Ebay electric shutter vs. e.g. Packard shutter

[rannestad]

Hi

I am totally new to the world of large format. I want to explore the world of alternative and vintage photography. I have found an old 5x7" camera, and have got a poloxer 210 mm lens, without shutter. I am also looking for vintage lenses, e.g. petzvals. So I have to find a solution for a shutter.

I have searched this forum and other places and found that packard shutters should work for my needs. I have also found this shutter on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280530014100&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Seems to be same basic construction, but differently made. The ebay type needs some external control, which I can make myself. I actually think it is an advantage to get access to the solenoid directly. I have some ideas of how to boost the shutter actuation in order to get faster shutter speeds than 1/32.

My question is quite simple: Anybody know anything about this shutter? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.

Bjorn

[ic-racer]

Looks interesting if you can make a timing circuit for it. But you will be on your own.

In terms of the Packard shutter, they are pretty popular, and may be still available new.

[BarryS]

Those shutters seem like more trouble than they're worth. If you want a Petzval to cover 5x7, you're looking at a 9" lens. The original Petzval design is an f/3.8 lens, so that would be an approximate aperture of 60mm--and the electric shutter only has a 40mm aperture. It's too small. Better to find a larger normal Packard that doesn't require a power source and a black box to take a picture.

[rannestad]

Thank you for your quick reply. I see your point about the petzval and aperture. The thing is, the camera I have found is approx 10cm across in the front, which will fit the ebay shutter. I searced for packard shutters, and found that for a similar sized packard shutter, I would get an opeing of 2", approx 5 cm, which is larger than the ebay type, but still not large enough for the petzval you refer to.

Are there other options? As I said, I am new to this. Does a curtain design shutter exist, like in dslrs? I think that could be a very space effective solution, but the shutter speed and vibrations may be an issue...

Thank you for your reply

[Scott --]

Don't over-think this. Packards have been around forever 'cause they're reliable and adaptable. Fer instance, you can front-mount a Packard (http://scottperryphoto.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/mounting-a-packard-shutter-externally/)...

[domaz]

Thorton Pickards shutters also work instead of Packards. They are more like focal plane shutters I believe.

[Jim Graves]

This shutter (and this ebay seller) caused quite a stir on this forum in January ... the shutters had been listed by surplus shed for $15.00 each but they had sent out a sale flier advertising them for $7.50 each.

This ebay seller bought them all (his original ebay ad said he had 781 available) and he started listing them on ebay for $99.00, claiming (as he still does) that "similar shutters sell for $400." He dropped the price to $49 each not long after he started selling them.

My only comments about them are the 4cm opening is very small for LF lenses and if you want to use them in the field you need a 24 volt power source.

Here's a link to an earlier thread on this site about this shutter and some possible alternatives: Link (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=58176&highlight=electronic+shutter)

[rannestad]

Some really great information here. Thank you very much. I especially liked the info about the ebay seller. Puts things into perspective. It means, that it should be possible of pushing the price quite much.

[Steven Tribe]

My experience with this seller - a few years ago - is that he is totally out of touch with the real world. Any attempt to tell him the truth about his listed items brings out the worst side of his character. There are a few indications in his listing/name/address which should give a red light warning.
The listing was a source of general amusement when it started. I think that I worked out that he will have sold them all by 2037 if he continued at the current rate of sale.

[Steven Tribe]

Having nothing better to do tonight, I decided to check his sales progress during the 4 months. He has sold 2 (OK - 2 feedbacks have been given). So he is selling around 10 a year. Based on the original total of 781 he will be sold out in 77 years, approximately 2087. If he paid $5 a piece each and continues the $50 price, he will recover his outlay and start to make a profit in about 7 years.
I usually use my time and effort on more sensible activities!
It would be nice to hear from someone who bought and got them to work?

[Len Middleton]

Having nothing better to do tonight, I decided to check his sales progress during the 4 months. He has sold 2 (OK - 2 feedbacks have been given). So he is selling around 10 a year. Based on the original total of 781 he will be sold out in 77 years, approximately 2087. If he paid $5 a piece each and continues the $50 price, he will recover his outlay and start to make a profit in about 7 years.


Steven,

Are you including interest on the money for that time period (even at today's traditionally low interest rates), as well i.e. discounted cash flow analysis?

Otherwise, it may even be longer than you calculated :eek:

I suspect that as aparently he has already exihibited, that he can adjust his business practices...

I think you need to go to the darkroom now, and keep busy,

Len

[rannestad]

If he's got that number in stock he should soon be ready for a dumping of the price. I mean, if I had 781-2 in stock and only sold one every 2 month, I would be a bit disappointed. I think my strategy would have been to get rid of them asap, but he may think differently...

[Steven Tribe]

I regret to say that logic is not his strong point. Even I might be tempted at 10-15$!
He has a quite unbelievable access to huge quantities of ciné parts and "ethnographic" items.

[Ernest Purdum]

There are larger shutters of this basic configuration which might be useful to someone working entirely in a studio. They show up on eBay occasionally. Converting to outdoor use would likely turn out to be a problem.

Trying to make one of these shutters (or a Packard for that matter) work faster is unlikely to be successful. Inertia of the blades is the problem.

[jan labij]

I have used packard shutters for years. It makes me smile to read of people obcess about the slow instantaeous speed of 1/25 second. If you are using 100 speed film on a bright sunny day set lens on f8. and on and on. Since I don't snapshoot with a 5X7, I'm normally at f16 or f22.

[Steven Tribe]

2011 has brought a change of selling tactics.
Buy-it-now price has be dropped to $29.

[goamules]

Yeah, caution is advised with this one.

[eddie]

Any attempt to tell him the truth about his listed items brings out the worst side of his character.

yup. this guy came on the scene not too long ago. not sure how he got so many feed backs and sales in such a short time etc etc. i always thought he must be trying to loose money.

[GPS]

More about the shutter itself. It has not been conceived for a LF woody but for a static application. One problem you would need to deal with is the strong backfiring effect of the solenoid. Its plunger has some weight and adding the monster to the front standard is not where it would thrive...
Also, technically what he says about the regulation of its speed with different voltage is half truth - they thrive on their own speed. Adding more voltage makes the backfiring even worse. :(

[Steven Tribe]

This latest listing attempt at $29 has proved to be a big success. Almost into double figures in January!