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Custom Mounting Job 4 Your 6 inch Metrogon The
Metrogon:
Legendary wide angle lens covering 90° wide open and 100° stopped down for an image
circle of 364mm. They are available at bargain prices on
ebay (under $75.00) and are one of the very best values available
in extreme wide angle lenses for an 8x10. Indeed, $75 bucks
is a far cry from the $2000+ the government spent on them in the 50's. If you purchase one be sure to get a coated version of the
Metrogon. Unlike most older wide angle lenses that require stopping down to cover
8x10, the
Metrogon covers 8x10 wide open at f:6.3. Actually the Metrogon opens up beyond f:4 in
the shutter but it will not cover 8x10 at f:5.6. In the photo to the right you can see a size
comparison of a 240mm Symmar (not included) next to the Metrogon. The Metrogons beautiful sphere shaped elements are relatively thin making this lens extremely light for its size. It
is a short wide bodied lenses that is a bit larger than those
other compact f:6.8 and f:8 ex wa 8x10
lenses that require stopping down to cover but it is
extreamely light and compact when compared to the other lenses that actually
do cover 8x10 wide open. The
Metrogon mounted in an Alphax shutter weighs in at less than half the weight
of the 165mm SA and is only 65mm tall compared to the massive SA hight of 180mm. The 165mm SA is a better lens but..... if its so big and so
heavy that it never leaves your studio..... then it really doesn't matter how
good it is when you are in the field and it is sitting on a shelf at
home. Besides, you've just got to love the look of the Metrogon.
Additional info is available on the Metrogon Page. Please excuse the popups on the Metrogon page. It is not our web page so we have no control over the popups. The only lens that comes close to the
Metrogons weight, speed and coverage is the SS-XL and it also is heavier
and considerably taller than the Metrogon in an Alphax shutter, not to
mention one heck of a lot more expensive. This lens cannot be mounted into a Copal 3 shutter. It is
possible to use an Ilex (see below) but at LensN2shutter we prefer to use the
Alphax shutter for the Metrogon. Alphax
was the shutter of choice by Bausch & Lomb for factory mounting their improved version of the
Metrogon, the truly rare and virtually unheard of 100° B&L Series VI Extreme
Wide Angle lens. As you can see in the attached photos of my
personal 138mm and 175mm versions of the B&L Series VI lenses below, they
are factory mounted in Alphax shutters. Alphax shutters will provide you
with as close to a factory Bausch & Lomb mount as possible.
On the factory 175mm there is a slot in the front lens housing for
both the shutter speeds and aperture settings. The 6 inch Metrogon example
photographed for this auction was improved with the aperture settings moved
to the side of the shutter. We have further
improved the mount and now relocate the shutter speeds to the side well as
the aperture scale similar to how the 138mm was done. This
eliminates the need for cutting the slot in the face of the front lens
housing. This is a particularly
difficult mount and so it is
slightly more expensive than a standard mount. Even the master craftsman
himself Steve Grimes said "I have never seen another one of these successfully installed into a useable photo shutter, although these lenses are almost common military surplus". Sadly Steve is no longer with us. Steve was a true
Giant in the large format community. He tackled the Metrogon mount in an Ilex
shutter and not only reworked the lens group mountings but also enlarged and
rethreaded the group mounting holes on the shutter as well as modified the
shutter internally for additional clearance to allow it to accept the mighty
Metrogon. A complex mount to be sure. This is no doubt why SKGrimes no loner provide a link to their Metrogon Mount Page when the web page was reorganized after Steve's passing. Fortunately it was not deleted from the server so you can still have a look at his fine work by clicking on the link above. Steve is truly missed but fortunately his legacy lives on in the company he founded - SKGrimes. If you would like to have your Metrogon mounted into an Alphax shutter, please contact us through the link provided below for our current pricing on the mount. Occasionally we do have Metrogon lenses in stock if you need a lens as well. If you would prefer to have your Metrogon mounted into an Ilex shutter then I suggest you contact Adam at skgrimes@skgrimes.com. I am sure they would be happy to do the mount for you. Be sure and tell Adam that Tim said hello. |
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