Question for backpackers

I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve

Stephan Goldstein wrote:
I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

I would never consider trying to mount lenses in the field. You want to
do that where you have a good clean surface to work on and you don't
have to worry about wind, dust, and other inclement elements. Lens
boards are not all that heavy. I would recommend getting a board for
each lens.


Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench?

I've never heard of anyone actually carrying a single board for each shutter
size and using that one board for all lenses of the same shutter size while
backpacking. I'm sure there is somebody out there who does that but by far
the more common practice in my experience is a board on each lens.

"Stephan Goldstein" wrote in message
...
I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve

No...each lens is already on a board. I do recall a system that was advertised
wherein the lenses were put in some kind of smaller "univeral" mount and
appropriately sized lens boards that accepted this "universal" mount were then
purchased and thus the lenses could be carried with just the smaller mount on
them and snapped into place on one lensboard. This was also a solution for
those who had systems with differing lensboard sizes...the lenses could be
switched between different boards easily.

argon

I have a board for each of the lenses. I do this for a couple of reasons.
The first is I don't want the wear and tear of unmounting and mounting
the lenses on either the lens or lens board. The second and most important
reason is that I'm afraid I'll drop the lens while changing it out on the
board.


Stephan Goldstein wrote:
: I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
: finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

: For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
: carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
: board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
: while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

: Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
: replies!).

: Steve

--




Keep working millions on welfare depend on you
-------------------

"Stephan Goldstein"
I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve

I'm not out shooting yet, but I would definitely have each
lens mounted on a board. And for travel in any way, each
lens/board is wrapped in a padded velcro wrapper, caps on
both sides of each lens.

Alex

(Stephan Goldstein) wrote in message ...
I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve

Steve,

Certainly you can do it if you use flanges screwed to the lensboard
rather than retaining rings; the lenses screw into the flanges without
disassembly. If you use flanges, you need one flange/board for each
size and type of lens. I even know a pro that had a brass bushing made
to reduce his Ilex #4 flange for use with an Ilex #3. He was a studio
photographer though, the brass bushing weighed considerably more than
another lensboard and flange!

If your lenses use retaining rings, then the previously posted advice
is sound; you don't want to be unscrewing the cells in the field. I
also vote for a board for each lens, it reduces the "fumble factor".

Steve H.

Steve Hamley wrote:
(Stephan Goldstein) wrote in message ...

I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve


Steve,

Certainly you can do it if you use flanges screwed to the lensboard
rather than retaining rings; the lenses screw into the flanges without
disassembly.

They do if the rear cell is small enough to pass through the opening of
the flange, as a Meyer Gorlitz Aristostigmat might do. But Symmars,
Super Angulons, etc., have such large rear cells that this will not work.

--
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/V\ Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 21:00:00 up 7:18, 2 users, load average: 4.47, 4.27, 4.16

you can fabricate a similar setup easily using filter stack caps. One
stack cap goes on the lens board, where it is drilled out as appropriate
(or you can mount a lens filter ring etc.). The matching filter stack cap
is then drilled out and the lens mounted in it. Stack caps are relatively
cheap and light, making it easy to have a lot of lenses for use with one
board (esp. with a focal plane body camera).

The filter stack caps are aluminum or some other metal which can easily be
cut and used to mount different lenses in shutter. You need a stack cap
for each lens. I have used this setup more for macro lenses on bellows,
such as those obsolete glass lenses from 8mm and 16mm movie cameras, but
the original idea was in an article in Modern Photography in the 1960s
IIRC on mating different lenses to homebrew LF or MF cameras. The obvious
point is that the lenses have to be relatively modest in size.

A related use for this trick is to modify a large cheapy shutter (e.g.
alphax from oscilloscope lens) on a lens board and then put a treaded
step-up ring matching the shutter outer lens cell threads to a standard
filter size (e.g., 52mm, 67mm etc.). Now you can mount your junkbox lenses
onto a leaf shutter (rather more flexible than a Packard shutter).

just some ideas - blasts from the past ;-)

hth bobm
--
************************************************** *********************
* Robert Monaghan POB 752182 Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas Tx 75275 *
********************Standard Disclaimers Apply*************************

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:59:31 GMT, (Stephan
Goldstein) wrote:

I've never seen this addressed in any reading, and now that I've
finally got a 4x5 I'm wondering....

For those of you who backpack with more than one lens, do you
carry the lenses mounted on the boards, or do you just bring one
board for each shutter size and carry a lens wrench? The former,
while a bit heavier, is obviously much quicker.

Thanks for the enlightenment (or enheavyment, depending on the
replies!).

Steve
I have them mounted on boards. Much easier to manage. I store them in
my backpack in Domke lens wraps.

Some of my lenses I have to remove the rear element to mount and I
certainly would not relish doing that in the field.

- Mike