Hi folks,
I have been using a Dallmeyer Super Six Anastigmat 8 inch f2.0 lens on a Sony A7RII, which is a huge waste. AFAIK this lens will have an image circle of about 200mm, so I am only using a tiny part of the center of the circle. I used to shoot with an old Speed Graphic, and so I am considering buying another one and resurrecting a cut film developing system so that I can see what this lens is capable of.

The issues are as follows--first this lens weighs about 3.5 kilos, and has a rear barrel diameter of about 88mm. I have a method to mount the lens on a lensboard, but the Graphic board is only 100mm square. If I enlarge the hole in the board, is there going to be enough metal to hold the lens, and can the focusing rail of a SG handle such a weighty beast?

Of course the lens has no shutter, so that is why I think the SG with its focal plane shutter is the only practical way to expose a piece of film. I do not remember the top speed of the SG focal plane shutter. I suppose I am going to have to mount some sort of neutral density filter on the rear of the lens if I want to shoot wide open.

This would be somewhat similar to mounting an Aero Ektar, but this lens is considerably larger and heavier. I don't think the bellow extension will be a problem.

Ideally I would love to put this guy on a 5x7 camera, but I know of no way to mount a shutter with that, so I think I have to settle for 4x5.

Any advice or thoughts appreciated!

Best,
Toby