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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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Can someone help a newbie out with a birth date? speed graphic with a ser# of 886378. i think it's a pacemaker as it has both a focal plane and a leaf shutter. i got this as a gift and am trying to figure out exactly what it is i have! thanks in advance. by the way, when set to bulb and the cable release is pressed, the shutter closes prematurely. any thoughts?
thanks in advance,
steve
_________________ "silverbug" |
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Gandolf
Joined: 26 Dec 2001 Posts: 328 Location: middle earth
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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1953 |
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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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thank you oh wise wizard! |
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45PSS
Joined: 28 Sep 2001 Posts: 4081 Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 3:13 am Post subject: |
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'53, that's a pacemaker speed.
Lens (leaf) shutter closes on "B" without releasing trip lever or cable=CLA said shutter. (clean,lube,adjust)
Charles
_________________ The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU. |
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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 3:26 am Post subject: |
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thanks charles. i've since discovered that the shutter will open when set to "t" and the release is pressed. a second squeeze will close the shutter. since i'm new to photography i don't know the difference. is this a normal function. also can i "cla" myself or would that be disastrous?
thanks,
steve |
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Les
Joined: 09 May 2001 Posts: 2682 Location: Detroit, MI
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 3:39 am Post subject: |
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B opens on pressing, closes on releasing,
T or Time opens on pressing closes on pressing a second time.
In the old days with pneumatic shutters, B was when you held your thumb over the hole of the bulb and squeezed then released.
Time was when you squeezed the bulb then lifted your thumb off of the hole to keep the shutter open. To close the shutter, they squeezed the bulb with the thumb off, then closed the hole and released the bulb. The vacuum pulled the shutter shut.
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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:02 am Post subject: |
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ok thanks. so in the mean time (before i can get it cleaned and lubed) i can play with it using the "t" for long exposures. this camera has a 135mm optar lens. was this the original lens that this camera was sold with? also i don't really understand the infinity stops concept could someone explain that to me. thanks for all the patient responses.
steve |
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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:21 am Post subject: |
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would this be the correct flash unit(Heiland Synchro Mite Flash Unit) for this camera? ok i promise no more questions tonight!
thanks
steve |
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t.r.sanford
Joined: 10 Nov 2003 Posts: 812 Location: East Coast (Long Island)
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 5:50 am Post subject: |
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"Speed Graphics," like modern 35mm. reflex cameras, could be purchased with or without lenses. If someone bought a 4X5 with a lens in 1953, that lens probably was a 135mm. "Optar." Yours may well be original; most 4x5 "Speeds" spent long and productive lives with that one lens more or less permanently on board.
An interchangeable lens bellows-focusing camera that folds up for transport presents the user with a challenge: how far do you pull out the bellows when you unfold the camera for use?
All cameras of this kind had some sort of "infinity stop" which was installed for a lens of a particular focal length -- or, at least, a witness-mark scribed on the track so you knew where to lock the front standard when unfolding the camera.
With the lens butted against the "infinity stop" and the track adjusted so its scale lines up with the infinity position of the matching scale on the bed, the lens should be sharply focused at infinity. If you have a rangefinder on the camera and it's correctly adjusted, that is the starting-point for rangefinder focusing on subjects at varying distances, down to six feet or so.
The previous "Speed Graphic" model, the "Anniversary," used shiny metal blocks that did not fold down. This made it a bit inconvenient to change the normal lens for a longer focus one, or to pull it all the way out on the track for closeup work.
Your "Pacemaker" should have fold-down infinity stops, with detents that can be swung inward and down, out of the way, if you want to extend the front standard beyond the normal lens infinity focusing position.
Heiland was a major manufacturer of flashguns in the '50s, along with Kalart and Graflex itself. Heiland also was an early innovator of electronic flash, and produced the famous "Futuramic Strobonar" design later purchased by Honeywell. I'm not familiar with the bulb flash model sequence, so can't speculate on the appropriateness of yours, but the chronology is about right. |
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Les
Joined: 09 May 2001 Posts: 2682 Location: Detroit, MI
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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The syncro-mite is a bit anemic in size for a Crown or Speed. Functionally it will work, but the other press photographers who have Graflites or Heilands standing next to you might giggle.
On the other hand yours is at least a half pound lighter.
RE: infinity stops. Infinity stops are only a reference point for the focus scales and the rangefinder. Both of these items assume that the lens is focused at infinity when they say they are.
If you ground glass focus most of the time, then you won't need the infinity stops. Kalart rangefinders can be adjust to find most semi-wide to long lenses, but only one at a time.
I have my first Crown Graphic set up as original with it's 135 and infinity stops. If I want to go hand holding that's the lens I use. The other 5 lenses in the kit are all ground glass focused |
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t.r.sanford
Joined: 10 Nov 2003 Posts: 812 Location: East Coast (Long Island)
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 12:28 am Post subject: |
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All true. These cameras have been around for a long, long time, and many have been passed around and tinkered with by a number of people. You can't assume that anything still is where the factory or a trained technician originally put it.
That said, it can be helpful to understand what the beast is supposed to look like in its "healthy" condition, in order to diagnose and treat its present ailments. |
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45PSS
Joined: 28 Sep 2001 Posts: 4081 Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:45 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | also can i "cla" myself or would that be disastrous?
thanks, |
That question is simular to Groucho asking the Doctor if he would be able to play the paino after surgery; depends on YOUR mechanical ability.
Set shutter to 1 second, set apeture to minimun, position clock or watch so that you can see its second hand as you operate the shutter. Cock the shutter and press the shutter release as the clock's second hand just arrives at a second mark. Shutter blades should open fully and reclose just as the second hand reaches the next second mark. The first fire is most important as stiff shutters will loosen up with a few fires.
If time is correct-use shutter; if time is slow-cla shutter.
Chalres
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While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a quality photograph is worth a million.
[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2004-01-07 17:48 ] |
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smartcrow
Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 8 Location: new jersey
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:39 am Post subject: |
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i've found a web address on a previous post from sean o'keef giving instructions on how to care for the lens shutter for my pacemaker. thanks for all the great help. i will try and "cla" tomorrow (if i can find the toothpicks!). i'm curretly building a darkroom in the basement so i can process my own film. having only done 35mm before i was wondering if i would be needing a lot of new equipment. i was hoping to develop in pans. has anyone had luck going this way? remember i'm really new at this and want to keep it simple. thanks t.r., your right about finding out what i have is supposed to look like!
many thanks,
steve |
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t.r.sanford
Joined: 10 Nov 2003 Posts: 812 Location: East Coast (Long Island)
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 11:16 am Post subject: |
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You certainly can develop sheetfilm in trays, but it gets tedious. It becomes rather intricate if you're handling more than about four sheets at a time (two at a time is better).
The trick is to immerse each film very quickly and wet it thoroughly; to keep the films submerged, and make sure each is handled alike (receives the same agitation). Partially wetted film will stick together, which is fatal. And you want to be careful not to let the corner of one sheet scratch the wet emulsion of another. None of this is difficult to do, once you develop a technique.
You might want to sacrifice a couple of sheets, and practice with the lights on, with a tray filled with water. This might give you a good feel for the potential problems.
For two- to four-sheet batches, I've found that trays made for 5x7 prints work well. Deeper ones are better.
Most commercial workers use "hangers" in open tanks, and develop in the dark. It is a straightforward method that gives repeatable results, which is why it has remained popular over the decades.
Because this approach has been so widely used for so long, there are a lot of used hangers (etc.) around in the aftermarket, so the cost need not be outrageous.
There's a good deal of discussion about different kinds of "daylight" tank on this site, and it makes interesting reading. The various designs have their supporters and their detractors, as you'll see! |
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MikeS
Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 71 Location: East Tennessee
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2004 11:51 am Post subject: |
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I just got a pre ann Speed Graphic, and I would love to know what year it was made. It's Serial #242453
Thanks!
-Mike |
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