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Thread: barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

  1. #1

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I'm interested to hear from those on this forum that use barrel lenses without any kind of shutter.

    I imagine if I use a hat or some such item as a 'shutter' that I'd need to keep the exposure in the range of 1+ seconds. Does anybody on this forum expose film in this manner? If so, what is your technique (ND filters, slow film, restrict your shooting to times when the light is low) and how practical is this approach?

    Thanks,

    Curtis

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    View Camera has an article on barrel lenses and their use in our May issue.

    steve simmons

  3. #3

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I've tried exposures with barrel lenses using slip on lens caps as a "shutter" (100 speed film & ND filters to try and keep exposure times >2 seconds) and have had some success. In the end I bought used Packard shutters (standard and instantaneous) to mount behind the lensboards which works much better. Cheers -

  4. #4
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I've done the hat trick and used open flash technique in the studio.

    Now I have a few barrel lenses that I use on a 5x7" Press Graflex.

    I have two that I've had front mounted to an Ilex #5 shutter. This is a handy field setup for 8x10"--Kodak 10" WF Ektar, 12" Gold Dot Dagor (barrel), 19" Apo-Artar (barrel), all on the same shutter with consistent shutter speeds, and just one lensboard, so it keeps the weight and bulk down.

    I have a few big barrel lenses that I use with a front-mounted shutter with one instantaneous speed like a "Luc" shutter, and I've just had flash sync added to this shutter for studio use.

  5. #5

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    Guilty. Packard shutters are excellent. I also use 32 asa Panatomic X and Efke 25 asa to keep shutter speeds slow. Have used a lot of asa 3 ortho film in the past but success is iffy. It's very contrasty. With a good working Packard you can use asa 100 film in open shade. Using some of the big portrait lenses at f4 with no shutter out of doors can be challenging. I have some pics here.

  6. #6

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    Um, er, ah, I probably shouldn't answer but I'm going to anyway. I've accumulated a small heap of lenses in barrel and use most of them.

    I shoot most in front of a #1. This works for me because I shoot 2x3. On a larger format front mounting risks mechanical vignetting by the shutter.

    To tell whether front-mounting is safe, I use a simple geometric model. If (shutter's diameter wide open) /(distance from shutter's blades to lens' exit pupil) > (diameter of circle to be covered)/(distance from lens' exit pupil to film plane), I'm in business. I used to use an ex-Polaroid MP-4 Copal #1. This is a press shutter with no diaphragm, and its aperture is 30 mm in diameter. I now use a cock-and-shoot #1, haven't measured but I believe it is a tiny bit larger.

    I have a few barrel lenses that can't, for one reason or another, be front-mounted. I use them on a 2x3 Speed Graphic. If you're shooting 4x5 or 5x7 and don't need much in the way of movements, a Speed Graphic offers timed short exposures. But remember, if you go shopping for one, that Pacemaker Speed Graphics' longest timed exposure is 1/30; older ones will time down to 1/10.

  7. #7

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I used the hat method for a while on an 8x10, but it was just too cumbersom to do often so I now use packards. I found trying to hold a cap in place while removing the dark slide wqas a real pain, espically with long lenses. I was always borrowing lenscaps off other lensesthat didnt fit, so I would tape the cap to the lens barrel while dealing with the dark slide.
    I never really found timing exposures to hard. One thing I did for a while was use the little metranome I use for printing Azo to click the seconds off.

  8. #8

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    Curtis, the approach is very practical for many shooting situations. Most of my shooting is with an 8x10 at relatively small apertures (typically f/32-f/90), often doing closeup work, resulting in shutter speeds that often exceed 1/4 sec. However, I do have a 3 stop ND filter that I bought to slow down faster shutter speeds, but I haven't had to use it yet.

    My technique--I carry a spare dark slide for use as a shutter. I hold it flush with the front element before I pull the dark slide of the film holder. I then swing the "shutter" quickly out of the way and can get accurate exposures to 1/2 sec using a metronome. Slower exposures are obviously more forgiving. I like the idea of a dark hat or some other loose fitting, concave, nonreflective cloth for a cap/shutter. I know a guy who taped a black Tshirt to the inside of a small tupperware container and hung it loosely over the front element. Another alternative is a loose lens cap that can be removed without disturbing the lens. Be careful if you use a lens cap that properly fits the front element. Removing a snug cap will cause movement of the lens/front standard. If that's your only option, slide the cap to the point where it's about to fall off, then remove it for exposure.

    Whatever you choose to use, you might want to try your technique out with a lens in a shutter, taking duplicate shots--one exposure using the mechanical shutter and the other exposure using B or T to lock open the diaphragm and then using a dark slide/cap/alternative shutter.

    Happy shooting. -Tony

  9. #9

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I use several barrel lenses. One of them comes with a nice, lined lens cap. I put the cap loosely on the lens, pull the dark slide, then remove the cap. It slides on and off smoothly.

    With other lenses I use a device I made from a piece of mat board covered with felt. I used the self-adhesive stuff sold at the hardware store. The card is a bit wider than the diameter of the lens and about 4-inches long. With this method, I hold the cover over the lens while pulling the darkslide. It's a bit more cumbersome. Then I remove the cover for the needed time.

    For timing, I carry my metronome into the field. I usually set it on 120bpm so that it's counting in half-seconds. If I need less than 1/2 second, I can increase the speed of the metronome. I don't think, though that my hand is quicker than 1/4 second.

  10. #10

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    barrel lenses - who uses 'em, and how?

    I regularly use a couple of process lenses in barrel. I usually am out photographing in the evening or nighttime, in which case a lenscap and counting elephants works as well as anything else I've tried. In stronger light I use a Sinar copal shutter, which has always struck me as a bit delicate to be hauling in and out of rucksacks, but which seems to rather enjoy it.

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