marshall_arbitman1 Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Any operational reasons to prefer one to the other? In the course of shopping for a used, modern lens in the 150-210 range, I've come across all three. I already own one lens with a Copal 0 and find it accurate and hassle-free. Aside from the Prontor being self-cocking, does it or the recent-vintage Compur differ from the Copal in any significant ways? I'm thinking precision, reliabilty, noise, anything here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_fleming1 Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Go here: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/shutters.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall_arbitman1 Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 Anybody want to weigh in on reliability, ergonomics and availability of parts/cost of maintenance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedharris Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Modern Compur shutters have click stops for the f stops can't think of any other important differences. You will find detailed discussions of all three on Steve Grimes website ... www.skgrimes.com ... I own all three and caan make the following general comments: 1) The Prontor Professional's are way overbuilt, they are tanks and take a real beating. Very expensive. Figidity attachments. 2) Compurs are solid, to me they seem a bit more solid than Copels. Now discontinued or in very limited production. 3) The current standard ... they keep on going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_waak Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 For the ultimate resource on shutters, check out <A HREF="http://www.skgrimes.com/classhut/index.htm">Steve Grimes</A>. He has a really nice write-up of all of the various types of modern and older shutters. <P> -Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tor_kviljo1 Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hello Marshall. I guess You will find that the self-cocking Prontor, as all other self cocking shutters, have a limited high-speed - typical 1/125 of a second instead of 1/400 or 1/500 sek. May be limiting for You. Otherwice, self cocking shutters are lovely easy to use (The Copal-Sinar DB-shutter is an enormous self-cocking shutter) and a must using 3-exposure digital backs - to avoid camera-disturbance while cocking shutter. It may also be an idea to stay away from the Compur - other things equal - as that company is more or less defunct since years back (is it brought back to business again - anybody knows?). The Copals are NOISY - but reliable & have large & distinct handle for opening/closing shutter - easy to feel from behind camera. Last time I had the chance to compare, modern Prontors were twice as expensive as similar copal. I wouldent be shocked if that reflected true differences in material & build quality, but who is able to wear out a modern Copal anyway?. Good luck Tor Kviljo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall_arbitman1 Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Tor: Yes, I'm familiar with the Copal "crunch," and the Acme "thwock." As I mentioned, I'm well-pleased with the Copal I've got in a 135 Rodenstock. Cheeep or not, it does seem to be very accurate. So no complaints, there. Just that 2 particular bargains caught my eye: One had a Compur, the other a Prontor, so I'm just trying to rule out any potential "gotchas," before making a move. Thanks, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_schroeder Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 I would put my money on reliability, and in my experience, that means Copal shutters. Before buying an older lens with a Compur shutter, I would ask myself if it was still a good deal with the price of a new Copal sooner or later or at least a rebuild or two. Incidentally, for me, high shutter speeds would be somewhere on page two of the priority list. I don't recall ever using anything above 1/125, and even that speed is only rarely used. I would probably think differently if I was hand holding a press camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_salomon Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Compur shutters can be set from behind the camera by adding the stick up controllers that mount to the back of the shutter. This can also be done with the self cocking prontor Professionals. You can not do this with a Copal. Zeiss has discontinued all Compur and Prontor large format shutters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_salomon Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 "The current standard" Not really. Actually they are the survivor. All the others are discontinued. Copal has been the most popular as it was by far the cheapest for lens manufacturers to buy for the past 20 - 30 years. A modern Copal is no more reliable or accurate then a modern Compur and both have more vibration internally then the Prontor Professional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean-louis llech Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hello, Mr. Salomon,<br> "Zeiss has discontinued all Compur and Prontor large format shutters."<br> As far as I know, Compur and Prontor shutters are still produced by Prontor-Werke (Zeiss Group).<br> Where did you get such an information ?<br> Best regards<br> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean-louis llech Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Sorry, Mr. Salomon,<br> <br> I wrote my question before reading the thread "The Prontor Prof. Shutters are History"<br> <br> Unfortunately, I have my answer.<br> <br> Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_salomon Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 "Where did you get such an information ?" Actually, as the Rodenstock and Linhof distributor for the U.S. we get our information from the respective factories. In this case both factories. Zeiss's decision to drastically raise the prices on their shutters a decade ago is the reason why the Linhof cameras like the Technorama were switched to Copal shutters from Compur shutters. They were told well ahead of time that the shutters from Prontor would no longer be manufactured in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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