Graflex.org

weemster · Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 12 Location: Colorado

I have a RH-8 and a polaroid back for my crown. I like to do most of my work without a tipod and I use only the rangefinder when focusing.

My problem is that I cannot identify what will be in the frame and what will not when using these two backs, without looking at the ground glass(i have a polaroid mask and an inked in mask for the RH-8 on the ground glass). Is there a mask that I can put into the viewfinder to give me back my handheld shooting style while using these backs?

Thanks

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http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~weems/torofoto.htm

Rangemaster · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:35 am Post subject:

Hi, I have some grid masks for download on my website that may work, if Not then let me know and I am sure that I have some around here I can make available for download that will frame these film backs.

check on my website link http://www.satinsnowglass.com and then go to the download page, they are in .pdf format so can be printed on paper and traced or printed on transparancies and placed over your ground glass.

Hope that helps, like I say, let me know if those are not the right ones and I will look around to see what I have.

Dave

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Focus on the Picture, Not on the Glass.
Satin Snow(TM) Ground Glass

45PSS · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 6:00 am Post subject:

If you are asking about mask for the optical view finder on top of the camera then the answer is Yes.
http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/accessories.html
Use the table to determine which mask you need for the lens you have in use. It will not be a perfect match but should be ballpark close.

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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

worldphoto · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 4:09 pm Post subject:

I assume you have the top mounted rangefinder. For the RH-8 the viewfinder mask for a 135mm lens is a #8 and for a 152mm lens the mask #10 is used. These also require changing the cam beneath the rangefinder(within camera body) and adjusting the infinity sets.
More info would be helpful.
Harry

[ This Message was edited by: worldphoto on 2004-07-23 13:33 ]

weemster · Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 12 Location: Colorado

45PSS, I found the link to the mask list on this site previously. The question is, how do you go about getting one once you know which one you need?

Rangfinder,
Thanks for the link to your downloads, I will check them out this weekend. They are soley for the GG right, or can they be somehow manipulated to fit in the viewfinder?

Lastly, am I correct in believing there is a distinct difference in Rangfinder cams and Viewfinder masks?

Thanks again for your patience and help.

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http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~weems/torofoto.htm

t.r.sanford · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 7:57 pm Post subject:

Check the large-format dealers with web pages for viewfinder masks; they're much more often found than (alas) "Pacemaker" rangefinder cams.

The VF masks (you should have one in your VF now) are little rectangular metal frames, bent to form a grabbable right-angled flange at the top. They're made to slip in between the metal bezel on the front of the VF and the object lens of the finder itself; you pull them out of, and push them into, a slit at the front top of the bezel. For some reason, Graflex finished them in a sort of brushed chrome; if I'd been doing it, I'd have blackened them.

The cam, as you surmise, is quite a different proposition. It goes into a devilishly-difficult-to-access slider on the underside of the camera's top deck, and is a little piece of flat metal with two lugs on one long side and a curved surface on the other long side. It is, if you like, a profile plate whose profile is the long curved surface.

In use, focusing the camera causes its slider to move from side to side; the end of a lever arm is in contact with that profile, and turns the moving prism in the rangefinder as the cam is driven.

There is a good description of the cam, and instructions on how to make one, on this site. They do turn up, every now and then, but the ones I've seen have been preposterously expensive.

45PSS · Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2004 12:53 am Post subject:

As previously stated, major camera dealers such as Midwest Photo , Pacific Rim Camera , KEH , Ebay, B&H and a host of others listed under used photo sites on the home page.
Knowing which mask you need is half of problem solved.
Charles

_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.