Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

  1. #1

    New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    So I just purchased my first 8x10 camera after shooting 4x5 for the last few years. I got a Burke and James 8x10 with a 14inch Dallmeyer Anastigmat f5.6 lens. The person who owned the camera was using it for wet plate photography so they had no use for a shutter. I am going to use it for studio portraits using flash and thus need to add a shutter. I'm not entirely sure where to start.

    I've looked at the Packard No. 6 Syncro shutter, but I don't know what size to get or if there are better options. My 4x5 lens is mounted to a COPAL-No. 1 shutter and I really like that shutter, but I don't know if they even make one that would fit this new Dallmeyer lens.

    I'm just looking for some direction on where to go with this. I've attached some images of the Dallmeyer lens. Thanks!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 20181006_165807.jpg   20181006_165827.jpg   20181006_165839.jpg  

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    8,470

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    Hmm. Its hard to be sure, but your lens looks much like a post-WW II version of a 14"/5.6 tessar type aerial camera lens that was made by several makers during the war. Its serial number suggests strongly that it should be coated. Does it had DC engraved on the barrel? That's Dallmeyer-speak for coated.

    I've never owned one, have hefted a few. There are few good shutter options, a Packard behind or in front of the lens might be a good choice. To avoid mechanical vignetting the shutter's opening should be no smaller than the lens' exit or entrance pupil appears, depending on whether the shutter is behind or in front of the lens, with the lens wide open.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Madisonville, LA
    Posts
    2,412

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    If you want to shutter the lens, your options are packard shutter, or a Copal 3 or Ilex 5 depending on the cell diameter. You'd have to have the lens mounted by a machinist. I'd contact SK Grimes and ask him what shutter is needed and costs. Unless you're thrilled with this lens, it's probably going to be cheaper to buy a different lens in shutter.

    L

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    1,856

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    If you are just going to do studio work as described, for that I much prefer my Packard to normal shutters. I mounted the Packard on the back of a large lens board with a hole for a small board, and put all of my non-shuttered lenses on small boards, so I can use them with that one Packard. The Packard is functionally much faster to use than a between-lens shutter in this situation.
    Thanks, but I'd rather just watch:
    Large format: http://flickr.com/michaeldarnton
    Mostly 35mm: http://flickr.com/mdarnton
    You want digital, color, etc?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stradofear

  5. #5
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Fond du Lac, WI, USA
    Posts
    8,954

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    Another option is adapting a Sinar shutter.

    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  6. #6
    Angus Parker angusparker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, USA
    Posts
    936

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    My two cents in the blog post below. But I agree with the earlier post: cheaper to buy a lens already with a shutter like a modern Copal 3 rather than retrofit a relatively ho-hum lens.

    https://www.angusparkerphoto.com/blo...s-in-a-shutter


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Del City, OK
    Posts
    227

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    I know a guy who shoots barrel mounted lenses the old fashioned way. He sets everything up, flips the lights off, pulls the dark slide, and trips the flash manually, then reinserts the dark slide before turning the lights back on. This requires a model who can remain really still and a dark studio. It’s not completely black, like a darkroom, but pretty close. Dark enough that it won’t make any noticeable exposure in the 5 seconds or so it takes to complete this process with a slow film.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,908

    Re: New to 8x10 and need advice on shutters

    Quote Originally Posted by jim10219 View Post
    I know a guy who shoots barrel mounted lenses the old fashioned way. He sets everything up, flips the lights off, pulls the dark slide, and trips the flash manually, then reinserts the dark slide before turning the lights back on. This requires a model who can remain really still and a dark studio. It’s not completely black, like a darkroom, but pretty close. Dark enough that it won’t make any noticeable exposure in the 5 seconds or so it takes to complete this process with a slow film.
    A 5-15 watt bulb several feet behind the camera works well. Enough light to see, but not enough to make a significant exposure on the film.

Similar Threads

  1. Advice regarding 8x10 camera, Wonderview 8x10 Monorail
    By stiganas in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 3-Jun-2014, 06:27
  2. Hello, new here and I need some advice: 4x5 vs 8x10
    By msbarnes in forum Introductions
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 23-May-2013, 18:24

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •