6x9 folder plus 6x9 view camera lens = high quality 6x9 fix focus camera?

[joeswe]

Hi there,

has anyone tried to "upgrade" an old 6x9 folder with the help of a 6x9 view camera lens? Forgive me if my question is silly, I know next to nothing about large format and view camera lenses ... I was just reading the thread on the DIY wide 6x9 and it made me wonder if it was possible to use a 105mm/6x9 view camera lens with shutter and use it on an old folder as high quality fix focus setup at infinity, e.g. for shooting landscapes. Will such a lens mount to the lens board of a folder and would it be possible to set it up to be in focus at infinity?

John

 

[RFH]

That would be easy. Just do what Mael and I have done on our projects, and leave out the helicoid. Hacking the helicoid probably took up 70% of the time I spent building the camera.
The wider the lens, the less you have to worry about focusing. But for landscapes a setting somewhere below infinity will do fine. You can always regulate the rest with the aperture.
I used a 65 mm for mine, equal to 28 mm in 135 format.
A 105 mm lens will have a flange distance of appx. 100 mm, which is the distance from the back of the lens where it touches the lensboard to the film plane. Just use a folder with a openable back door, so you can check your infinity setting. Use a digital caliper and be diligent, and you'll be surprised how easy it is - and proud of your accomplishment. Make sure your box is light tight.
And please share the results when you're done.

 

[joeswe]

Hi Rasmus,

thanks for the input and also for the inspiration that came with your project 🙂
My idea was to use the view camera lens with the original lens board and bellows of the folder. The problem I see now is that even a "tiny" 6x9 view camera lens will probably stick so far out on the front that it will keep the folder from folding properly. I must admit I have never had my hands on such a lens so I have no idea what the actual dimensions are.

John

 

[Ezzie]

I've built my own camera with a LF lens and helicoid. As Rasmus says, its not that difficult. Getting the lens register right, and making it light tight are the two main concerns. Neither particularily difficult in a intellectual sense.

 

[jeanba3000]

A small convertable Symmar 105 mm on #00 Synchro Compur is not very big, you would need to adjust the focus because it may differ from the original lens.
But it's probably too big to let you fold the camera anymore.
I think people who modify folders often choose a wide lens because there isn't a lot of wide 6x9 cameras and because such a camera is more compact than with a standard focal.

By the way, I recently offered to my baby a luxurious external finder and bubble level 🙂