Best medium format system to adapt OLD lenses to

[Eggboy]

Hi All,

I've been shooting Canon F-1s and EOS and using vintage glass, including pre-war Exakta mount German lenses etc. I'd like to start shooting some of the various brass lenses (including a 4 1/2 " petzval) I've picked up over the years. What are the options? Too bad the Mamiya RB/RZ series don't have focal plan shutters since they have the bellows focusing which would be great for barrel lenses. I need the convenience and economy of using 120/220 film instead of sheet/plate film. In the MF world, what rigs are people using?

Eugene

[David A. Goldfarb]

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.

[dynachrome]

From the time the Mamiya M645 came out it was being adapted for use with other lenses. My Bronica cameras (ETR/SQ/GS-1 series) are very nice for general work but not very handy for macro. This is because the bodies have no shutter. A Pentax 6X7 or 67II could also be adapted for use with older lenses as long as they have enough cverage for the 6X7 format. Accessories for the Mamiya 645 cameras are more plentiful than those for the older Bronica S2A.

[David A. Goldfarb]

An important issue for adapting large format lenses to a MF SLR is that the focusing mechanism needs to be separate from the lenses. Cameras in which is this is the case are the Bronica S2, S2a, C, EC, and EC-TL, the Rollei SL66, and the RB67. Cameras like the Mamiya 645 and Pentax 6x7 could be adapted to a non-focusing lens with a macro bellows, but on the Rollei and RB (and the earlier Bronicas--Z, D, and S), the focusing mechanism is built into the body, and on the early Bronicas, the focusing mechanism is detachable from both the lens and the body, so you can easily switch between bellows (Type II bellows even has full view camera movements on the front standard), helical, or even an extra long telephoto helical.

[Eggboy]

Thanks all! I will 'bone up' on Bronicas...I remember them being sold new back in the day...but I was a Contax boy at the time. It's interesting that there's a M58 thread...I've an old Tessar c.1928 that has a 58mm thread on it.

Eugene

[P C Headland]

Of course, one should not forget the Century & miniature Speed/Crown Graphics, 6x9 Linhofs, etc....

[Eggboy]

Press cameras scare me for some reason. I don't know why. So many different varieties...or maybe I was a drunken New York City socialite who was shot by Weegee in a previous life... :-)

The Linhofs are pretty pricey and don't they use rangefinders? I think I'll need fairly easy to use reflex viewing system. A quick scan of evilBay, and a Bronica group on Yahoo seems to indicate I can get an S2A with 70/2.8 and a back for less than US$400.

Also, just to confirm, the Mamiya RB/RZ bodies don't have shutters?

Thanks again for all the responses.

Eugene

[ic-racer]

I second "Baby Speed" (the Crown's don't have the FP shutter). I think that would be perfect for 'brass lens' experimenting.

You can probably make a 'Speed' less scary like the 'Crown" in the below link if you want. They are cheap enough, you can experiment.

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum147/...hic-refit.html

[Whiteymorange]

Hi Eugene,
I've been wrestling with the same questions, trying everything that's cheap and adaptable. The baby Speed is indeed quite usable with all sorts of cadged together lenses, but the need for ground-glass focusing makes roll-back use awkward and slow. 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. It's great for the lenses in the FL range of about 110 to 250 (WAG) but can't handle short lenses because of the mirror or long lenses due to it's relatively short bellows. Since one of the reasons I bought it was to be able to shoot a short FL little brass lens that I've had for awhile, I'm still somewhat frustrated.

The idea of a Bronica is interesting. Maybe if I don't let my wife see it for a few months...

[lxdude]

From the time the Mamiya M645 came out it was being adapted for use with other lenses. My Bronica cameras (ETR/SQ/GS-1 series) are very nice for general work but not very handy for macro. This is because the bodies have no shutter.

Unless, of course, you have a Bronica macro lens.