Barrel Lenses - Large Format Friday
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- Since opening up the Large Format Questions email a few weeks ago, there’s one question I’ve received from viewers above all the rest. It goes a little something like this,
“Where do I start with barrel lenses?”
This topic can branch out easily, so to make it a primer for barrel lenses, we’re going to talk about: what are barrel lenses, how can I put them on my large format camera, how can I control them once on there, and what should I look for in one of these lenses.
Petzval and Projection lenses in video provided by photographer Ed Gately: / ewgately
480MM F3.8 Liesegang-Janar (Rubber Band/SuperGlue Mount)
Buhl Optical 9" (229mm) f2.5 (Red Lens with Custom Machined Flange)
Darlot Petzval 6" f3.8
Universal Iris Lens Clamp (30-80mm iris)
Packard Shutter No5 4"
Link to Packard Shutters still made (including electronic servo versions) - packardshutter.com/
Custom guillotine shutter and footage courtesy of photographer Shane Balkowitsch of Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, ND: sharoncol.balkowitsch.com/wetp...
Steve Maher is the maker of this shutter, and can be reached for purchase details at: stevecmaher@gmail.com
Large Format Photography Forum Lens Resources: www.largeformatphotography.in...
SKGrimes - Custom Machining, Lens, and Shutter Solutions - skgrimes.com/
Get a Frickin' Tripod Shirt: teespring.com/get-a-frickin-t...
Questions? Send me an email: largeformatquestions@gmail.com
Content by Mat Marrash: www.matmarrash.com
#largeformat #filmphotography 
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An avalanche of great info and gizmos. Tightly presented. Great job! A model for any RUclipsr.
Thanks Ralph! This is the kind of video I re-booted the channel to make, glad to see you all are enjoying them.
Rewatching this to use an 8x10 Voltas without a shutter. Great portrait at the beginning.
Just when I thought I knew most of it, I learned more things here. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos!
Thanks Martin, glad you got something out of it!
Came across a link for this on my Facebook feed this morning, and the timing couldn’t be better! I’ve had an old Bausch and Lomb projector lens sitting in my studio for about a year, waiting for me to think of a way to put it on my monorail camera and get a working shutter. But early this week, an old friend contacted me about his dad selling his old camera gear, and I managed to score several great cameras pretty inexpensively, including a speed graphic in good condition for only $50! Now that I have a focal plane shutter to work with, I just have to get this thing mounted so I can start using it for portraits! This video was extremely helpful, thank you so much!
Thanks Shannon! Please share some portraits once you get the setup working, I'm always exciting to see the work folks are making with their LF gear. Cheers!
So much excellent information and guidance Mat! This one is super dense, as per usual! Thanks very much.
Thanks Ian! It's a dense one for sure, hopefully it will serve as a good starting point for those wondering about these awesome lenses.
Another great video, Mat! I've never shot with a barrel lens before but I've been fascinated by them for years. I cannot imagine loading up one of those giant lenses to my 4x5!
Most of the older brass lenses aren't ginormous, but creates quite a bit of variety in a large format kit!
Thank you for another extremely informative and useful video. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Paolo! :)
I think that big Liesegang one is made for a device called episcope which is a type of projector used to project non transparent documents like pictures, pages of books etc. They worked by illuminating the document from above with an incandescent bulb and projecting the reflected image on a screen so obviously a fast lens was needed to get a reasonably bright image even in a dark room.
I saw one in use when I was in the elementary school back in the 70:s, a big box with a huge lens like that one. It had platform in the bottom on which the teacher placed the book and used a lever to raise the platform against a glass in the bottom of the projector. Even with that big lens and lights off in the classroom the projected image was quite dim. I even think it might have been made by Liesegang, at least some of the slide projectors they used were.
Thanks for providing some context for such a cool barrel lens!
I learned a lot about barrel lenses. I have a couple and I'm jazzed to use them now. Thanks Mat!
Thanks Don, have fun with those barrel lenses!
Great information! I just ordered a 1926 180mm f4.5 Tessar I hope to use on my Crown Graphic with dry plates. This video is just what I needed to watch thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
The old Packard pneumatic shutter you described is a great very inexpensive shutter for someone who wants to experiment with barrel lenses!
thanks mat
I just got into large format photography and own a sinar f1. I had few lenses in which copal shutter is not firing correctly.
I didn't know that sinar makes shutter boards. thanks for sharing your passion and knowledge with us.
Welcome to LF Gajendra and happy to help! :)
But, no hat?
I stop the lens down, fix a large square ND8 filter in front with its filter holder and rubber bands, and hey presto! I have shutter times of multiple seconds which extend even further because of reciprocity.
By that time, I start and stop the exposure with my hat.
I shot a 32 second exposure of a forest bench with myself in it as a see-through ghost, timed it with the smartphone stopwatch. Great fun!
Large format hair comes in handy.
Always!
Great episode, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@MatMarrash I have questions later.
good and informative video. one correction though: not all brass/petzval lenses are pictorial lenses. pictorial lenses were desgined to offer a pictorial/soft look. there were quite a few lenses in that category (Pinkham&Smith lenses, Eidoscope by Hermagis, Objectif d’Artiste by Puyo & Pulligny, Wollensak Verito and some more..).
the portrait petzval on the other hand was designed for exact the oposite, it offered a very sharp center at a quite open aperture (somewhere around F3 - F4 usually). leaving the sharp center, the sharpness decreased quite quickly towards the edges for the image circle though (that was the price for its speed). thats why you might think they are not as overall sharp as more modern lenses. as you can see there are brass lenses that might be pictorial, and some that might be petzval lenses.
for more info and a dedicated webshop for antique large format lenses you might visit:
www.wetplatedreams.com
Great information, thanks!
Excellent video! The galli shutter is kind of similar to modern focal plane shutter. Really interesting and useful info.
Glad it was helpful!
I have one of those red Buhl projector lenses I use for wet plate. I ended up using pipe clamps on either side of the board to mount it (with rubber bands under the clamps). Since there’s no aperture I found a way to fit a variable ND to it to control the light coming in for lenscap shutter work.
Thanks for the tip Nick! Playing around with Ed's barrel lenses make me want to explore a bit more into projector and aerial lenses.
Thank you for a very good informative video that contains a lot of useful information; zip ties to hold lenses. I also make my own lens boards from scraps of wood that I easily cut to size and use an adjustable circle hole cutter sized to the lens, that is black electrical tape light sealed then zip tied in place.
Thanks Pedro and glad to hear you've got a DIY solution that works!
Good grief you have some knowledge!!! I'll bet you DREAM about large format cameras and that nightmares are BROKEN cameras. A lot of the info you impart here is good across the format spectrum so even though I shoot medium format, I love this vlog. Keep on clickin'!!!!
Thanks Dave and there's a bigger nightmare than broken cameras. Big, expensive cameras that [*gasp*] never get used!
@@MatMarrash Heart be still! How can you utter such a blasphemy!!!!
Thank you so much for this video. It’s given me just the kind of information I wanted to know to be able to increase my limited lenses for my Sinar P (managed to get one for an extremely good price!).
Although I'm super biased, I think Sinar cameras are some of the most easy to adapt a wide variety of lenses.
Mat Marrash I think you’re right. Though it’s a pain to lug around when taking photos! (Need a nice new carbon fibre tripod as I have an ancient metal tripod that weighs a ton!). Thanks for inspiring videos.
Hi Matt, thanks for this video and all the other information shared here and on your website. How do you prevent lenses with long protruding back colliding with the copal DB shutter?
Not every old barrel lens is soft focus, the centre of a nice Petzval is very sharp indeed. The Packard shutter can be snapped faster, it's how you press that bulb, there's a pin on the shutter which you can pull out to switch mode.
Six comments so far, and all avatar pictures are sort of monochrome - this is definitely the place to hang out :D
Now, seriously: Tons of info, very well presented with an adorably positive attitude, thank you, again, Mat.
It took me a while to learn technical English for photography back in the 90ies, and now I'll gladly add machinery terms to my active vocabulary, because the "super DIY" solutions are the most fun... Greetings from Germany :)
Thanks for stopping by and for the comment Olaf! DIY solutions are some of the most inventive and fun to share. Glad you enjoyed the video. :)
That's my 5th grade picture!
@@RalphWLundvall Haha, you're a lucky one, for my part, I'd rather put those pictures into a drawer and throw the key away :D
@@olafwDE I even have my 1954/55 Kindergarten group shot. Mother kept everthing.
@@RalphWLundvall :-)
in 1979 I bought a used 8x10 camera with a former aerial cameras lens, the 305mm Aero-Ektar. It was soooo sharp but the shutter it was in only went to 1/50th sec so it got traded in.
Whoa, you had an 8x10 Aero Ektar?! That's awesome! Understandable that 1/50 sec. makes that fast of a lens hard to use. Would LOVE to try one of those lenses eventually. Thanks for the comment!
@@MatMarrash If memory serves it had a Wollensak shutter, big black thing. I believe that it originally was on a K-24 aerial camera. It had Lithium glass and was radio active. When I went to the USAF Photo school at Lowry AFB in 1964 we had to start with a Deardorf 8x10 camera with a Wollensak triple convertible lens. To get wide angle or telephoto you removed the front or read element. Very sharp lens indeed.
I have 1 lens in barrel, Kodak Commercial Ektar 10" 6.3 on my 5x7 Kodak 33a and for a shutter it's the old lens cap method. :)
Commercial Ektar, a classic lens with such a nice look!
I love your presentation.Where are the archives?
you mentioned a 500 buck arudino gravity shutter. You can diy a wired version for 80 bucks with an mbit, accessory board and solenoid. I don't even know how to program. The mbit website auto generates the code. I just selected the parameters cycle solenoid when button is pushed. if it works in my application it would work for a gravity shutter.
Thanks Mat, terrific video, thank you! May I ask: whereabouts did you purchase your universal iris clamp? I see them on Ebay but appear to be antiques in often poor condition?
Hey Chris thanks for the comment! The Iris Clamp shown in the video belongs to a buddy of mine, but my advice would be to keep an eye on the Buy/Sell pages on FB Large Format groups and the Large Format Photography Forum (must be a member for 30 days minimum).
@@MatMarrash : much appreciated - thank you.
Heidosmat 150mm 2.8 is good and covers 4x5. Also those Liesegang lenses are pretty good. I have 330mm f3.3, wich can used in 8x10.
Thanks for the tip Jukka! After having my hands on those projector lenses, the G.A.S. is firing up and now I'm looking at more lenses I don't need. >__
Mentor cameras (LF) allways had guilutine shutters, at least at my field camera with 13x18 cm. Not 100% precise but kind of easy to repair if you had understood the functionality of the bunch of gears.
Anyway so I am able to use every little glass desert bowl as lens with the camera ; -)
"Glass Desert Bowl" is my new go-to when referring to smaller brass lenses! :D
Matt are there any lenses you would like to compare.... pentac and aero ektar dallmeyers and cooke soft focus lenses? Perhaps you would like to make a video about those.. I may have some of those lenses you can borrow them and make video about it
Hi Mat! How do you identify the threads of a flange or threads on a brass lens. If you have a screw pitch gauge would that work? And how are the designated? Thanks! Thinking about getting a 14" petzval for my 8x10 D2, but need to know more about flanges.
Hey Dorothy! Before breaking out the measurement tools I always try to find data sheets or old marketing materials if possible. Check to see if Antiquecameras has the data you're looking for: www.antiquecameras.net/petzvallens.html
Other than that, I'll use a set of calipers to measure the thread pitch as well and diameter of the threads. If you need a custom flange that doubles as a lensboard (for big lenses) check out Luland on eBay: www.ebay.com/itm/Luland-professional-custom-large-format-camera-lens-board-and-accessories/182867265920?hash=item2a93bd0980:g:SygAAOSw1-hfAwWn
opaque, 6mm thick plexiglass. will hold a screw, or drill thru for heavy lens. ez to work and strong.
Hey Patrick that's pretty cool, I may have to give that a try. Thanks!
@@MatMarrash check that, 3 mm plex is about the thickness of my lens plates for my Horseman 4x5. (i think, same as a sinar board, yes?
I think I want and need an aerial lens that you speak of.
Bokeh licious
Hi Matt interesting show as always..
One comment I would like to make concerning Sinar DB mount lenses. Not all will fit into a normal shutter. I came across a few mainly ‘0’ size eg 150-90mm which had adaptors fitted to the elements so they would only fit the DB mount. These could be nearly impossible to remove so anyone looking to transfer a DB element set please ensure they fit into a shutter before buying.
Are you going to make some more outside videos?
Hey William thanks for the tip! The world of Sinar DB and newer digital lenses goes deep and is something worth exploring further. More outside videos will definitely be happening. :)
Mat, this is fantastic! Thanks so much! If you were hoping to help me tocontrol my GAS this was not the video to make! LOL. I am looking forward to playing around some old barrels and guillotine shutters. I am taking your advice and thinking about purchases in terms of sheets of film. It is a good deterrent for those impulse buys!
I use black hot glue go mount my barrel lenses. The B&L 20in f/5.6 its snugly fit into a custom drilled wooden lens board. Easy peasy and reversible too.
Hot glue gets another vote! 20" f/5.6?! That's a BIG one!
Best bet is to use Slow film, dark filters and a small aperture to slow the shutter speed way down to at least 10 seconds, preferably a minute or two and just pop on and off the lens cap.
best bet is to get a speed graphic. :P
@@creepyloner1979 Ok. Have alot of LFs but considering getting a speed graphic just for handheld street photography. Do you use it handheld with fast film?
I wonder if it's possible to mount at least some of this lens on mirrorless cameras. I saw a video where's guy mounted mirrorless on the back side of bellows, but considering the flange distance is it even possible to mount this lens on modern cameras without bellows?
Hey John thanks for the question. It's definitely possible to mount barrel lenses on digital cameras. Mirrorless cameras have made it so much easier to adapt, really the only hard part is finding one that doesn't have a very long focal length and the materials to mount the lens. I know several photographers that have done this with medium format film and mirrorless cameras. Many of which are using Novoflex and Fotodiox adapters for their camera systems.
@@MatMarrash thank you for answer!
What is the thread pitch of that Buhl lens? Cheers
Hey and thanks for the question. This is something I don't have an answer to unfortunately, and it doesn't seem like there are datasheets out there for the many lenses they produced. From what I remember in holding that projector lens, the threads were spaced much closer than a pictorial LF lens.
if you get one with the original hollow tube at the back still attached you can just cut that down to make a retaining ring.
hi there , i wrote you an email. about the Liesegang lens... do you know the Format coverage of this one? thanks for helping ...farid
Hey Farid, I shot you an email reply (it was unsent in my drafts folder). Thanks again for the question and I totally think you should get one!
I just bought one. And i will for sure mount it on my 11x14" Korona view 😜
I like his hair.
A lathe is what you need for the flanges, not a CNC router.
6:10 "This were made to hold a lot of weight" Do you meant this were made NOT to hold a lot of weight? Or how is that in concordance with the sentence that follows?
Where can I get that t shirt!?
Haha thanks, a friend made it for me. Might have to open up a merch store!
Wide aperture is not the primary cause of swirly bokeh.
Useful data, but dude, that hair is distracting. ROFL