Re: cheap Tominon 127mm lenses

[erker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Greg Erker)]

A deja news search for Tominon 127mm
turned up a discussion about a f4.7 lens.
(second search on "Tominon 127f4.7 lens"
turned up the following)

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This lens will cover 4X5 with little or no movements.  The shutter is a
version of the "Copal Press" shutter.  This is the type which requires no
cocking of the mechanism and operates wholly from the cable release or
release lever.

Nothing spectacular, but useable.

--
        ---    S.K. Grimes -- Feinmechanik    ----

    --Machine work for photographers
    --Lenses fitted to shutters, iris scales engraved
                http://www.skgrimes.com


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And Ken Rice wrote:

This shutter is made especially for Polaroid and is used for both the
CU-5 cameras and the MP-4. The lens and shutter are threaded using a
39mm  thread with a different pitch than the standard "Leica thread"
used by many enlarging lenses. (this was kindly eplained to me by Steve
Grimes.)
  Polaroid charges big bucks for the lenses and doesn't want you to
start using inexpensive enlarging lenses to do macro work.
  The 127mm lens in shutter was designed for macro photography, but can
be used in a field camera with surprisingly good results.
  Polaroid used to market their MP-3 with each lens mounted in its own
shutter, but with rising prices, they now recommend buying one shutter
and a number of lenses and thread one out and another in. They used to
market a 10mm (but seem to have dropped it). Now they offer a 17mm,
35mm, 50mm, 75mm, 105mm and 127mm. Having all of these lenses on a
Polaorid MP-4 gives one a rather amazing range of copying--from more
than 10x to a rather conventional reproduction of a map on 4x5 film.
  A couple of years ago I chanced on an adapter which threads into the
Polaroid shutter and allows use of 39mm Leica threaded enlarging lenses.
Hard to find, but they are out there.
  For someone who finds a CU-5 and cannibalizes the lens and shutter,
you can set up to do 4x5 macro work on a view camera. Keep your eyes
open for Tominon lenses. Some dealers don't know what they are and after
they find that many darkroom types shun them since they can't thread on
a standard jam nut, they will part with them for deeply discounted
prices. At present I have a couple of extra 35mm and 75mm Tominon
lenses.
  Cheers,

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Greg