It’s true, they don’t make lenses like they used to. Vintage glass can provide an effect and aesthetic you can’t replicate with modern lenses. These barrel lenses can be difficult to use on modern equipment without a shutter. Fortunately, evaluating and remount barrels lens is one of our specialties.
Lens Remount Process
Many large format lenses can be enhanced with a remount into a second hand shutter. Barrel mounted lenses can be disassembled and modified with adapters or rebuild optical houses to mount a shutter in place of the barrel. Our remount includes installing the optics in the shutter, mounting the lens to a provided lens board, and adding the correct aperture scale to the shutter.
Examples
This list of remount is far from conclusive as we have remounted hundreds of lenses of the years. Lens manufactures occasional make design modifications between production batches meaning all lenses require an inspection to know for certain what shutter they can be adapted to. Suitability of a lens for a shutter does not mean; direct fit; It means that it is possible/practical to modify the lens to be useable in the indicated shutter or shutters.
| Barrel Lens for remount | First Choice | Second Choice | Front Mount? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10¾": f-9 Goerz Artar | Copal #1 | . | Copal #3 Ilex #3 | . |
| 12" Goerz Artar | Copal #1 | Ilex/Betax/Alphax #3 | Ilex/Alphax/Betax #4 | . |
| 14" f-11 Goerz Trigor | Copal #3 | . | Ilex #5 | Called "Blue Dot Trigor" |
| 14" f-9 Schneider Dagor | Copal #3 | Ilex #4 | Maybe Ilex #5 | Later Schneider version shown in original old style Copal #3 |
| 14" Goerz Artar f-9 | Copal #3 | Ilex/Betax/Alphax #4 | Ilex/Alphax/Betax #4 | . |
| 150mm Hugo-Meyer "Casket" Set | Copal #1 | Ilex #3 | Copal #3 Ilex #4 | . |
| 16½": f-7.7 Goerz Dagor | Copal #3 | Ilex #4 | No | Usually seen in Ilex #5 |
| 16½": f-9.5 Goerz Artar | Copal #3 | Ilex #4 | #5 Ilex | Sometimes in Original factory #4 Ilex |
| 19" f-11 Goerz Artar | Copal #3 | Ilex #4 | Ilex #5 | . |
| 209mm f 8 JML Process Lens | Copal #3 | . | . | . |
| 210mm Nikon f-10 Wide Angle | Copal #1 | Copal #3 Ilex #3 | No | Difficult/expensive |
| 24" f-11 Goerz Artar | Copal #3* | Ilex/Betax/Alphax #5 | No | Needs barrel flange for mounting to lensboard . |
| 240mm Nikon f-10 Wide Angle | Copal #1 | . | No | Difficult/expensive |
| 240mm Schneider G Claron f9 | Copal #1 | . | No | Direct fit in most cases |
| 240mm Schneider G-Claron f9 WA | Copal #3 | . | No | This is a Wide Angle lens |
| 260mm f-10 WA Nikkor | Copal #3 | Expensive: Risk lies in cutting lens out of mounting bracket | ||
| 270mm f-9 Computar | Copal #3S | . | Copal #3 | Direct fit with Copal #3S. |
| 30" f-12.5 Goerz Artar | Ilex #5 | Copal #3 ** | No | Needs barrel flange for mounting to lensboard |
| 300mm f 9 Rodenstock Apo-Ronar | Copal # 1 | . | . | There are multiple casing configurations for this lens. Some can fit a #1, others requires a #3 and some cannot be remounted. |
| 300mm f-5.6 Carl Zeiss S-Tessar | None | None | Maybe Ilex #5 | Projector lens not practical for re-mount |
| 305 Repro Claron (Schneider) f-9 | Copal #1 | . | No | Direct fit in most cases |
| 360mm f-9 Apo-Nikkor | Copal #3 | Ilex/Betax/Alphax #4 | Ilex #5 | Normal Apo Process Lens |
| 360mm f-9 Nikkor WA | Copal #3 | Ilex/Betax/Alphax #4 | Ilex #5 | Wide Angle Process Lens Covers 11 X 14 |
| 360mm f4.5 Zeiss Tessar | Ilex #5 | . | . | . |
| 38mm f-4.5 Zeiss Biogon (Mil Surplus) | Copal #0 | Compur #0 | No | Same lens in Hasselblad SWC |
| 40mm f-5.6 Zeiss Biogon (Mil Surplus) | . | . | . | Not suitable for mounting into shutters |
| 42" f-14 Goerz Artar | Ilex #5 ** | Alphax/Betax #5 | No | Needs barrel flange for mounting to lensboard |
| 455mm f-9 APO Nikkor | Copal #3 | Ilex #5 | Ilex #5 | |
| 480mm f-9 APO Nikkor | Copal #3 | Ilex #5 | Ilex #5 | |
| 500-1000mm Plaubel Tele-Peconar | . | . | Copal # 1 | |
| 600mm f-9 APO Nikkor | Ilex #5 | . | No | |
| 600mm f-9 Rodenstock Apo-Ronar | Ilex #5 | . | No | Lens information stays on the original barrel |
| 610mm f-9 APO Nikkor | Ilex #5 | . | No | |
| 6½": f-8 Dagor Wide Angle | Copal #1 | Ilex #3 | No | . |
| 7" f6.8 Goerz Dagor | Copal #1 | . | Copal #3 Ilex #3 | |
| 750mm f-9 Zeiss Apo Germinar | Packard shutter | . | . | |
| 750mm f-9 Zeiss Apo Germinar | . | Ilex # 5 | . | More difficult and expensive option |
| 75mm f-4.5 Zeiss Biogon (Mil Surplus) | Copal #1 | Ilex #3 | No | Large Lens weighs six lbs |
| 760mm f-11 APO Nikkor | Ilex #5 | . | No | |
| 8¼": f-6.8 Goerz Dagor | Copal #1 | . | Copal #3 Ilex #3 | |
| 8¼": f-9 Goerz Artar | Copal #1 | . | Copal #3 Ilex #3 | . |
| 9½": f-4.5 Voigtlander Heliar | Ilex #5 | . | No | . |
| 9½": f-6.3 Wray Wide Angle | Copal #3 | . | Compur #2 | . |
| 9½": f-6.8 Goerz Dagor | Copal #1 | . | Ilex #4 | . |
| 9½": f-6.8 Goerz Trigor | Copal #1 | Copal #3 | Ilex #4 | Like a Dagor but for graphic arts |
| 9½": f-9 Goerz Artar | Copal #1 | . | Ilex #3 | |
| Bausch & Lomb 10X12 f-9 | Ilex #5 | . | no | Melles Griot same as Ilex |
| Metrogon 12" | Stunt Mounted to Luc Shutter | . | no | Aerial camera lens not practical for remount |
| Nikon Apo-Nikkor 305mm | Copal # 1 | . | no | . |
| Rodenstock Apo Gerogon 360 mm f-11 | Copal # 1 | Ilex # 3 | Ilex # 4 | Lower priced Rodenstock Lens |
| Schneider Repro Claron 420 mm f-9 | Copal # 3 | Ilex # 4 | Ilex # 5 |