120/150 Imagons on EVIL Plaubel Makiflex

[Nokton48]

Hi All,
I have a Makiflex Standard and a Makiflex Automatic, and I've been collecting lenses for it (on-and-off) for over ten years. I had these two short Rodenstock Imagons setup by Glenn Evans, to go on my Exakta EX66, but now I want to use them on my Makiflexes, as well. The Makis do 6x6, 6x9 and 4x4 inch.
I bought an old Plaubel Peco Junior recessed lensboard in Germany, and had Glenn cut it out to Copal #0, been using it with the 150 Sinar Symmar, on both cameras. I decided to rebuild the board so it will work with the two (short) Imagon cells that I have.
Went to Midwest Photo this morning, and dug through their collections on lens flanges, they still have quite a collection of junque left. Second time through all the drawers, I found a silver flange that fit both cells perfectly. It's a funny European thread and pitch, not common at all. JimmyA charged me $2 for the flange, and while I was there, I bought a beautiful insert for my new Domke Messenger #803 bag. So the morning was quite productive.
Enlarged the hole Glenn made in the recessed board, and did the job easily with a hand file. Went to the local Hobby Supply store, and bought mini brass modelmaking screws, washers, and nuts. Used my Mini Drill Press to bore the flange holes, and she's all done for now.
By putting the flange on the back of the recessed board, the 120mm Imagon focuses perfectly at infinity, with a bit to spare, which I like. Mounted on the front, the lens was -right- at infinity, not allowing for focusing past infinity. This way is best, for sure.

Here are the two lenses, after infinty testing, and all-set to go:

 

[Al Kaplan]

I think that a group of us Florida guys need to get together and "liberate" that junque collection from Midwest Photo. It ain't fair!

 

[Nokton48]

Al,

If and when you decide to do that, let me know.
I'll meet you there, let's go out for food after.

Here's the back side of the Plaubel recessed board, you can see it was a tricky installation.
Pretty D%*m Kewl in my opinion. Now I need to clean the back of the board, it picked up tons of metal shavings from my cuttings yesterday. Removing the original adhesive and reinstalling light traps on these old Plaubel boards, is about as much fun as removing the vulcanite from a Leica M, but not nearly as difficult. Very messy job, I replace it with strips of black velvet, or lightrapping materials in sheet form, that I have accumulated. Clean with Ronsonol to remove the adhesive, and flat-black Krylon, applied by hand with a brush, to hide any shinies.

 

[Al Kaplan]

FYI, I've used a recessed lensboard reversed so I was able to gain about 5cm of extra "bellows" extension.

 

[sevo]

Nice to hear - and inspires me to experiment with a few more combinations. After all my 135mm lenses did nor clear the mirror at infinity I had given up on trying shorter lenses on my Makiflex.

 

[Nokton48]

Nice to hear - and inspires me to experiment with a few more combinations. After all my 135mm lenses did nor clear the mirror at infinity I had given up on trying shorter lenses on my Makiflex.

Wow, Another Makiflex User!

Sevo,

I use my 150 F5.6 Schneider Symmar early chrome lens, it is mounted on a modern flat Peco Profia Jr Black board. My 135mm F5.6 Sinar Schneider Symmar early chrome lens, requires a Plaubel Peco Junior recessed board, in order to infinity-focus.

I use 6x6 AND 6X9 Plaubel 120 roll holders, and also about a dozen 6x9 cut film holders, just getting going with the cut film. I am also in the middle of making an adapter to fit my Linhof 70mm Rollex back to the cameras. I have alot of 70mm film in the freezer.

Do you use the camera(s) much? First one I've ever owned, that has an odometer. Mine are both -very- high mileage, but working just great.

 

[sevo]

I use my 150 F5.6 Schneider Symmar early chrome lens, it is mounted on a modern flat Peco Profia Jr Black board. My 135mm F5.6 Sinar Schneider Symmar early chrome lens, requires a Plaubel Peco Junior recessed board, in order to infinity-focus.

I have the original 150mm Xenar with automated stop down, plus a 180mm Heliar on a flat Peco board, and can graft the longer lenses from the sinar and LF reflexes. I tried all surplus lenses I had about, and added a 150mm Nikkor-W on a flat board to have a modern lens.

I purchased a 135mm Hektor in the hope to adapt it, but the recessed boards I have interfere with the aperture preset mechanism and I haven't got around to modifying them yet. More complex lens types don't even fit at 135 - the Hektor already is a very close fit, and the 105mm Tessar types I tried didn't reach infinity by a long chalk, so that I did not even consider buying 120's for experiments. The Imagon of course is a quite unusually flat lens - not really surprising that it fits.

Right now the camera sees less use than it should - it is heavy and rather unbalanced, and anything but my first choice for outdoor work (even the 9x12 Reflex-Primar is lighter and better balanced), and I haven't done anything fun, art or non-profit in studio this year, being taken up with outdoor projects or regular work (where there aren't that many opportunities to use cameras as unusual as that).

Sevo

 

[Nokton48]

Here is how to go "the other way". Here is my Makiflex Automatic, with a flat Peco Profio Jr lens board. Attached to that is an old Sinar Norma 360mm Schneider Symmar "nosecone", and attached to that, is the flange from a 36 cm Schneider Tele-Xenar, which was one of the original Plaubel Makiflex lenses. I had a machinist friend cut the Norma board.

I have two of the automatic Makiflex lenses, the 180mm Xenar, and the 240mm Xenar. My new recessed board will only fit the Makiflex Standard, it will not fit the Makiflex Automatic, due to inner support struts, inside the camera. I also have a 270mm Tele-Xenar which is not an automatic lens, that fits either camera.