First 4x5 start up kit- Chamonix & Ektar.. advice if poss : ))

[Melissa]

HI everyone, im about to purchase my 1st large format 5x4 kit. After some research ive decided on a Chamonix (actually its been a dream to go 10x8 but i figure i should start small.. theres alot to learn!!!). Im also interested to use old Kodak Ektar lenses- 127 & 150, as im shooting colour portrait & some urban street work. What i am confused about it the mounting of these.. Chamonix sell their own carbon fiber lens boards (lighter so they say) or they are compatible with any Linhoff type board. Does this then mean; if i buy these lenses unmounted & purchase their board, i then have to have a proffesionally customised hole made for fitting?? Not sure how this all works Years ago i used to use spotmetering for b&w but for colour large format daylight work can anyone reccomend best light metering for the job.. ive been out of photography for some years!
And finally.. anyone have any experience of these lenses or this set up?? i heard that these lenses if in good shape are sharp & contrasty, but very interested in how they yeild colour? Ektars were produced back then for colour film tho in its infancy.
Thanks all
ps I believe the cham is somewhat designed on the Philips.. dream camera but somewhat hard to find : )

[John Cahill]

The Ektars were all advertised by Kodak as corrected for that new-fangled color film. They are really very decent lenses. Great bang for the buck!.

[Melissa]

Thanks John, thats great to know- budget is always an issue here any advice on the mounting onto lensboards for the cham? Compared to other makes is the Ektar a real heavy one? i also considerd a g claron but was just interested in the oldies too..

[wfwhitaker]

..What i am confused about it the mounting of these.. Chamonix sell their own carbon fiber lens boards (lighter so they say) or they are compatible with any Linhoff type board. Does this then mean; if i buy these lenses unmounted & purchase their board, i then have to have a proffesionally customised hole made for fitting??...

If the lenses you choose are not already mounted on a Technika-type board, you will need to have them remounted. Generic lensboards are available on the market for less than what a Chamonix lensboard will cost. Weight isn't really an issue since they're all pretty lightweight. If your lens requires a different size hole than what is readily available (Copal 0, 1, or 3), you'll need to have someone bore the proper size hole to mount the lens. SK Grimes is usually the first resource recommended, although there are others. There is a list of Copal hole sizes on their site, so you should be able to determine beforehand what you need.

[Melissa]

Great Will and thanks- super helpfull

[Photojeep]

Melissa,
When you buy your lens, take note of what shutter it comes mounted to. This will tell you what size hole is necessary to mount your lens. Then buy a lens board with that sized hole and mount your lens to the board.

Best,
Randy

[rugenius]

Ditto what WFWhitaker said...
Use Linhof Technica style board.
Shen Hao, Wista, Linhof, numerous other compatible lens boards.

You still need to ensure the lensboard you get is sized and drilled according to what you need.
Not all holes are centered.
Also, some boards have a raised ring that can interfere with the shutter controls.
Lastly, when it's all said and done, make sure it's light tight.

[jbenedict]

Im also interested to use old Kodak Ektar lenses- 127 & 150, as im shooting colour portrait & some urban street work.

I have used the 127 Ektar with color film and it works very well. However, they were originally designed to be used as a standard lens for the 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 camera so they pretty much just cover 4x5 shooting straight on. If you use more tha an inch or so rise/shift, it will have a hard time covering the corners. This may not be a concern of yours because you are planning portraits so hopefully won't have to deal with perspective corrections.

I don't have any experience with the 152 Ektar but I would expect the color performance to be similar to the 127.

[Melissa]

Ditto what WFWhitaker said...
Use Linhof Technica style board.
Shen Hao, Wista, Linhof, numerous other compatible lens boards.

You still need to ensure the lensboard you get is sized and drilled according to what you need.
Not all holes are centered.
Also, some boards have a raised ring that can interfere with the shutter controls.
Lastly, when it's all said and done, make sure it's light tight.

Thanks so much for all the imput everyone this forum is just excellent!
Ok as this is my first forray into LF im a little reticent about doing this myslef even tho it seems a pretty straightforward procedure. Where i live here in Perth Australia there doesnt seem to much in the way of people knowledgable in this. I was considering buying the lens of choice from US ebay for ex. and getting it posted to SK grimes- get them to fit (im presuming they can supply a board) then send back to me... are people doing this? Hell i mean the camera is coming from China anyhow Because i will just get extremely annoyed if i dont get it right..and if it aint light tight

[Melissa]

I have used the 127 Ektar with color film and it works very well. However, they were originally designed to be used as a standard lens for the 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 camera so they pretty much just cover 4x5 shooting straight on. If you use more tha an inch or so rise/shift, it will have a hard time covering the corners. This may not be a concern of yours because you are planning portraits so hopefully won't have to deal with perspective corrections.

I don't have any experience with the 152 Ektar but I would expect the color performance to be similar to the 127.

Thanks J, thats v. usefull info. Ok- no i dont think i will be having to correct perspective to that degree.. i dont think so at this point anyhow. BUt i would like to make portraits that get a fair amount of surrounding environment.. thought 127 would be a fairly moderate wide. Would that be similar to say 60mm shooting 6x7?
The 150 & 127 seemed like good versatile starting points. Im inspired by many types of work but particularly Sternfelds 'American Prospects' (tho shot 8x10 & very wide), & Alec Soths' 'Sleeping by the Mississippi'.

Thanks again everyone for your input & advice.