Fuji Xerox 240mm F/4.5 Lens

**JoeV** · 11-Oct-2011, 19:06

I've had this lens for awhile, intending to use it on a box camera, but it won't accept water house stops, and my box camera doesn't have a functional shutter; so it sat unused.

Then this week I was watching a documentary on photographer David Burnett, who uses a Kodak Aero Ektar on his press camera, and this got me to thinking about that unused Fuji lens sitting around. So, I cobbled together this crude lens mount adapter for my Speed Graphic.

The lens, it operates wide open at F/4.5, and thus I time the exposures with the camera's curtain shutter.

The lens mounted on the camera:

Two test images, captured onto Harman Direct Positive fiber paper:

Raven (exposure time 1/15s.):

Sun Face (exposure time 1/10s.):

**paulMD** · 12-Oct-2011, 09:49

Nice! It's always cool to mount up weird stuff to see what it can do.

Did you preflash the paper?

**E. von Hoegh** · 12-Oct-2011, 09:51

I love that mount!

**domaz** · 12-Oct-2011, 10:38

Yes very cool mount- how did you construct it?

**JoeV** · 12-Oct-2011, 11:49

@Paul: Yes, I preflash the paper, about 1/2 the amount I'd give to paper negatives. And I rate the exposure index at ISO 1.6.

@domaz: It was actually constructed for a box camera project that I ended up not using because the lens can't be used with water house stops without vignetting. The cradle is made of poplar on the sides with 4mm model aircraft plywood on the front to retain the lens from falling out. I had to cut down the cradle's exterior thickness to fit the lens board, which is also 4mm plywood. The cradle part is bolted to the plywood lensboard. I then had to carefully mask the lens before spray painting the finished lens holder, since the lens is built into the holder.

I keep the lens wide open at f/4.5 and regulate the exposure times using the Speed Graphic's curtain shutter. Typical exposure time in bright sun with the Harman direct positive fiber paper is 1/10-1/15 second.

Under dimmer lighting I'll hand-time the shutter if the time is >1 second. Between 1/10 and 1 second it's a quick flick of a lens cap and hope & pray.

~Joe