I bought the wrong lens board twice

[gardnermounce11]

Two weeks ago I bought a lens board for my 4x5 Calumet LF from an ebay seller. The lens board that I received measured 6.5" x 6.5", which is too large for my camera which requires a 4" x 4" lens board. So I went to KEH and ordered a 4" x 4" lens board with the correct copal size for my lens. It just arrived and it too is a 6.5" x 6.5" lens board. I'm painfully new to large format photography, but not to basic math...I know I need a 4" x 4" lens board. Am I missing something here? Is there something else I need to specify when ordering a lens board besides: 4x5 lens board which measures 4" x 4" and features a 41 lens opening?? :confused:

[lenser]

Sounds like you need to be more specific as in the model number of the camera and the exterior size of the board.

Calumet made 4x5 cameras with at least three different board sizes, maybe more than that. One is the very old CC-400 series which requires a 4x4 board dedicated in design to the construction of that camera's mount, then there are the Calumet and Cambo professional cameras that share the same 6.5 x 6.5 board also dedicated, and there was also a smaller stripped down 4x5 series which took a board that was smaller, but I have no info on that.

Beyond that, they also had a big magnesium 8x10 camera long ago which not only took it's own board, but would also use the CC-400 boards with an adapter plate. They also bought out Zone VI back in the 90's as well as having their own house brand of 4x5 field camera which had different size boards from the others.

If you can't find the your camera's model number, you might try taking a couple of digital images of your camera and emailing them to Jose who was, and I think still is, their repair department go-to guy in Chicago at 1-800-calumet. I'm betting he can tell you which model you have and will probably have the boards you need on hand, even for the long out of production models.

Good luck.

Tim

[Roger Cole]

KEH is great to deal with. Send it back. I'd call them and see if they won't also pay the shipping, since the mistake seems to have been theirs.

[gardnermounce11]

Im sending the keh one back, and took a tape measure and jigsaw to the non-returnable eBay one and I got it to fit perfectly! Power tools! :D

[Uri A]

Im sending the keh one back, and took a tape measure and jigsaw to the non-returnable eBay one and I got it to fit perfectly! Power tools! :D

That's the spirit! I can see you're going to be a good LF photog... :D

[Rick A]

I make my own out of wood or heavy matboard. They are simple and can be made in minutes, work just like the store bought ones.

[ic-racer]

4" square may be similar or the same as a Graphic View board. Is your board cast?

There are a number of pre-made lensboards available at SK Grimes. If yours is not in this list, they can make some custom boards to fit your camera: http://www.skgrimes.com/lensboards/index.htm

[tgtaylor]

That's one of the reasons why all my LF cameras (5 now) are the same brand - Toyos. All my lens-boards are usable on both the 4x5 fields and monorails - including the 810G - using just one adaptor. In addition, most parts and backs are interchangeable. If I want to use a revolving back with Fresnel on the AX, I just swap backs with the ROBOS. If I need a little longer rail to use my 300mm lens on the 810G, instead of using the long extension that came with the camera I can just attach the short extension of the ROBOS. Makes bringing the right gear with you a lot easier than if you had several different brands of cameras to sort from.

Thomas

[CCB]

Is your Calumet a copy of the Kodak Master View 4x5?

Do you have a photo of the front standard?

[Mark Sampson]

CCB, the Calumet CC400,-401, and -402 cameras are 'not exactly' copies of the Kodak Master View 4x5; they are the same camera, slightly improved. Calumet bought the design from EK around 1956 and had it in production until who knows, the 1990s anyway. The earlier ones are painted silver; later ones are black. With whatever nameplate, they must be the most popular 4x5 view camera ever made, and they use the same 4" square lensboards; that design is shared with the Graflex Graphic View and who knows how many other cameras.

[CCB]

No, the Graphic View lensboard and the Kodak Master View lensboard are definitely not the same. I have both cameras, and this subject can be explored further at the Graflex website.