Linhof 5x7 Technika Lensboard Questions

[James Driscoll]

Hello Everyone,

I am pondering purchasing a Linhof 5x7 Technika....but have a few questions regarding lens boards.

On the Model III camera...does the 5x7 utilize the same boards as the 4x5 Tech III???

On the Model IV/V does Linhof still sell the lensboards??? If not was there ever a 5x7 to 4x5 "modern style" adapter board??? Or is it just a black version of the tech III board....because it does look quite similar.

Thanks In Advance.

[Frank Petronio]

It's 3:54 am EST so I don't expect Bob S. to respond for at least another 15 minutes ;)

On the one I sold for my friend, a IV, he made a few boards from flat aluminum that he claimed worked well. Not as critical as the 4x5 lensboards. YMMV.

[Ole Tjugen]

The boards for the III 5x7" are quite a bit larger than on the 4x5" version.

I don't know if the model IV lensboards are the same, but assuming the black ones I have are model IV and the shiny ones are model III, they are exactly the same.

I have an adapter for "modern" 4x5" boards on a Tech III 5x7", so yes, they do exist.

Whether Linhof still make any of this will have to wait for Bob S...

[Bob Salomon]

001040 we still have some in stock. They have a cenet hole only so you would need someone to mill an opening for your shutter.

[Ben Calwell]

The last time I checked, Midwest Photo Exchange (www.mpex.com) was listing a Linhof 5x7 to 4x5 adapter board for a stunning, jaw-dropping price.

[Bob Salomon]

" Linhof 5x7 to 4x5 adapter board"

While these are no longer made we still have 2 in stock.

[CXC]

Mail any lensboard to www.bromwellmarketing.com and they will machine it into a Linhof converter board. I have done this successfully with a Wehman board, which they hand never done before, so they are pretty good. I'm sure there are other photo mechanics around that can do so as well. The result may not be as pretty as original Linhof equipment, but then again it may not cost as much, either.

Can't go wrong with a Technika 5x7, I want one too!

[James Driscoll]

Thanks everyone for all of the responses.....I am gathering from Ole and Bob S. responses that the Tech III/IV/V 5x7 board is in fact the same???

Also...Bob what year did Linhof cease manufacture of the 5x7 Technika???

[Bob Salomon]

"year did Linhof cease manufacture of the 5x7 Technika"

About 1980

[Bob Salomon]

"While these are no longer made we still have 2 in stock."

Not any longer. There is one piece left. Catalog # is 001066..

The last production date we have on a new Technika 57 is March of 1983. It may have been available a year or so longer then that.

[James Driscoll]

Bob....do you know the story behind the red leather Technika Model III's??? Was this optional on all models (6x9/4x5/5x7) and was there ever any other colors besides red/black on the Model III and Tan on the Model IV/V???

Doesn't affect function of course....but I am curious...and you seem to be the only one who would know!!!

Thanks James

[Bob Salomon]

James, I have only been involved with Linhof since 1978 which was a few decades after the colored coverings on the III so I never really got involved with them. Also none of our literature on the old cameras talks about them and there is no one at the factory who was involved with them. There also is no mention of them in The Linhof Camera Story book. During Linhof's history they have produced special finish cameras. The last time was the gold plated 100th anniversary Master Technika. They have also made one ups or limited production runs with a special covering or plating. But none (save possibily the 100th AnniversaryMaster Technika from 1987) are mentioned in anything in print that we have from the factory.

[James Driscoll]

Thanks Bob....I guess it will be one of those topics that will always be shrouded in mystery....but thanks for giving me an answer anyway.

[Frank Petronio]

I always wanted a tricked out 5x7 Tech with spoilers and ostrich skin. Maybe we could start a custom hot rod view camera business?

[Ole Tjugen]

I've seen tan III's and black IV's on ebay.de, so it seems the colour is an uncertain type indicator. Of course these cameras may have been refinished at some time - like the snakeskin Leica fakes.

At least my 5x7" III is black.

[James Driscoll]

I have seen actual cameras and literature from the Model III era that shows the "red" finish Technika. The actual cameras I have seen are 6x9 models....yet a web search turns up one fellow somewhere who has a 9x12/4x5 Red Model III (but no picture). I guess it wasn't to popular....due to the fact that you rarely see them....and nobody seems to know much about them.

On Gandy's site www.cameraquest.com....he says he has seen factory Dark green on Model III's. Dark Green was close enough to black...that I figured maybe Linhof utilized it to keep the line moving when their supplier ran out of black.

Since I have taken possesion of a clapped out Model III.....that needs a new bellows and new covering...I was pondering making it red because the ones I have seen were so cool looking....but somehow not "tacky"....guess that Linhof Styling trancends any type of covering one feels inclined to put on it.

[Paul Butler]

Lens boards for my Technika II 5x7 are impossible to find, but S.K. Grimes has fabricated them for me, excellent copies, for a reasonable price. The lens board issue shouldn't be an impediment for you, in making the decision to buy a Technika 5x7.

[Ole Tjugen]

I have bouhgt several lensboards on ebay.de, and finally found a Linhof/Linhof adapter which allows me to use the "small Technika boards" on the big Technika. It's a lot easier, so keep looking!