Can't find shutter for very nice lens

I have a very nice Schneider Xenotar 150mm/f2.8 lens that I'd like to use on a camera I'm building. The

lens has an aperture diaphragm, but no shutter. After much research, I think I've found that this lens may

have originally been mounted in a now rare Compur 2 shutter. I've looked around on the internet for

several months now and have not seen one for sale. S.K. Grimes quoted me a very hefty price to remount

the lens in a Copal 3 shutter. Then it occurred to me that, given the simple nature of this camera I'm

building, I could go 'old style'... using my hat and a small aperture for a shutter. But I thought I'd give the

wonderful photo.net forum folks a shot at this before I give up and go 'old style'.

Is there some other way of shuttering the lens besides the Compur 2? I think I've read somewhere about

old cameras that used some sort of gate as a shutter device. Can anyone out there steer me in a useful

direction? Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts.

Regards,

Jamie in Oakland, CA

Look for an older convertible Symmar 240mm f/5.6. According to Schneider's web data it shares the same Compur 2 shutter. Auction 250161848851 on Ebay would be ideal, $160 Buy-it-Now though the shutter would need a CLA. Flutot's Camera Repair will do a great shutter CLA for roughly $50, and SK Grimes can make an aperture scale for probably $50-60. You could have your lens in shutter for under $300 if everything came together right.

As a side note, you do not want to bother with shooting the lens stopped down. It isn't any better than a regular 150mm f/5.6 for that purpose (actually probably worse). The Xenotar is meant to be shot wide open or close to it for selective focus, and is actually very desirable because of that.

I'd say that if you aren't interested in selective focus or shallow depth of field but just want a nice sharp normal lens, just sell the Xenotar as is and buy a 150mm f/5.6 plasmat. The Xenotar in barrel is probably worth more than a nice multicoated 150mm lens on the used market.

Hope this helps!

I ran into this problem some time ago - since you're building your own, you have many options that the factory boys don't allow you.

A Packard shutter is always a good answer for this problem provided you have enough room to mount one inside the bellows assy. If not, they can be mounted on the end of the lens but that looks rather funky, and while functional, sloppy. The Packards are available with flash sync and electric trips instead of the air bulbs and lines. I believe they're still made and are relatively inexpensive. Run "Packard Shutter" thru Google and see what you get.

Second option, though a bit more work, is to adapt your camera to use the Sinar Copal shutter. 8 Seconds to 1/60, about a 2.5 inch hole thru, and about 3/4 thick. It has provision for the Sinar DB lens mount (f-stop control) but you won't need it with the barrel lenses as most of them have irises. $200-$400 on flea bay. If you go this way, make sure you get the release cable with it - they're about $200 otherwise.

Sheldon's advice is sound; Either use the lens wide open or sell it, it just doesn't make sense

to use this particular lens beyond f5.6. A multicoated plasmat will be sharper and have MUCH

larger movements. The Xenotar will only just cover 4x5 (IC of about 170mm). You should

easily be able to get $400-500 on eBay for this barrel mounted lens.

To put it in a shutter the best option is to pick up an older convertible 240 Symmar and swap

glass. You will still need an aperture scape, which Grimes can make. Alternatively, you can

mount the barrel on a Speed Graphic, adjust the rangefinder to the Xenotar, and use the

camera's shutter.

Regarding the aperture scale: You could remove the elements from the barrel that you have, open the aperture to the various settings as marked, and measure them.

Then, open the shutter to those same opening dimensions and mark according, perhaps on some white tape cut out for the purpose.

Regarding the shutter: You should look around and see if the above mentioned older lens (Symmar convertible) was also mounted in some other shutter. I have a 300mm Symmar convertible mounted in an old Compound and it works fine. (Dimensions of this shutter are different, but it's something to look at.) The Compounds are great shutters, pretty accurate and easy to work on.

Some time ago I had a similar problem, but with a 240mm Symmar convertible. I found an old 150 Xenar (if I recall correctly) with bad glass in an old Compur, which turns out to be what I think is the #2. The lens fits perfectly and the shutter works fine. I've drawn in the aperture values on white tape.

One other option: You could build a Packard Shutter Box. Deardorff used to make those and they come up on eBay now and then. It's simply a wooden box which mounts at the lensboard opening on the camera, then you mount the lens in front of the box in the same way. In the box is the Packard Shutter. Just allow enough clearance behind the lens, and make sure your lensboard mount area is strong enough for the weight.

If you're designing your own camera, it would probably be easier to design in a spot for the Packard shutter inside the camera; you may even be able to design it for removal, although that is much easier with the shutter box.

One other shutter option is the old Luc shutter. The problem with those is that they don't turn up very often. They clamp to the front of the lens and function much like the Packard, even though they look much different, and use a regular cable release instead of air hose. But you'd probably pay dearly for one if found. I don't think they're that rare, just that people hold onto them.

I believe you didn't mention what size camera you're building -- 4x5? If so, as mentioned above, you might want to reconsider your choice of lens.

All things considered, if the thing stops down far enough, the "hat trick" might just do the job for you! I just hope the lens does well enough stopped down.

Thanks, everyone for your spendid responses. Based on those, I'm leaning toward trying out

the Packard shutter option... just to try one out. Sheldon, thanks for the reminder about the

lens' limitations regarding depth of field. Using the lens that way (wide open) out in the

landscape may press me to look for a different kind of subject matter... and new adventures!

Thanks.

Jamie Pillers