Graflex.org

[R_J]

One day, I'll manage to get something from that auction site which works. In the meantime:

The above lens came to me with a Century Graphic. I gather this is a Heliar type lens, hence the reason I'm suffering for it.

1. The levers around the lens face seem logical enough; yet there is a round push button, which seems to 'jam' the shutter blades. Does this serve a useful purpose?

2.The shutter cocking mechanism lacks smoothness in operation; to prime it, the lever's resistance builds up before it latches.

3. All of the shutter speeds fire at the same interval value - possibly around 1/400th second, with the exception of B and T which hold true. There is some oil on the closing blades.

4. The aperture stops down smoothly and cleanly without jarring.

5. The glass has speckled fungus and will probably need disassembling. It's not the worse lens I've seen, however I'm quite fond of the unique effects of lens aberrations, however if a mechanic was to disassemble the lens, it would probably be cleaned at the same time.

Would a working Ektar of a Tessar type be a more worthwhile alternative to repairing this lens?. The limited movements on the Century may be sufficient for the task I had in mind, provided the lens coverage of the Ektar suffices at full bed-drop and front tilt.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

[Dan Fromm]

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[R_J]

Hi Dan,

It's great to see you here. You might not recall, but your original post on another website piqued my curiosity about Graflexes. Me voici avec cet appareil

Thanks for the responses too. The only lens I have dismantled is a front cell focussing anastigmat type of a Franka camera and an Anti-comar of a Plaubel : given this experience, would a self-repair CLA be an epic tragedy? I ask because the lens is fitted around the shutter, and part of the cleaning task looks manageable.

One further issue. There is a lever which slides underneath a single letter <>. I presume this type of lens has flash synch abilities with its two port probes adjacent to this lever.

I'm not sure why the cocking mechanism jars: I suspect it may have seized up through storage and may just require simple dry lubrication. Incidentally, the Century camera is in very good condition although the strap broke off almost immediately due to its brittle dryness.

Thanks for the recommendation of Mr Grimes (that's a great name for a lens cleaner and repairman). Perhaps I'm a little reluctant to send the lens back to the States; I may try my own technician (if he ever returns from the Costa del Sol during August).

Thanks too for the link on Chris Perez' tests. I was hoping to reduce the format of the Graflex's 6x9cm to 6x6cm, and avail of the lens coverage with full movements.


>> Why would you want full drop? Are you
>> going to shoot with the camera upside
>> down, or is your subject low relative to >> the camera's position?

How low is my subject? About 6ft under. Just a project involving tombstones. Need I say more?

>>And remember that full tilt will just >>restore the lens to the vertical.

Yup; some long organ pipes to cover as well.

I may have totally fluffed up in choosing the Graphic for the project however it's small and vintage black box device portability makes it much easier to manage than a Sinar monorail, capable of full warp movements.

Best wishes.

[Les]

the 105 Ektars have an air space in the front cell. If the fungus is inside this airspace (like mine was} the repair will be well over $100.

Kodak in their quest to keep things high quality but low on cost, chose to permanently seal the front cell. They used a method of rolling over a bit of sheet metal on the rear element. This means the lens needs to be carefully peeled apart, preferably by somebody that has done it at least a dozen times before.

[R_J]

Les - that's very useful to know. Thank you.

I've cleaned the internal surfaces of the lens after screwing out the rear element. All the white traces are now gone. Thankfully the front airspace seems clear. There are some cleaning marks on the front element of the lens, however I'll have to decide whether the shutter is repairable before going for an estimate to get the lens polished.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

[Dan Fromm]