macro photo/zeiss luminar mounting to linhof 4x5??

[jeff ross]

hello all

i've been browsing this forum for some time and find it quite helpful, however i couldn't find an answer to a specific problem i have: i've recently come across a zeiss luminar 40 macro lens, with extension tube mounted onto a lens board for an unspecified camera. i have begun shooting with a linhoh master technika 4x5 but i am not at all versed in macro photography, plus i am still a bit of a novice with large format cameras to begin with.

i was told this lens was used for a microscope, so can it even be fitted to work on a 4x5??

if so, i'd like to match the macro lens to this camera with proper lensboard but am unsure which lens board to get, which copal?? also the lens does not have a shutter. any advice on how to obtain the right shutter that will work for this lens??

also, since the lens itself has a diaphram, as will the shutter, do i leave one or the other one open when making an exposure??

sorry for the naive, possibly dumb questions but i would certainly welcome any advice that anyone would care to share.

[Bob Salomon]

The Luminar series from 16mm to 100 mm were used on the Linhof 23 and the Linhof 45 with the proper Linhof Macro Lensboard. This was a board with a conical tube with a shutter mounted on the end of it. The Luminars mounted with a Linhof adapter ring. This board originally came with a Compur 0 and later versions (with 39mm thread) with a Copal shutter.

To use it on the Master you would need the 45 version of the board. If your board is too small to fit the Master you have the 23 version.

Linhof also made a Micro lensboard for these two cameras. These had a straight tube with a shutter and fit standard microscope society drawtubes.

Does your board have the straight or tapered tube?
Does it have the Copal or Compur shutter?

All Luminars covered 45 when used on the proper board. Both types and sizes of the boards are no longer made.

[jeff ross]

thanks for your reply, bob. the board has a tapered tube with no shutter, just the lens. i figured each was no longer made so just assumed i'd have to get both the board and the shutter seperately and piece together. is it possible to get the board without the tube and mount the one i have to the board? if so, if i'm understanding correctly, the hole opening is a copal 0? same goes for the shutter; can i get just a shutter, mount it to the tube, then mount the lens to it? if so, is the size of the shutter a copal 0? forgive me for being naive, i'm just unclear as to the difference between compur and copal.

[Bob Salomon]

You should have no problem mounting a 0 shutter to it but you will probably have to have an adapter ring made for the luminar. The Linhof Luminar adapters have not been made in over 20 years. Any camera repair shop can mount the shutter and lens for you.

[Lee Hamiel]

Jeff:

I may be able to help - I will have to see what I have but am pretty certain I have the correct Compur shutter as well as the adaptor ring which adapts the shutter face to a RMS thread to accept the Luminar. I'm pretty certain the shutter mates perfectly with the tapered tube & screws right in.

I previously had a Linhof Macro-Tubus that it was mounted to - now have a Schneider 80 macro which came with a shutter.

Here's a good site to check:

http://www.macrolenses.de/objektive.php?lang&PHPSESSID=d3e89f79222ea767e975a6fceaf3cd4e

I will get back to you later or tomorrow.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Do you have the lens mounted to the tube, and the tube mounted to a lensboard that fits your camera? If you do, try it out before you purchase a shutter. Macro 4x5" work with these kinds of lenses generally involves long exposures or powerful studio strobes, and possibly multiple pops with powerful studio strobes. A shutter is a convenience, but not really a necessity. If the lens is on a Linhof cone, it may likely have an RMS-to-Copal 0 adapter, and that adapter will screw directly into the front threads of a Copal 0 shutter.

Here's a shot made with a Canon FD 35/2.8 Macrophoto (which is another RMS mount lens, like the Luminars), on a Linhof macro extension tube, attached to a Tech V. If you're not an APUG subscriber, I think you'll only be able to see a thumbnail of the photo, but there's a shot of the setup in the comment thread underneath it--

http://www.apug.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7389&cat=500&ppuser=60

[Dan Fromm]

Jeff, FWIW, a couple of years ago I bought a 40/4.5 Luminar with a Linhof female RMS-to-male M25xI don't know what (Schneider enlarging lenses) adapter that goes into a conical generic female M25-to-male M39x1 adapter. With those adapters I use my 25, 40, and 63 Luminars on a Nikon and in front of a #1 shutter.

To hang a lens in RMS thread in front of a Nikon, an additional adapter is needed, female M39-male Nikon F. Novoflex makes 'em, Niklei, Niklei-K, and Niklei-P; at least the Niklei is still available new. There was also Nikon's own El-F adapter. Novoflex used to make a Leimik, female RMS-to-male M39x1. I've never found a Leimik, have two Nikleis, a plain one and a -k, and an El-F. For added extension in this application I use ELNY tubes or a Minolta Compact Bellows with still more adapters.

Hanging a lens in RMS thread in front of a #1 also requires another adapter. I use an SKGrimes female M39x1-male M40x0.75 adapter that goes behind the string described above.

Linhof also made a female RMS-to-male #0 shutter. I've had one, it came with my 63 Luminar, but I've sold it. Point is, they exist and can sometimes be found.

In short, there are many shutters that will do and an echt Linhof adapter isn't necessary. There are skilled machinists, e.g., www.skgrimes.com, who can make any sort of threaded bushing you need.

Genuine Linhof Luminar mounts, shutter included, put the shutter at the end of a conical tube that extends some distance in front of the lensboard. My adapters are nothing like this, and I haven't found a need to put the lens so far in front of the board. I think that the Linhof adapters were intended to make it easier to light the subject, but so far I haven't had lighting problems with my equipment.

If you want to go from RMS to T-mount to something else, Edmund Industrial Optics makes the adapters needed.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, the main attraction of the tube is that it is less likely to get in the way of the light, but it's not always a problem, and sometimes I've just screwed the adapter into a #0 shutter on a flat or extended lensboard.

[jeff ross]

wow, thanks everyone for all the feedback. i really do have a lot to learn, it's been hugely helpful.

lee--would like to hear back from you about the shutter and adapter ring, to get this thing rolling...i do like the convenience of a shutter, a little more control that way.

i still need a back, as well as the back that it came with is not for the master. any suggestions on where to get the right back for this? ebay?

my next attempt will be to go to skgrimes, thanks for that link.

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you do get a shutter, look for a self-cocking "press" shutter. If you find yourself using strobes and having to do multiple exposures, it's much easier if you don't have to cock the shutter each time and risk moving the camera.