Graflex.org

[ruckusman]

Hi,

I am building a 6x17 camera and would like to be able to use it as a a rangefinder for faster stuff as well as using a focus screen for slower work, (I may be a little ambitious in this respect, but hey ).

Could anyone recommend the better of the Rangefinders that were installed on the Graflex cameras, or any other easily available rangefinder cameras. I am primarily concerned with brightness and the ability to use cams for different focal lengths at this stage.

I am yet to determine the mechanisms for the actual rangefinder, or the camera design for that matter, But would like to start with the best possible rangefinder.

If anyone knows of a source for rangefinders it would also be appreciated

Thanks

Glenn

[Top]

A Kalart add-on RF sounds like the ticket. These could be set up for a wide selection of focal lenghts (the later ones, anyway)and can often be found on the evil eBay. You will have to figure out the coupleing linkage in a non-standard application.
Top

[t.r.sanford]

As far as I know, there were no third-party rangefinders with interchangeable cams made for press cameras. I would be glad to learn that I am wrong. The Kalart and Hugo Meyer rangefinders were installed for the customer's choice of lens.

You can learn how to "syncronize" a Kalart RF for a different lens, on this site and through readily-available publications. The Meyer RF evidently cannot be so readjusted, although it can be fine-tuned. The process of readjusting a Kalart RF is rather tedious, and cannot be done on the fly.

The later "Pacemaker" 4x5 "Graphic" cameras came with an OEM rangefinder that worked with interchangeable cams, profile plates, that allowed the user to change lenses in the field and adjust the RF appropriately.

The later "Super" model had a more integrated OEM rangefinder that used different cams. Discussions of making these cams can be found on this site.

Unless you would like to build your panoramic camera into a "Crown Graphic" or "Super Graphic" body, you may find that making your rangefinder from scratch is easier than transplanting one. A "Pacemaker" top RF-VF assembly turned up on eBay a couple of weeks ago, apparently surgically separated from its camera. Given its geometry, you can only install it in a camera whose body is the same size and shape as a "Graphic."

The trouble with all these rangefinders (and, I think, the "Full-Vue" RF found on some Busch "Pressman" cameras) is that they use a rotating mirror or prism to divert the parallax image to the beamsplitter, where you supermimpose it with the primary image. The angle of rotation thus is half the angle made by the RF base and the hypotenuse. This puts a premium on precise rotation.

Other methods of displacing the image exist that give you more wiggle-room in devising a coupling system. There's a useful discussion in the "Focal Encyclopedia of Photography" Desk Edition (1969).

[starling]

Has anyone ever tried using a separate accessory rangefinder on their Graphic, such as any of those made in the 1950's for cameras like medium format folders that didn't have an integral rangefinder. I'm thinking of rangefinders such as the Watameter. Seems it would be easy enough to install an accessory shoe on the camera somewhere, so that there would be a place to mount the rangefinder. It seems that this would be a viable solution if the infinity stops and the focus scale on the bed of the camera are setup right. Might that not be easier than fiddling with the now-antiquated rangefinders on Graphic cameras? Am I missing something?

[ruckusman]

I have a Wista 4x5 RF here and I contacted the company to see if I could purchase one in parts. Incredibly they said absolutely, no problem.

It has a user selectble cam for three different focal lengths.

They have been incredibly accomodating, even when I asked them about adjusting the rangefinder on my current camera, scanning documents and taking photos of the setup and writing instructions. They have even scanned all of the spare parts pages and sent them over. Very helpful people.

I've not yet asked the price, so I hope it's not going to be like buying a car in spare parts as far as cost goes.

So it looks as if that is the direction I am going to head in. I've studied the mechanism fairly well and it can be reasonably easily adapted.

I had considered a mountable rangefinder, but I am looking for maximum focusing accuracy for shooting wide open or even only one or two stops down. I'm not only making the camera for typical landscape maximum depth of field work, it's more for the 6x17 format and being to transpose that format into something hand held if the situation permits.

I could do the same with a Hasselblad X-Pan, but I want the large format.