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[Doug Kerr]

Our new 1944 Anniversary Speed Graphic had been equipped later in its life with the familiar Optar 135 mm f/4.7 lens in a full-synchro Graphex shutter (Wollensak Raptar in Rapax).

This shutter is (to me) unique in that the positions of the synchronization setting lever is not marked with the familar delay class desgnations (M, F, X) but rather directly in ms (20, 5, 0).

Has anyone else seen this, and do we know why that arrangement was manufactured? (Prehaps to be marketed in Frammistan, where flash lamps are not marked with delay class letters?)

Also of note is that there is only one 20 (ms) position, unlike those shutters of this genre I am familiar with where there are separate black and red "M" positions, keyed to two different shutter speed ranges. Perhaps in this shutter they had automatically linked the exact delay to the speed range.

Thanks for any insight you can give.

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Best regards,

Doug

[Les]

I haven't done an intense study of when (or where) they did numbers rather than letters, but my gut reaction was that the number system tended to show up on Rapax shutters while Graphex went alpha.

[Doug Kerr]

I have some more insight into this.

The manual for the Anniversary Speed Graphic (12/12/45 edition), discussing the Graphex shutter (full sync version) descibes it as having delay markings in ms. (It also points out that intermediate delays can be obtained by placing the lever between the detented positions marked "20" and "5".)

Perhaps at that time the letter designations of flash lamp delay class ("M", "F", and "X") had not come into use. (The manual lists the delay for various flash lamps, with no mention of delay class letter.)

I think now that this may have been the original lens and shutter for this camera. Way cool!

Best regards,

Doug