One option when using an older barrel lens on modern photography equipment is to front mount the lens to a larger shutter. This method provides the shutter firing and timing needed for taking faster and more accurate exposures.
Purpose and Benefits
Front mounting is the process of attaching a barrel lens to the front threads of a shutter. This solution is less expensive than a full remount, but there are some optical limitations. Front mounting is also especially helpful if you have many barrel lenses and only one large shutter. It makes the lenses interchangeable.
Some large leaf shutters do not have apertures. Front Mounting does not require the shutter have an iris, so it is a great way to put an otherwise useless shutter into service with a barrel lens.
How it Works
A conventional remount transplants the front and rear cell to a new shutter. The front mount uses one threaded adapter to place the rear of the lens as close as possible to the shutter’s iris. This mount does not require an iris scale on the shutter, but special attention must be made to ensure the original barrel can still be manipulate for iris function.
Limitations of Front Mounting
This is a relatively simple mounting, but the image circle of the lens must be considered. The image created by the lens can be cut off by the shutter placed behind the lens. Smaller lenses with a narrow capture angle mean more of the image circle will pass through the shutter. Depending on the lens and shutter size, this method also centers the weight of the lens forward which can put more strain on a camera standard.
