Thanks. I was hoping the M3's would be more useful on the Rollei. It seems like the Graphic really wants to be stopped down to at least f8, and 11 might be even better. Rollei's can be pretty nice at 4 and 5.6, with at least useable depth of field.
What sort of rig are you using with the Rollei? Any pics of that/? What sort of exposures are you getting?
I'll be shooting at a dance this weekend with the Crown Graphic. Indoor and maybe one or two outside. I'm actually fascinated with the look some of the old timers got with the Graphics using bulbs in daylight and intend to explore that. There I'll definitely need the more powerful bulbs.
Do you get any complaints about the blast of light?
One has to develop a different mindset and approach for flashbulb photography -- much the same way you think differently with a different focal length or camera. Often when I'm shooting with flashbulbs, it's dark, harder to focus, and if I want to respond quickly, then I don't have time to focus. With my Rolleiflex, my depth of field is very limited. However, at f/11 - 16 set at 10 feet, I'm good from 8 to 12 feet roughly. Most of my shots take place at this distance.
The less powerful bulbs are not useless -- just use them for when you're closer -- then you're still at f/11-16 but perhaps at 5 feet. Especially in more confined areas, they're great to have. And of course if you shoot 35mm you can shoot at a wider aperture and still zone focus.
Oh, and if I want to focus I use a prism finder -- but then I'm not getting the waist/chest height that I like with Rolleis.
For the dance at night, your number 5 bulbs should give you f/11 1/2 with 400 ISO -- I tend to overexpose. It will be a great help with exposures if you have a Polaroid back for your Graflex. In one of Weegee's books he mentions shooting at f/16 at 10 feet. Nighttime f/16 at 10 feet daytime f/16 10 feet -- how cool was it to shoot 4x5 almost like a point and shoot?
Complaints about bulb power. Yes. Don't photograph things like horse races or athletic events with flashbulbs. Because the flash has a much longer duration than electronic flashes it's much more disruptive. And you will regret it if you accidentally flash yourself from a short distance -- takes a few minutes to get over that. So what to do? Outside where subject's pupils are small is much less of an issue. If people are looking away it's not bad. If you tell people the flash will be bright it can help or hinder. Most important -- if you're closer than 10 feet or so, especially with larger bulbs, or bulbs from a batch you haven't shot with, employ a plastic shield over the bulb -- these connect to reflector.
Also, with things like a dance, having flashbulbs going off can make the event more special. After a few shots people will get used to it. Sorry if I'm random -- one good thing about zone focus with flashbulbs is that if you have one hand to trip the shutter, you can often hand hold the flash unit -- this lets you aim it, feather it, find a sweet spot, etc. And with adjustable reflectors you can set a wide or concentrated pattern -- when determining guide number this is an important factor.
By the way, all bulbs have a safety coating - visually inspect to make sure the coating hasn't started to peel off. I think photography methods that are more challenging and have more variables are more satisfying. If in that very very brief moment of making the shot, you can also aim the light, and see the flash go off and have it "burn" the image for review in your mind -- that's farfegnugen!
When I took this shot of Josh Todd of Buckcherry, a lady next to me commented -- I saw the flash -- you got it at the perfect moment.
