How to mount old lenses without shutter on modern cameras ?

[jocl123]

Hi all,
I am new in This forum and just got into LF photography.
I got lot of stuff during the last months including a Tachihara 8x10 and a Linhof Master Technika and a Chamonix 4x5. I got a bunch of modern lenses which all fit the various sizes but now I want to enjoy the look of vintage brass lenses without shutters.
My question is how to "shoot" with those without having a built-in shutter.
Is the answer a large packard shutter ? A shutter cap ?

Thanks to all with contructive posts and answers.
Jo

[John Koehrer]

Frequently screwed into a wooden board using the threads on the lens as a tap.
Another is duct tape around the rear of the lens.

[jocl123]

Sorry, may I explained my question wrong.
If the lens is attached to a lens board and already on the camera.
How can I make the photo if there is no shutter in the lens?

[Ken Lee]

One option is to use the Sinar Copal Shutter (www.kenleegallery.com/html/tech/index.php#Shutter).

[Vick Vickery]

Lots of folks use a lens cap or a hat over the front of the lens to make exposures of a second or more with the lens stopped down. Of course, a Packard shutter will work well behind the lens board as will a large shutter attached in some fashion to the front of the lens (the Packard can be attached this way, too). Any way to block the light while you get the film ready will work OK if you have a long enough exposure to give you time to work.

[eddie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baa8Bwnn9Sk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Jim Noel]

Learn to use a Galli shutter. Simple, cheap and reliable.
Google Jim Galli for more info.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

My question is how to "shoot" with those without having a built-in shutter.]

Hello from France !

Dan From, one of our distinguished forum members, has written an article where he gives some good advice on mounting barrel (= shutter-less) lenses either on a camera with a built-in focal plane shutter like a Speed Graphic press camera, or in front of a leaf shutter on any large format camera.

http://www.galerie-photo.com/1-lens-6x9-dan-fromm.html#htoc3

Jean-Baptiste Maison in France has built a kind of hybrid camera, re-using the focal plane shutter of an old Speed Graphic, installed at the back of an Arca Swiss monorail camera.
The text of the article is in French but the images are self-explanatory.
http://www.galerie-photo.com/metissage-arca-swiss-speed-graphic.html

[Two23]

How can you use a Sinar Copal shutter with a Chamonix 45N?


Kent in SD

[Ken Lee]

"How can you use a Sinar Copal shutter with a Chamonix 45N?"

You need an adapter, to go from the Chamonix to a Sinar board. Keep in mind that the Sinar board is larger than a Technika board, and depending on the size of the front of the Chamonix, you may not be able to accommodate lenses of large diameter. Since such lenses are probably heavy, you may not want to do that anyway, since the camera is designed for portability.

You can make one yourself if you are mechanically inclined, or you can have someone make one for you, either out of wood or some other material like metal. Richard Ritter (http://www.lg4mat.net/) (wood) or SK Grimes (http://www.skgrimes.com/) (metal) can make you something perfect and beautiful. They are popular resources here.

There have been some Shen Hao cameras actually designed to accommodate the Sinar Copal shutter, so perhaps you can get some ideas from there. Search this forum and you will find discussion and photos.

Ultimately, you can ask Chamonix to provide one for you. It's probably very easy for them to make one. Not necessarily cheap, but easy.

That being said...

For the field I have a field camera (http://www.kenleegallery.com/html/tech/Nikkor200MTachihara.php). For for everything else (even shooting near the trunk of the car), an old Sinar P. The Sinar is a modular design, and can accommodate a huge variety of lenses - as you can see here (http://www.kenleegallery.com/html/tech/Nikkor610Nov2011.html) - where a rather long lens barrel-mounted lens is used with Sinar Copal shutter. That 610mm APO Nikkor cost something like $250, in original box and never opened. Barrel lenses can be so affordable that the savings pay for the Sinar Shutter immediately.

Therefore, another option is to get a Sinar camera, used. They are cheaper than any field camera. Not lighter or smaller, but wonderful in every other respect, and abundantly available.

[jocl123]

Thank you for all the nice ideas but I want something which is easy to work with. I don't mind spending some money on it since I am not good with tools and working on machines.

Where could I get a packard shutter ? In the bay ? Is it better to get lenses first and then a shutter as I think old brass lens are not all the same size in front.

THANK you once again.

[Len Middleton]

If all else fails, they are still in business: http://www.packardshutter.com/

[rjmeyer314]

The simple approach is to use your lens with a camera with a built-in focal plane shutter. Examples include the Speed Graphic, or the many Graflex SLR's (Super D, Series B, Series C, Series D, RB Tele, etc) in 2 1/4 x 3 1/4, 3 1/4 x 4 1/4, 4x5, 5x7). Graflex also made something called a Speed-i-o-scope (or something like that) that was a behind-the-lens shutter with a screw clamp on the front to hold lenses over a limited size range. Graflex also made a focal plane shutter attachment for view cameras that would fit on the back between the camera and a ground glass back. These are rare, but a couple come up on Ebay every year. I have also brought a junker Speed Graphic and threw away most of it, keeping just enough to have the focal plane shutter assembly. I mounted this on a lensboard for my 11x14 view camera. It's set up so I can faster lensboards with lens on the front. Or you can just buy a working Thornton-Pickard (spelling?) shutter, which is a roller blind shutter which does the same thing. The way the old timers did it is just to remove and replace a lenscap to make exposures. This works best with slow film and a lens that can be stopped way down. I've done it with several of my old lenses with OK results.

[rdenney]

The Sinar shutter will mount directly on the back side of the front standard, as is the case with a Sinar monorail, on a Shen-Hao XPO. The XPO is Sinar-compatible, accommodating Sinar boards, bellows, and the shutter.

If this is a central requirement, it might be worth exploring whether the XPO fulfills other requirements, too. Maybe it's a better choice than the Chamonix.

But a cheap, well-used Sinar F in the fleet might be cheaper.

Rick "attracted to the XPO for no rational reason" Denney

[Andrew]

Sorry, may I explained my question wrong.
If the lens is attached to a lens board and already on the camera.
How can I make the photo if there is no shutter in the lens?

if the lens is already on the camera and you don't want to use a lens cap etc you can front mount a Packard

I haven't actually tried doing this but I think you might even be able to make a mount that's fexible enough to use one Packard shutter across a couple of lenses?

[jocl123]

I just checked my Tachihara 8x10 and the bellows is fixed so I can't install a behind the lens shutter.

Isn't there something like a Sinar Copal shutter but for the front of a barrel lens ?
Packard seems to hav eonly one shutter speed.?
jocl

[Sevo]

I just checked my Tachihara 8x10 and the bellows is fixed so I can't install a behind the lens shutter.

Isn't there something like a Sinar Copal shutter but for the front of a barrel lens ?
Packard seems to hav eonly one shutter speed.?
jocl

Thornton-Pickards tend to be single speed (with tension variation, but mine deliver random speeds if I dare to touch that) as well. Probably your best bet would be to attach a Sinar shutter at the front, if you don't dare to take the hacksaw to the Tachihara (there is no such thing as a fixed bellows - at the very worst it may be glued to the panel).

[E. von Hoegh]

I just checked my Tachihara 8x10 and the bellows is fixed so I can't install a behind the lens shutter.

Isn't there something like a Sinar Copal shutter but for the front of a barrel lens ?
Packard seems to hav eonly one shutter speed.?
jocl

Ilex #5, with an adapter. A clever machinist could make the adapter to fit a range of barrel sizes.

[jocl123]

I found a German Zettor shutter which perfectly fits my needs !

[Steven Tribe]

I doubt you will find the Zettor or much use if you want reliability.
It has B, T and an Instantaneous - the specific speed is, to some extent, operator dependent.

[jocl123]

Just found an Ilex No.5 shutter. I think this is the best solution you can get.