4.7 135mm lens slip on adapters

[tom thomas]

I'd like to experiment with my 45 Pacemaker Speed Graphic and a Hama Ultra Wide Macro Lens 0.6X on my Graflex f4.7 135 lens. I need a slip on adapter that will adapt the 135mm lens to the Hama lens.

From searching treads I think the outer diameter of the f4.7 135mm lens is 38mm. The Hama needs a F7 (Series 7) screwon adapter. I know I can find a 38mm to Series 6 adapter.
Has anyone heard of a 38mm slipon to Series 7 adapter? Or a Series 6 to Series 7 screw type adapter?

This Hama lens has me intrigued too. Searching for it with Google, most posts are in England and few/far between. I found it in a camera store bargain bin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It fits my little Fujifilm 3800 Digital Camera with interesting results, bit of vignetting, so I wonder what I might find when I put in on the Graflex. Should be interesting to find out once I find suitable adapters. Duct Tape is not a good choice as the Hama lens is Mint.

To fit my Fuji, I did have to get a 55mm to F7. Ah Ha, I just realized. Perhaps I can find a 38mm slipon to 55mm screw thread easier. If they exist?

Thanx, Tom

[Mark Sampson]

Series 6-to-Series 7 adapters are/were quite common. Slipon-to-mm sizes are almost unheard of, and Series-to-mm adapters seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth these days. Which, of course, is what many of us want; to adapt older, unthreaded slipon/Series lenses to use modern mm-thread filters & accessories. But this is a good place to find such things; someone will probably find what you need in a drawer before long.

[tbeaman]

I just went through this process recently, equipping three of my older lenses (including an Optar like yours) with adapters so that I can use my 67mm filters. Luckily for me, 67mm will generally screw right into Series VIII. For what you want, the easiest thing will be to get a 38mm Series VI slip-on, and then a VI - VII step up adapter.

If no one here is able to help you, search on the bay for a seller named macintoshcat. He got me everything I needed at a reasonable price (there's no reason to pay more than $5 a pop for these), and was a super nice guy to deal with to boot.

Btw, I found that stuffing a piece of fun foam and cardboard into a retaining ring made for a great lens cap.

[tom thomas]

Mark and T,
thanx for your replies. Mark, I have an unused 31.5 slipon to Series VI adapter. I didnt' know these are getting scarce. It came with a Graflex 23 Minature but doesn't fit the lens which is 33mm. I guess the previous owner had more than one lens. I'll check out some of my other early 35mm cameras to see if it will adapt. Otherwise, I can probably find a home for it here.

T, you gave me an idea by mentioning that you'd done 33mm to Series VIII for your 67mm lenses. I have a set of Prinz 67mm 1, 2, and 3 closeup lenses and a 1A skylight filter that I'd picked up in a package deal on E-*** sometime ago. I wondered what I could do with them. If I find the adapter, I can try them on the Graflex too.

I'm wondering if I'll get less tunnel effect using the Prinz set too. The Hama gives me severe tunnelling on my Fuji 3800 right now. I just tried it. Here is a photo of flowers. Of course, this special effect could be real nice on the Graflex for certain shots.

Here is what the Hama lens looks like on the little Fuji 3800. Overpowers it a bit. I just realized though that if I get a 46mm to 55mm or 46 to Series 7 adapter, I can try it on my later Fuji S5700 which has super macro mode already. Should be fun to see just how close I can get to something clearly. I'm chafing at the bit to try it on the Graflex already.

Tom

[tom thomas]

Oops, I type 33mm when I meant 38mm for the Graflex lens.
Tom

[tom thomas]

First, thanx guys for the info about different adapters available.

After many distractions, I got my hands on a 38mm slip-on to Series VI adapter plus a Series VI to Series VII screw type adapter. The Hama lens looks "cool" on the Graflex 45 Speed Graphic and does shorten the close-up distance considerably. The 38mm slip on adapter is either stretched a bit or the lens is not exactly 38mm as the heavy Hama sags when attached to the lens. I made a paper shim which works but would not be good for field use.

Since the Speed Graphic allows "macro" photography already, I was curious to see the differences when I added the Hama close up lens.

Without the adapter, focus distance from front of lens to the subject was 10.5 inches. With the Hama lens, distance was reduced to 3 inches for the same/equivalent image. Advantage??? Probably being able to smell the subject's breath as you photograph their nose hairs. Otherwise, I'm not sure other than the subject seems larger so offers opportunity to capture finer detail.

I also tried an alternative close up solution with a Series VII Kodak Portra Lens 1+ lens. It offers great results with a lot less weight. The last photo was taken with the Kodak lens. I have three of these lenses. I just realized I may be able to use all three to increase the magnification. Next experiment.

Here are some comparative photos through the lens on the viewing screen. I included photos of the camera with each lens mounted to show the difference. I don't have any 4X5 film nor holders so can't take real photos yet. I used a bright fluorescent bulb in my desk lamp as the subject as it was evening and not enough light left to go outside to set up on a flower. I was surprised how clear the image of the lamp and the magnifying lens is in the corner. No image loss due to the extended lens and adapters.

The contrast in the second lamp photo is nice, must be the Kodak lens quality or I took more care to focus. My tripod kept wanting to collapse with the Hama lens mounted so I probably didnt take as much care as I should of to get a sharp focus.

I did this experiment out of curiousity. Does anyone in the group routinely use close up lens in their LF photography for special effects? Should be fun trying to get a butterfly or bug to keep still long enough to catch a close up of them.

I have a full set of NOS Prinz Series VIII (63mm) Close Up 1, 2, and 3 lenses as well as a set in 62mm. Now I need to look for a Series VI to Series VIII adapter/holder so I can try them in combination for really close up shots. Should be interesting.

I did find a good source for slip-on adapters on E-B*. Glynn Camera has quite a selection of different sizes at reasonable prices. The Retaining rings do sell separately though so keep that in mind if you are looking for the slip-on adapter. I'm not associated with the seller in any way, just offering a hint if someone is looking for an odd lens adapter.

Tom Thomas

[EdWorkman]

A month ago I went thru Billings MT and stopped at Cameras. Kyle has a gazillion adapter rings- It is daunting to find the one that actually fit the lens one has- unless you go see Kyle and look at the rings he has to assure fit. It seemed like they were made "every" inch size by 1/32 and .5 mm increment.
The slipons may also need a tweak - careful bending of the little fingers for a perfect fit. I discovered I really needed a strange threadin for my 203 Optar, and thanks to Kyle I now have the right size.