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WTB: PL mount or adapter for Eclair ACL


Patrick ODonnell

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I'm looking for an adapter to be able to mount a PL lens on an Eclair ACL.  This could be a PL mount that screws directly into the ACL, but the ACL came with a Cameflex mount, so a PL to Cameflex adapter would also do.  So far, I've only seen PL to c-mount adapters offered for sale on the internet, and I'm worried they might not be able to support the weight.

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I've had three different PL mounts that screwed direct to the TS mount on the ACL Les Bosher's one is beautifully designed and made. It's the best one but fairly expensive.  Another one I had I was fairly sure it flipped the lens axis back and forth between standard and super 16,  but when it went to Les Bosher for service after I sold it he denied that and didn't like it. I didn't believe it. The third one was lighter and cheaper...I do have photos.

I would avoid the C mount option if you can, just because it's more fragile

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6 hours ago, Gregg MacPherson said:

Another one I had I was fairly sure it flipped the lens axis back and forth between standard and super 16,  but when it went to Les Bosher for service after I sold it he denied that and didn't like it. I didn't believe it. The third one was lighter and cheaper...I do have photos.

Haha, yeah... I never found out how to put it together and Les apparently didn't either. But nonetheless it has since then produced beautiful pictures with PL-lenses...

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I'm curious to find the best option for mounting PL glass to my Eclair NPR as well. A friend of mine has the PL to C mount adapter from C7adapters, and that works pretty well on any camera we've used it on so far (Bolex, NPR, ACL II) but PL to CA-1 would likely be more supportive. Only drawback is the CA-1 mount does not have a solid locking mechanism.

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If you have rods and a lens support, perhaps that C-mount would work as well. If CA-1 locking is not that solid I'm not sure I'd myself want to use an adapter there - the idea of the lens adapter slipping with an expensive lens in it feels quite nightmarish.

Edited by Heikki Repo
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44 minutes ago, Patrick ODonnell said:

Thanks for the info, guys.  It looks like I'll go with getting a PL to CA-1 made.

Patrik, if your camera has the TS-mount (as ACL by default has), I suggest you get the PL to TS adapter. No need to keep the CA-1 adapter there between the actual camera mount and the PL-adapter!

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4 minutes ago, Heikki Repo said:

Patrik, if your camera has the TS-mount (as ACL by default has), I suggest you get the PL to TS adapter. No need to keep the CA-1 adapter there between the actual camera mount and the PL-adapter!

Right, that's what I meant, thanks!

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  • 1 year later...

Les has quite much work but is also very difficult to reach with email. I recommend you call him and ask how long queue he has. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any other machine shops offering PL (or other) adapters for ACL - however, if Les doesn't have time you should ask if companies such as Visual Products or Du-All have any in their inventory.

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Thanks Heikki! To be fair, it hasn't been an extremely long time of no response, but longer than in the past. I was actually afraid that something happened to him or he had decided to retire.  I'll see if I can get in touch.

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50 minutes ago, Sean Fisher said:

Thanks Heikki! To be fair, it hasn't been an extremely long time of no response, but longer than in the past. I was actually afraid that something happened to him or he had decided to retire.  I'll see if I can get in touch.

He has an ACL of mine for S16 conversion currently so rest assured, he hasn't retired yet! ?

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Could metal 3D printers make these parts? The design would then be closer to parts machined from metal. I heard there were aluminium printers, but I think there is stainless steel medium too now.

A shame that potentially interesting ideas are on the Marketplace thread, where they are harder to find and will quickly get lost downstream.

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Metal 3D printing results in a quite rough surface finish, unsuitable for a lens adapter. You would have to re-machine the precision surfaces anyways, so it's much cheaper to have it machined from the start. 3D printing makes sense when you have geometries, that cannot be machined and would have to be welded together from multiple parts, like the cooling channels inside the walls of a rocket bell nozzle. There the high cost of a 3D printed metal part is still lower than all the welding that was required with the old method.

Even for housings, where a rougher surface finish is acceptable, casting still comes cheaper than 3D metal printing. Both require post machining work anyways.

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The designer said that he investigated metal 3d printing but it was too expensive given that several would need to be made just to perfect production.  He thought that a resin version would be stronger and probably have better quality threads.

 

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16 minutes ago, Gregg MacPherson said:

Thanks David. I'm out of date and need to catch up on these new technologies.

It's a fast moving industry and I keep getting quotes to compare metal 3D printed parts to low volume lost wax castings and machined parts. But for now it only makes sense for really special geometries or assemblies where you can combine multiple parts and functions into one 3D printed part. The metal powders are already quite expensive, most machines do not have very big build volumes, and it takes a long time to print, then cool down, so in the end it's a simple numbers game - how many parts can you print in a week, how much does the machine cost, what is the life time of the machine. Even the most expensive 5 axis machining centers are way more productive than any 3D printer.

Edited by David Sekanina
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  • 1 year later...

Does anyone have any photos or models of a TS to PL adapter? I can't find any available currently, but I found a maker of rare adapters on Ebay who is willing to produce one, but needs a reference for the TS mount. If I could find one, it would be much appreciated. It would be great to have some option in production.

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59 minutes ago, Geffen Avraham said:

Does anyone have any photos or models of a TS to PL adapter? I can't find any available currently, but I found a maker of rare adapters on Ebay who is willing to produce one, but needs a reference for the TS mount. If I could find one, it would be much appreciated. It would be great to have some option in production.

Did you look at the link above for the 3d printed version?  Might have some useful images.

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@Geffen

You should show a link to the machinist on eBay. Info like that is useful...Do you have any factory made adapters for the ACL at the moment?

I have photos of three different PL/TS adapters, but it won't help much. The TS end that mounts on the camera is mechanically very simple and it would be easy to make on a small lathe  if one is good at cutting big coarse metric threads. If you have any PL/TS adapter you can just take off the brass flange, measure everything and make a drawing.

There are some inexpensive PL adapters that could just trim and add the TS fitting.

Gregg. 

Edited by Gregg MacPherson
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4 minutes ago, Gregg MacPherson said:

I have photos of three different PL/TS adapters, but it won't help much. The TS end that mounts on the camera is mechanically very simple and it would be easy to make on a small lathe  if one is good at cutting big coarse metric threads. If you have any PL/TS adapter you can just take off the brass flange, measure everything and make a drawing.

There are some inexpensive PL adapters that could just trim and add the TS fitting.

Gregg. 

I would be curious to see those photos, if you don't mind posting them here.

 

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Pics of three PL/TS adapters...

1) The Les Bosher one..see my dropbox ACL II pics  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv95oerahx3929f/AADPd-7BkrctDPv78WjwtDlDa?dl=0   and Les has a pic on his website...

 

2) The simplest and cheapest looking one.

 740747942_ACLtoPLadaptor.jpg.af464d5bf71e4574bc700dcc56aa832a.jpg

 

3) Quite sophisticated. Heikki has it now so he can maybe answer questions about it.

276684641_PL2.JPG.5230783200a6c10e135947d9481ff135.JPG1903880791_PL3.JPG.2b1e27166b97237c0289f2229241dd62.JPG844797317_PL6.JPG.338aa959bf5e9ca59700f0bfa8cff38e.JPG

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