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  #1  
Old 30th August 2017, 07:43 PM
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Default all-round lens for 18x24cm

Hi!

I have a wonderful Reisekamera, which is about 100 years old. Filmholders take 18x24cm film or paper and there are inserts to reduce the size to 13x18cm. I have vintage barrel lenses with 180mm, 300mm & 420mm focal length. I would like to add one lens with a shutter. Which all-rounder would fit here? I was thinking about something like a Sironar-N 240mm. The camera has only limited movements. Thanks in advance!

Frank
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Old 30th August 2017, 08:56 PM
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Personally, if it's a wide angle lens you're after, I'd go for a Fujinon A 240 f9. Mainly for its compact size being in a copal 1 shutter. They are modern, coated, not too expensive and with reasonable availability.
Lenses that fit into copal 3 shutters, and that's certainly true of the faster f5.6 variety, tend to be big and heavy.

I don't own the Fujinon A 240 but I bought a Nikkor M 300 f9 and it's a dream lens. I didn't even notice the f9 widest aperture on the ground glass but this was on 4x5 with a linhof super screen so on larger formats or different ground glass it could be different.
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Old 30th August 2017, 09:14 PM
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I do have a 240/9 Fujinon and can confirm they are suberb lenses. I use on 5x4" but have used on 10x8" which is is equally good on.

For something longer a Nikkor 300/9 or Fuji 300/8.5 area a good choice.

For something cheaper than the above but still good try a 240mm g-claron in shutter.
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Old 31st August 2017, 09:31 AM
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Thank you very much for your feedback. I am still quite new to large format cameras. I forgot to mention one detail. I have one wooden lensboard left, which is already prepared for a Copal 3 shutter, though I could also get another one for other shutetrs. Regarding the focal length I was just thinking about something different than my other lenses. As normal lens I have an old Schneider Xenar 300mm/4,5, which works very well for its age. Between 300mm and 420mm a lens with 360mm could fit, but then rather only as a portrait lens, I guess. Therefore I was thinking to get a lens between 180mm and 300mm. I was thinking about 240mm just making up the maths. I guess that it is not too much of a wide angle (the 180mm is wide). I normally work with paper negatives, which are slow and the exposure by simply taking off the lens cap works reasonably well. But I would also like to work with film and faster exposure times.

Frank
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Old 31st August 2017, 12:23 PM
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Get a Thornton Pickard Roller Blind shutter for your existing barrel lenses.

Any good 240mm lens will cover 10x8 and 18x24, I happen to use a 240mm Mikon W because it was cheap on one of the Forums (£125) but in superb condition, but a 240mm Sironan N of Symmar S is easier to find at a decent price in Europe. Expect to pay approx 33% extra in Import duty. VAT on items plus shipping from Japan/US etc..

I use a 12" Dagaor in a Compoun #3 on one of my 10x8 Agfa Ansco cameras it's a superb lens and was bought with the camera by the original owner in about 1940. It was coated after WWII but that makes little difference as even uncoated Dagors are remarkably contrasty and flare free. I have a 1913 120mm Dagor again in a Compound.

Ian
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Old 1st September 2017, 05:21 PM
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Thank you, Ian. Great advice, I did not know about the TP shutter. Not sure whether I will pursue my first idea, but this is definitely a good one anyway. Hope I can find one in reasonably good shape, though I already found sites, where the repair is well explained.
Frank
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Old 1st September 2017, 06:41 PM
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Frank, I have a Packard shutter that you'ld be welcome to. It came with a 7x5 Gundlach bought on eBay a few years ago and I have never needed it.

Let me know.
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Old 1st September 2017, 08:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanFrank View Post
Thank you, Ian. Great advice, I did not know about the TP shutter. Not sure whether I will pursue my first idea, but this is definitely a good one anyway. Hope I can find one in reasonably good shape, though I already found sites, where the repair is well explained.
Frank
Larger TP roller blind shutters are harder to find, there's two variations - the original front mounted ones then later Between lens shutters, The later are fixed to the lens board and have removable front panels to allow different lenses to be used via different panels. The Between lens type where usually sold with the cmera and lens, the front mounting type where for retrograde fitting of shutter.

Many front mounted ones have later been used between a lens and lens board but the front panel isn't thick so is usually split and they are often badly damaged - but easily repaired.

I have one or two TP shutters, well maybe a little more realistically 50-60

There's other options like the Packard but they have no speed control, also a Norca both go inside the camera body ideally, but that's not really feasible with a Reiskamera (I have a n 18x24 myself). You can adapt Packards to fit the front of lenses.

I also have various Luc type studio shutters these again front mount and give a single fixed speed usually around 1/50 and B and T, but finding one large enough for th larger lenses is near impossible.

Focal plane shutters were made for cameras up to 10x8 by Thornton Pickard and one or two others but I've no knowledge of the German camera's equivalent but a 108 shutter could easily be adapted to a n 18x24 camera - they needed to be adapted to different makes anyway it's quite a simple job.

I have 3 large TP & competitor front mounted roller blind shutters all allocated to cameras/lenses, one fits the 20" f8 RR lens on my 12x10" camera and gives me T, 1/15 to 1/90 so quite practical.

At some stage soon I'll be writing an article about early shutters (for another forum). I was given a rare early French front mounting shutter last month missing the release mechanism which I've just fabricated, so rare only one mention anywhere and no details at all juts a photo, and serial numbers of both it an mine are under 600.

Ian
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Old 3rd September 2017, 05:13 PM
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Thank you Michael for your offer. But with Ian's explanations (and brilliant website!), I have to think deeper, what I really want here. My 180mm lens is very small and wide. That works fine for landscapes with the lens cap method. I would use the shutter only on the other two lenses. The 300mm has a front diameter of 8,5cm (3,4inch) and the 420mm even a bit more. The between shutter would be more versatile, but only a front mount version for the Xenar would do. (There is currently a nice one from Japan for 200 USD on Ebay. Is this a normal price?). A Thornton Pickard shutter would definitely suit my old beauty more than a Copal 3 shutter. But I could easily get a Copal 3 shutter I as by-catch with another lens. Life is not easy with too many choices. Thanks again to everyone for the valuable input.
Frank
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Old 3rd September 2017, 05:23 PM
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$200 is way too much for a TP shutter even fully restored.

Ian
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