Best medium format system to adapt OLD lenses to

[Eggboy]

Thanks all for the great suggestions!

Eugene, I'm going to go back and agree with David... I have 4 LF lenses that I use on my Bronica S2A (two of which date back to the early 1900s), plus a hacked 400mm telephoto. With a few plastic body caps, a set of extension tubes, and a dremel or a drill bit, you can make any lens longer than about 90mm work on it. And the real Nikkor S2A lenses aren't too shabby either!

Classic Bronicas like the S2a are very well suited to lens adaptations. They have a focal plane shutter and the focusing helical or bellows is separate from the lens. They were designed with a dual mount system--Bronica bayonet and M58x1 screw mount, specifically so that press camera shooters could adapt their press lenses to the Bronica with a simple threaded ring or with a lens cap drilled like a lens board.

I'm going to snag a Bronica S2-A setup. They are certainly fairly economical...and there's a shop that I found on the Bronica Yahoo Group list that specializes in servicing and selling:
http://kohscamera.com/

...You need a mini speed with the focal plane shutter, preferrably with a graflock back....

...I just picked up and refurbished a series B graflex SLR in 3 x 4 size that takes an old 9x12 Rollex back with minimal fiddling...

The idea of a Graflex is VERY interesting for some of my longer lenses, like the 15cm/2.8 Tessar, but they are much bigger and, well, ungainly looking, and might scare small children. I'm assuming the 2x3 Graflex looks like this:
http://hankinslawrenceimages.wordpre...ex-slr-camera/

These would be fabulous with a 6x7 or a 6x12 back for more formal stuff or landscapes. I'm trolling about evilBay and some other vendors to see if I can snag a servicable one inexpensively to play around with a bit.

What about the Rollei SL66? Focal plane shutter, bellow focus, and tilt.

This would be fabulous, except right now I'm not prepared to pay Rollei pricing...alas, if only they were going for close to what used RB/RZs are going for.

Eugene, how about the Horseman V models? You can get a reflex viewer for them...

Sweet, but again way out of my budget for just kind of hacking about. If I get sucked up big time into this, and maybe even get it to pay (doubtful) then an investement in higher quality stuff might be warrented.

[David A. Goldfarb]

The idea of a Graflex is VERY interesting for some of my longer lenses, like the 15cm/2.8 Tessar, but they are much bigger and, well, ungainly looking, and might scare small children.

Not at all. My son always loves when I have the 5x7" Press Graflex out!

[wclavey]

...and there's a shop that I found on the Bronica Yahoo Group list that specializes in servicing and selling:
http://kohscamera.com/

I used Koh's for a CLA of my S2A body after I had had it for about 2 years and he was fast, reasonably priced, and delivered it back to me in TX exactly when he said he would.

[thisismyname09]

The idea of a Graflex is VERY interesting for some of my longer lenses, like the 15cm/2.8 Tessar, but they are much bigger and, well, ungainly looking, and might scare small children. I'm assuming the 2x3 Graflex looks like this:
http://hankinslawrenceimages.wordpre...ex-slr-camera/

That's actually a graflex SLR. A Speed graphic would be more like this http://arukucamera.net/sitebuilder/i...n1-600x494.jpg

[Whiteymorange]

The idea of a Graflex is VERY interesting for some of my longer lenses, like the 15cm/2.8 Tessar, but they are much bigger and, well, ungainly looking, and might scare small children. I'm assuming the 2x3 Graflex looks like this:
http://hankinslawrenceimages.wordpre...ex-slr-camera/

Eugene,
They are indeed ungainly, but small children are less afraid of things than one might assume. I get far more curiosity than fear. All of the Graflex SLR cameras that I have seen have an older style back (the Graflex back) which is somewhat similar to a Graflock but larger. It will not accept standard roll film adapters, and though adapters are around that fit, they tend to be pretty scarce and pricey. This is why I got the larger 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 and jury-rigged a 9x12 adapter. Jnanian has one with a creatively attached roll film adapter (mostly masking tape, I think) that gave me the idea.

But hey, we're neighbors. Send me a PM if you're interested is seeing/playing with my camera some time. It lives where I work, in Belmont.

[Eggboy]

Hi All,

Just as an FYI, I picked up an nice Bronica S2. Now I just have to get some step rings for the Tessar/Biotessar/Petval lenses...

Thanks all for your advice! Whiteymorange, thanks for the offer; I may take you up on that in the winter, when there are less demands on time...causing 3 months to go by before answering!

Eugene