Wollensak #4 Studio Shutter replacement

[dlin]

I have an old portrait lens mounted in a non-functional Wollensak #4 Studio Shutter. I don't think the shutter is repairable because it is missing many key parts. Is there a more modern shutter into which the lens cells can be directly mounted (i.e., without having to machine adaptors)?

Thanks for your help.

Daniel

[Darren Kruger]

I have an old portrait lens mounted in a non-functional Wollensak #4 Studio Shutter. I don't think the shutter is repairable because it is missing many key parts. Is there a more modern shutter into which the lens cells can be directly mounted (i.e., without having to machine adaptors)?

Which lens do you have? What is the size of the barrel? More than likely there isn't a shutter big enough that will work without machining and a loss of the wider apertures.

Have you thought about using a packard shutter?

-Darren

[lenser]

Daniel,

You might try Carol Miller at Floto's Camera Repair. She has many antique shutters for parts and may be able to salvage your existing one.

Good luck.

Tim

[dlin]

Hi Tim and Darren.

Thanks for your suggestions. The lens is approximately 3 inches in diameter. Fortunately, all of the blades in the studio shutter are intact and I can simply use it as an iris/diaphragm. Is there Packard shutter large eough to accomodate this diameter and still fit within the front standard of an 8x10 Deardorff?

Regards,
Daniel

[David A. Goldfarb]

If the iris works, all the parts may be there. It's not a complicated shutter. There is a lever to open and close it, and there is a fitting for a cable release or hose and a bulb, so that when it's in the closed position, you can open and close it that way. You control the shutter speed as best you can with the cable release or bulb.

I don't think there is any other kind of shutter with an opening that large. Maybe something like a Compound #5, but those are hard to find. If the shutter actually doesn't work as it should and can't be repaired, you could find a Luc shutter to mount in front of the lens, a Packard shutter to mount behind the lens, or if you want to get really fancy, you might be able to use a Sinar shutter behind the lens (not sure if it's big enough).

Hub Photo is the dealer for Packard shutters. They recently redesigned their website, so the Packard shutter info is hard to find, but I was able to get to it through google recently. They used to have a table of dimensions of the maximum hole size for a given frame size.

[Paul Ewins]

A #5 shutter might come close. The Compound, Ilex and Compur Electronic all open up to about 64mm, so if the whole lens is 3" across then that should be fairly close. An Ilex would be the cheapest option and the most common.

[Joe Smigiel]

...Hub Photo is the dealer for Packard shutters...

http://packardshutter.com/

You could always front mount a Packard. I have one that fits my Dallmeyer 3A.

[Mark Sawyer]

A quick note that Studio Shutters have male threads, and Compounds, Betax's, Copal's, etc have female threads, so even if the size is right, transfering a lens from a Studio Shutter to a conventional shutter will require some precision machine work.

BTW, if anybody has a #3 Studio Shutter for sale, I'm searching for one to replace a defunct one on my 11.5" Verito...