Posted by Henry on April 15, 2001 at 08:35:02:
In Reply to: 203 Raptar on a Century posted by Mal Stone on April 14, 2001 at 09:09:32:: Hi there group,
: I have a 203 mm Raptar lens that fits my Century Graphic
: Graflex camera.
: Can I possibly adjust the Kalart range finder to
: accommodate this lens for accurate focusing?
Mal,
According to the manufacturer's pamphlet "How to Adjust and Use the
Kalart Synchronized Prism Range Finder For Automatic Focusing"
(whew!), the only focal lengths listed for the 2 1/4" x 3 1/4"
Century Graphic are 101 and 105mm and 4 3/8". Therefore I assume
the answer to your question is "no." As you probably are aware,
with the 203mm lens (I have the Optar rather than the Raptar, but
the same remarks should apply) the yoke has to be racked out about
as far as it will go, with the front standard locked at the extreme
end of the yoke, to focus this lens at infinity. At that point, the
bellows is fully extended---but more significantly, the focusing
arm (that's the part from the rangefinder housing that sticks into
the camera box, and that moves with the yoke) is completely
disengaged at that distance. Without this link to the rangefinder,
there's no way to focus accurately---except on the ground glass. A
focusing scale (even if you could find one), referred to by Alec,
would give only a very rough approximation; remember that focus is
much more critical with a long lens than with a normal or
wide-angle lens. Needless to say, a long lens works best with
tripod support/cable release set-up, preferably on a completely
calm day (!), as the slightest vibration will degrade
sharpness.
Henry