Lens element separation distances

A number of lenses with photographic potential are listed by the Surplus Shed,

several of which are supplied at attractive prices as front + rear element sets

only. I have a suitable shutter I could install with such sets, but need advice

as to setting the distance between the two sets of elements. Attempts to

contact the original manufacturers have not led to any helpful advice (indeed,

have led to no advice at all!).

 

Is there some optical procedure I could follow to determine the correct distance

of separation that could be followed by an interested amateur? Is there some

knowledgeable source of such data that would obviate the necessarily precise

measurments?

 

I look forward to your help!

 

 

Bruce

Not surethat's not something I'd try. </p>

 

<p>Two places that might be able to help are <a href="http://www.skgrimes.com/">S.K.Grimes's website</a> and the <a href="http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/index.php">Large Format Forum</a>.

If shipping to Germany were less costly I'd had already bought one of those lens sets. I would not worry about the spacing because I am pretty certain that these lenses were designed and the lens cells turned so that they directly fit into standardized shutters. (A look at Seth Broder's cameraeccentric site confirms this at least for the Raptar 4.5/160.)<p>Yes, there exist lenses whose proper spacing in shutters has to be fine-tuned by inserting shims. But AFAIK this practice was more or less limited to lenses especially made for process photography where tolerances regarding exact focal length and distortion are minimal. I never came across a Tessar-type lens that used shims and I would even say: a shim in a Tessar, Skopar, Xenar or Raptar is a sign for sloppy manufacture.