Linhof Technika RF Cams

embdude

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Hello,

Has anyone here any experience in DIY linhof cams?

I am interested in making some RF cams for both a 6x9 Technika 70 and a 4x5 Technika IV that I am restoring...

Back when these cameras were sold in 1960 you would have the camera shop make a RF cam for your camera when you bought a new lens.

The cost for this service in the 1962 Kling USA price-list was $35 per lens and $8.95 per additional cam. (for comparison a 150mm Xenar was $164)

Today you can still buy a 150mm Xenar for $164, however if you can find a local camera shop they certainly can't make you a matched cam. Linhof service in Munich Germany can do it for $500 a lens. There are also a couple of specialty shops around the globe that can do it for $300-500.

So for most of us mortals having a cam made is not a reasonable proposition. Our options are either to DIY or buy a used cam and hope it will match our lens and camera. (It can be successful if you get one from the same model of lens, but it is hit and likely miss, and you could end up spending as much as a caming to find the perfect one.)

I am planning to attempt the DIY route.

The builder site SHAPEWAYS has both 6x9 and 4x5 size cams for sale in the raw state. So in theory all I will need to do is file them to match my lens and camera.
https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?type=product&q=Linhof

I have attempted to contact the seller and ask for directions but it appears this causes a website error as Shapeways.

I would like to get a good idea of the tools and processes involved.

-Chris
 
There’s a fellow on Photo.net who is a Linhof expert and can probably offer some advice. His name is Bob Salomon and he seems to monitor the large format area.

I’ve got a 4x5” Technika V with three lenses 90, 150, and 240mm and each came with matching cam. My understanding is that models before the V had to have cams cut for the particular body lens combination.

Good luck with your search.
 
Hi Chris,
I am the designer of the cams on Shapeways. Typically when someone orders a cam I send them instructions. The principle is pretty simple, but it takes some patience to get it right. It is possible to be very accurate. I've been planning for a while to write up a full set of illustrated instructions, but I haven't gotten round to it. One thing to consider before starting is to make sure your camera is in good shape. There is no point starting if your infinity stops are not parallel, or your bed doesn't sit at 90 degrees etc.
I'm happy to answer more questions.
 
Welcome Chris. You can see from this forum that there is very little interest in large format photography here. I would recommend going over to Large Format Photography Forum where the aforementioned Bob Salomon and other Linhof experts reside.

I don't think this is what you want to hear, but as someone who enjoys tinkering and building cameras, a 70-year-old Linhof needs more work than I am capable of accomplishing at home, and I would send it to a professional. You will need new bellows, even if you think you don't (and not cheap bulky ones from ebay). The entire camera should be taken apart and stripped of old lubricants. You may need a new ground glass and/or viewing shade. And of course your cams which require a calculation of the curve and a machine shop to cut down, since with the Tech IV they are made specific to the lens. There is a reason Linhof used metal cams and not plastic ones - nothing against CNNY but I would personally rather not put a 3D printed part in my Linhof. I would probably forget to remove it when dropping the bed and snap it in half.

On the used market, these cameras are valued like a $5000 house is in Detroit, because they require a lot of money/work invested in them to bring them back into service. I would send it to LAFLEX and have it done expensively but properly.
 
Hello,

Has anyone here any experience in DIY linhof cams?

I am interested in making some RF cams for both a 6x9 Technika 70 and a 4x5 Technika IV that I am restoring...

Back when these cameras were sold in 1960 you would have the camera shop make a RF cam for your camera when you bought a new lens.

The cost for this service in the 1962 Kling USA price-list was $35 per lens and $8.95 per additional cam. (for comparison a 150mm Xenar was $164)

Today you can still buy a 150mm Xenar for $164, however if you can find a local camera shop they certainly can't make you a matched cam. Linhof service in Munich Germany can do it for $500 a lens. There are also a couple of specialty shops around the globe that can do it for $300-500.

So for most of us mortals having a cam made is not a reasonable proposition. Our options are either to DIY or buy a used cam and hope it will match our lens and camera. (It can be successful if you get one from the same model of lens, but it is hit and likely miss, and you could end up spending as much as a caming to find the perfect one.)

I am planning to attempt the DIY route.

The builder site SHAPEWAYS has both 6x9 and 4x5 size cams for sale in the raw state. So in theory all I will need to do is file them to match my lens and camera.
https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?type=product&q=Linhof

I have attempted to contact the seller and ask for directions but it appears this causes a website error as Shapeways.

I would like to get a good idea of the tools and processes involved.

-Chris
Your present situation is one reason I bought the particular Super Technika III I did, because it was a complete, original kit with matching cams.

Certainly with the ST III cam, body and lens were all matched, as at that point a standard body register had not been implemented. Later on, during the ST IV or V (I cannot recall which) this was made uniform so that a matched pair of camera and lens would focus on standardised bodies.

Whether or not you can successfully match a cam and lens depends on your eye for focus and your patience. You'll need a good eye, high magnification loupe, correct type of cam for nominal focal length of your lens and Linhof model type, a selection of files, hammers, and an anvil. Re-profiling a cam will involve painstakingly matching the profile of the donor cam to actual focus of the lens as verified through the ground glass from minimum distance to infinity. Files may be used to remove metal from the cam edge; anvil and hammers to beat it out and increase its width. A very tedious process if you want the best possible results, necessitating attention to detail and much patience.
 
In the UK I got my cams done by the importor Linhof studio. They can provide the blank cam to cut or you van source a second hand one for the. Plastic cams, huumm, I would plum for a secondhand metal one. How quickly will the plastic wear amd the cam would become useless. I found that on stopping down I can use a cam from a Schneider Symmar 180mm for an Apo 180mm Symmar from ~6ft to infinity, so try a second hand one first.
 
In the UK I got my cams done by the importor Linhof studio. They can provide the blank cam to cut or you van source a second hand one for the. Plastic cams, huumm, I would plum for a secondhand metal one. How quickly will the plastic wear amd the cam would become useless. I found that on stopping down I can use a cam from a Schneider Symmar 180mm for an Apo 180mm Symmar from ~6ft to infinity, so try a second hand one first.

Second-hand cams for the same focal lengths often can be used as stated, especially if you don't insist in shooting wide-open.

I have done this successfully with both a 75mm Biogon and 90mm f/5.6 lens on my Linhof, both which actually focus well enough to shoot wide-open despite not being custom cams.

It would be cheap enough to try at least.
 
In the UK I got my cams done by the importor Linhof studio. They can provide the blank cam to cut or you van source a second hand one for the. Plastic cams, huumm, I would plum for a secondhand metal one. How quickly will the plastic wear amd the cam would become useless. I found that on stopping down I can use a cam from a Schneider Symmar 180mm for an Apo 180mm Symmar from ~6ft to infinity, so try a second hand one first.

I have used Linhof Studio and would recommend them to anyone in the UK. When I lived in London I had them sell my first Linhof on commission, and met with their Linhof repair person. He was very encouraging when I showed him a very sad and beat up Technika IV that had lots of parts replaced by sloppy brass diy parts. He gave me a bunch of original parts that he had laying around taken from other cameras, and ordered some others directly from Germany. I used that camera for years all over the world and it is now in the hands of another RFF member.
Technikas are not hard to work on, but like any fine instrument there are plenty of opportunities to mess it up. They are certainly less fiddly than working Leicas or Rolleis. Just remember not to force things that you are not sure what their function is. A good place to start is to first read this guide by Laflex on buying a Technika, it has some valuable tips. They are a good repair option as are Nippon Camera in NYC.

Just to be clear, the cams I have at Shapeways are metal, aluminum or bronze, not plastic. There really is no danger of them damaging your camera other than in ways you can already damage a Technika by forcing it in a position where something is obstructing it from going as with any folding camera. It certainly is possible to take a used ebay cam and make it fit your lens and camera. You may be lucky and find that it is close, but why not make it be accurate? If the cam you have was for a lens that has a slightly longer focal length than the one you have, it is possible to file some material away to make it accurate. If your lens is slightly longer, you are out of luck.
 
Nippon Camera in NYC is now the factory trained Linhof repair center.

I had them overhaul a Baby Linhof Tech IV. This camera came with a clean 100/2.8 Planar, but the seller was really open that the lens had some separation issues. I bought the kit thinking that John at Focal Point could repair the separation.

So it ended up that John at Focal Point did his magic and then retired, but I got a great deal on a full kit that in the end was like winning the lottery.

The overhaul at Nippon was not inexpensive, but now I have a great camera. Still came out ahead, and I have a clean camera.

BTW Christian has been really helpful and is detail oriented. Because of him I now own 4 Linhofs, one of them is his old IV/Master V that is from 1952 that has the original leather covering that has this beautiful patina.

Cal
 
Just to be clear, the cams I have at Shapeways are metal, aluminum or bronze, not plastic. There really is no danger of them damaging your camera other than in ways you can already damage a Technika by forcing it in a position where something is obstructing it from going as with any folding camera.

Ah I must've misunderstood. In that case it is a good deal and should be taken advantage of! Even if the rangefinder is not being used, a Technika IV/V/Master still needs a cam installed to properly close. The 90mm cam for dropped bed is the best one to have, since other cams will need to be removed before dropping the bed. I only mention this for the newbies...

Because of him I now own 4 Linhofs, one of them is his old IV/Master V that is from 1952 that has the original leather covering that has this beautiful patina.

That's a Technika III - the IV didn't arrive until 1956. I'd love to see some images from the 100/2.8!
 
That's a Technika III - the IV didn't arrive until 1956. I'd love to see some images from the 100/2.8!

It is actually a IV, and yes, probably from 1956. It is clearly the one camera that Cal has that has had the toughest life, as most of his cameras could be runway models. Curiously it got the front tilt blade for a Master Technika, so it has 30 degree tilt instead of 15. Other than that it is original.
 
It is actually a IV, and yes, probably from 1956. It is clearly the one camera that Cal has that has had the toughest life, as most of his cameras could be runway models. Curiously it got the front tilt blade for a Master Technika, so it has 30 degree tilt instead of 15. Other than that it is original.

ALERT: You guys should know that the epicenter for what I call "Linhof-Disease" started at a NYC Meet-Up over a decade ago.

I was bragging about my Fuji GL690 "Texas Leica" and how big the rangefinder is.

So at the meet-up Christian comes welding a Linhof 4x5 to crush and humiliate me. LOL.

So then it spread to "Snarky Joe" who started buying Linhofs. I don't know how many he has, but at the last Camera Beauty Contest, Joe gave me a Linhof Color Kardan he didn't need.

Beware of Linhof-Disease.

Christian's old Tech IV/V is a very pretty camera. The real leather from back then now has this mucho heavy worn patina.

Cal
 
That's a Technika III - the IV didn't arrive until 1956. I'd love to see some images from the 100/2.8!

I have a Baby Tech V that is a prototype with no serial number. The cam that cam with the body (no lens) was for a 95/2.8. I found a Zeiss 53 Biogon.

So I have two great Zeiss lenses for 6x9. These Linhof select lenses are really fab.

Christian 3-D printed me a Polaroid back. With pack film of course I get an image bigger than 6x9. No darkslide though...

One day I want to get that 95/2.8 though because the Baby Tech V is kinda small, especially with sheet film holders or a Graphmatics (have 10 fully working ones).

Beware of Linhof Disease...

Cal
 
Hi Chris,
I am the designer of the cams on Shapeways. Typically when someone orders a cam I send them instructions. The principle is pretty simple, but it takes some patience to get it right. It is possible to be very accurate. I've been planning for a while to write up a full set of illustrated instructions, but I haven't gotten round to it. One thing to consider before starting is to make sure your camera is in good shape. There is no point starting if your infinity stops are not parallel, or your bed doesn't sit at 90 degrees etc.
I'm happy to answer more questions.
Hi: I would like to enquire as to whether you can make cams for Horseman 6x9
 
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