Here is a tip. When you remove the lens cap to make an exposure without a shutter, if you remove the lens cap in a downward direction, replace it from above. That is more like a focal plane shutter’s motion so that the film receives a more even exposure.

😝 few Engineering tips from an Engineer - Don't use a tap as a centre punch if will probably snap! A little oil on tap will help it cut cleanly, Cone hole slightly with screw size drill with finger tips before tapping. Otherwise 👏 good effort and LENS!

That’s not a lens, it’s a glass bucket: You will perfect it with that lens. You have a lot of talent young fella: Well done 👍

I tried this once with a Toyo 4x5 years ago. I took two Copal shutters with Yashinon 80mm lenses from two junk Yashica TLR's and mounted them on a homemade plywood lens board. I was experimenting with stereo. It never worked out. My only observation was you usually use a light machine oil to lubricate the tap when cutting threads. An interesting DIY video. Thanks

Mat, thanks for this video! I had a bought a lens (on ebay) that was mounted on an Speed Graphlic lens board for my new Intrepid 4x5 camera. No problem I thought, just move it to the Intrepid lens board. When I tried to do this the retaining ring would not budge! I froze it, I heated it, I used correct tools and a vise, I tapped it with a hammer. Did not budge! After 3 days I was afraid I was going to ruin my new lens before I even got to use it. Decided a DIY solutions was best. So I mounted a lens permanently attached to the wrong lens board to an Intrepid lens board. Can share this if anyone else who has had a similar problem.

“Welcome to pokin around with power tools.” Hahaha

No CNC needed my friend. Only a lathe, a 4 jaw independent chuck, a boring bit and a vernier of some sort. Great job BTW.

Good KZfaq day with new videos from Matt, Ben Horn and Borut Peterlin. :)

Videos like this are why I look forward to Friday mornings.

Even if your Sinar seems strong enough, I wouldn't recommend taxing either your or my Sinar to hold up that size lens. That monster lens was probably meant to be used on something like an 11x14 Deardorf studio portrait camera that looks sort like a smallish process camera. Though the lens' center of balance may be lined up with the lens board, you still might wear out the softer parts like the hard rubber/plastic parts that grip the rail or the finer focusing rack on the front standard, especially if you tilt the camera. Additionally, the rail extension itself shoulders some of the weight/stress. Might as well hang a twenty pound sand bag from the front standard while you're at it. :) Sinars are great cameras, but they're not indestructible.

Ok, Matt your hair is matching the big lenses, now back to making lense boards, which is nothing more then a square piece of wood; an easy project.

That soft focus is classic. I have a 100 year old Voltas triple convertible that I’m hoping will give a similar effect with the rear element.

Consider sometime trying a modern lens, with the front element group removed. When you haven't got a wonderful old lens like you use here, the uncorrected aberrations can give a beautiful soft glowy look.

Wow, that lens is quite a beast! Really interesting results.

Haha, you're a brave man mounting that beast :-) Great job. I do like those tree shots in the 'sharp' setting. Quite interesting bokeh.

I would love to fit my Cooke portrait lens onto my 8x10 deardorff, however the lens board for the deardorff is a 6x6 and the barrel diameter of the lens is almost 7". Even if it was possible I think the 10lbs lens would probably tip the deardorff onto the ground :)

Really, really excellent video - the DIY solution was quite interesting, and the lens is fascinating! Thanks Mat!

Matt, if you go to the camera eccentric web page, there is a whole 24 page booklet on the graf and how to use it. It is not as easy to focus as you might think, good luck

Dang. And I thought my Jim Galli modified 12" f4.5 Wolly Velostigmat was big. That thing is a monster. Cool look to the photos, though!

Has to be one of the best LF series/ videos out there.That lens makes the photos look right out of a 50s magazine or something, Im digging the DIY type stuff like this. Also, how satisfying is it to slide in that giant 8x10 film holder?

I loved the soft look!

Thank you so much for this tutorial! It helped out so much and saved me a lot of time and money. It worked like a charm!!! Super excited to try my new/very old lens out!!!

Just mounted a Konica Hexagon GRII 300 mm F9 on a spare Toyo45c lensboard. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this shutterless behemoth. It has such a large image circle since it seems to be a process camera lens, I have to figure out what the f-stop is when on a 4x5. This should be fun.

What a lens...

An interesting one this episode, for some reason I hadn't viewed it until now. Got the same problem with a 24" lens but the diameter of the lens is bigger than the lens board so will have to rethink this one. Got myself a few bits and pieces together from parts of LF cameras and will have a go at putting some kind of Frankenstein camera together.

Cool video Mat. The expression Monster Lens should have made it to the title to bait some newbies into LF 🙂 Looks like you might have about $100 of tools to get that board drilled and it seemed a vertical drill would have made your life easier.

Maybe you could try an in camera cyanotype with this lens because it's fast it will take the whole day tho but then you will have some spooky uv images

Interesting video, awesome hair

I see lenses listed in inches not mm. What are they referring too and is there a conversion table to figure out the equivalent comparison.

12:55 bellows sag - how bad does it have to be for it to interfere with the image being cast by the lens? I guess you'd see it on the GG.

hello Mat I wonder why you do not calculate exposure correction with an extension of your bellow in this case thank you good day

providing you have correct lens board for your camera will any lens work?? example i know my lensboard is 4x4. im using a burke and james 4x5 camera

Matt, how are you developing the paper? Developer, dilution and time? thanks.

I cheat by making my own lens boards from wood, plastic and aluminum and after I cut the hole I use a zip tie to secure the lens.

I think you have to adjust your I think you have to adjust your Mississippi seconds.... really no 2 seconds just nearly 4 seconds ....seconds.... really no 2 seconds rather nearly 4 seconds .... I wondered myself how counting seconds depended on my daily form and I could no longer understand the results. So now I have a manual stopwatch.

Mat, Do you have any advice on focusing soft focus portrait lenses? I have a pair of Veritos (14.5 in. & 18 in.) that drive me crazy trying to find focus. I end up stopping them down to f/11 or so to get some sharpness and then opening them back up for the shot.

I don’t think my Chamonix F1 would hold it up 🙃

Hey. Would it be possible to mount a hasselblad lens to a view camera?

Could you use a Sinar shutter with this lens? Would it affect the effective aperture since the diameter of the shutter it is smaller?

LFF!!!!!!

this is amazing. I have a 914mm f8 glock and howell aero lens, which is also quite huge. I sadly cant add pictures, but my lens doesnt have any screwmounts. So a friend of my father just did a little thing for me. It is now sitting happily in my Ulf photo and video camera. If you want to see the the mount you can dot that on my instagram @schafer.leon