Rodenstock Aperture Only Lens

Rodenstock 40mm F4 HR Digaron-W, Aperture-Only Lens mounted on ARCA-SWISS R-board

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Rodenstock's supply of Copal shutters ran out in 2019 and Rodenstock has not produced a lens with a Copal shutter option since. During 2019, Rodenstock designed and manufactured a new Aperture-Only (AO) or Aperture-Stop mount and deliveries began in late 2019. 

• The AO mount is mechanical in operation. It does not require battery power, additional controller or cables to operate.
• AO lenses have a sturdy mount construction with a nine blade aperture design, providing an almost perfectly circular aperture opening. The nine blade design produces a smooth transition to out of focus areas.
• Dimensions of the new AO mount are identical to a Copal 0 shutter, and have the same spec for thread mounting. The AO mount can be a direct replacement for a Copal 0 shutter when needed. More information about Copal shutters can be found here: using-the-copal-shutter.html.
•  AO lenses are for cameras with focal plane shutters or digital backs with electronic internal shutters only.
• Use with digital backs with internal electronic shutters - PhaseOne IQ4 series, Hasselblad H6D & 907X.
• Use with mirrorless cameras - Hasselblad X1D & X1D II, Fuji X & GFX series, Sony A series, Leica S series, etc. when the mirrorless digital camera can be used as the capture device on a view camera or technical camera.
• To operate, rotate the aperture control ring until the desired f/stop lines up with the white index mark on the mount.
• Sold by ARCA-SWISS for use on view cameras using flat or recessed lens boards, or in R-Bayonet mount for use on R-Line technical cameras. Price list available on request.
• Rodenstock has issued a statement indicating they will offer remounting of Schneider lenses to the AO mount sometime in the future.
• We are currently remounting shuttered lenses to the Rodenstock AO mount. Lenses must be sent to ARCA-SWISS USA for the conversion in Germany by Rodenstock. Price and further details on request.

Rodenstock 40mm HR Digaron-W Aperture Only Lens in ARCA-SWISS R-bayonet Mount with R-calibration and Rotaslide tubes

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Please note: Rodenstock AO lenses do not provide a sync terminal for strobe lighting. Exposure control and strobe syncing must be controlled by the capture device -  a digital back or digital camera.

​Additionally, using the electronic shutter of a digital back or mirrorless camera may have drawbacks for some photographers with fast moving activity - people, vehicles, etc. in motion or with 1/60s (or higher) flash syncing. The effect is called rolling shutter and is greatest when fast moving subjects pass by close to the camera position. There should be few problems for the technical camera user with landscapes and architecture, or for studio view camera photographers shooting static subjects.

Please contact me for more information or to request a price list. 

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