So I got a crown graphic :)

wlewisiii said:
If you like that, do yourself a favor and get a 4x5 next. The first time you see a real negative in your hands will change how you think about photography. Seriously.

And for an even bigger mind bender? 4x5 E6...
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In 13 hours and a few minutes I will know if I won the auction for the crown 4x5 :)
 
I thought about using my Crown for 120 then couldn't really see much sense in it as I already have dedicated MF cameras and the Graphic is a fair handfull. I also love the rythm of using 4x5 ... remembering to pull the dark slide, close the shutter etc. Still get the odd blank occasionally! :p

4x5 negatives are pretty amazing ... my Epson V700 loves them! :D
 
kxl said:
Congrats! I'm in a similar situation, having just received as a gift a Graflex XL with 3 lenses, including a well-regarded 80mm Planar. It includes a graflock back, so I just bought an RH-10 roll film back to enable shooting 120 film for 6x7 negs and ordered 120 film. I've never used a Graflex before (any variant), so my first experience should be interesting to say the least.
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I'm envious! Congratulations on getting a really nice kit.
 
atlcruiser said:
Infinity stops will be worked on tomorrow, I swapped the lens and I think the PO swapped one as well so who knows what it is set at. No fresnel on the 2x3 as far as I know and I know this one did not come with one but the GG is new and isntalled correctly.
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The stops are properly set with the lens 1/8 inch (3mm) past infinity. That allows the RF to be set correctly, and allows for moisture in the wood. The focus scale, obviously, needs to be set to the lenses actual infinity position.

The Kalart RF can be set for any lens from WA to Tele, but is usually set for the Normal lens, and the reading transferred from that scale to the scale for the lens actually being used.

Good luck.
 
well..... I am now on my 3rd round of RF adjsutment! I can get it is very nice focus but the focus is still not where it should be.

Thanks to Graywolfs help I think i might have a real plan and get it right later today :)
 
well..................progress! I am VERY close to sharp. The real issue was the infinity. Once I got that figured out and sort of "understood" the rangefinder the adjustments are easy. I think one more round and I will call it done.


cc mid853.jpg by urbanlandcruiser, on Flickr
 
Depends upon where you were focusing, David. If it was the grill, you have a bit of adjusting to do. If it was the gadget lying on the hood, you got it about right. Once you have the ground glass right, and the lens set to infinity, it took me three passes on my 4x5 to get the RF sync'ed to the lens.

How did you set your infinity lens stop? If you do not have a collimator of some sort (I use my old SLR with a 200mm lens), you need to pick something about a 1/4 mile away to get it accurate. A tripod helps too, it insures you do not accidentally move the camera after focusing.
 
Hi Tom,
I was on the grill so I beieve I am slightly past the point of focus on the finder so my mental note is to back it up a bit. I also am having a very hard time finding the point of best focus on the GG. I think I am "seeing" the best focus as past the object or I am picking the far end of the range of more or less in focus areas.

I found infinty using a tripod and a water tower about 1/4 mile away. I am confident the iniifnity is correctly set more or less but again, I have a range and there is a point in the range that I just cant tell if it is better or worse focus :).

Using a tripod and a 4x and 8x loupe. What i need is a DSLR with a long lens!
 
atlcruiser said:
Hi Tom,
I was on the grill so I beieve I am slightly past the point of focus on the finder so my mental note is to back it up a bit. I also am having a very hard time finding the point of best focus on the GG. I think I am "seeing" the best focus as past the object or I am picking the far end of the range of more or less in focus areas.

I found infinty using a tripod and a water tower about 1/4 mile away. I am confident the iniifnity is correctly set more or less but again, I have a range and there is a point in the range that I just cant tell if it is better or worse focus :).

Using a tripod and a 4x and 8x loupe. What i need is a DSLR with a long lens!
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A trick with the ground glass focus is to blink. What happens if you stare at it is your eye tries to adjust, and it becomes hard to tell what is going on. Or just look away from the ground glass and back again. You first impression is usually the correct one. Also, you sometimes get the impression of two images one the ground glass. With a properly set up Pacemaker Graphic the one on the front surface of the GG, nearest the lens, is correct.

The thing you need to change on the rangefinder is the focal lenght of the lens. That would be a bit on the high side of the 9.5 with your lens. The numbers are not precise and you can be off a bit and get a decent setting. Once you tweek the focal length, you need to reset the infinity, and close focus (6ft) points. The midpoint (15ft) is just a check that you got it right.

One of the problems is, I think, trying to be too damn precise. Close enough is close enough. The other thing is not understanding that these cameras were not used like 35mm, they used small f-numbers and slower shutterspeeds (f/16 1/100 was common, 100 speed film was about as fast as was available back in 1950), so they had quite a bit of depth of field to play with. Those were the day of flashbulbs, not available light (f/22, 1/50 with a #5 clear flashbulb at 10ft is what I use a lot with my 4x5. You will note that that is also the correct exposure in bright sunlight with ASA 100 film).

An interesting point is that in 1959, they about doubled all the film speeds for b&w film. Actually, they only doubled the numbers, there was no change in the emulsions, just the way they measured it. Actually, that was the second time they did something like that. In the 1930's they used Weston film speeds, then they went to ASA, raising the numbers by about 1/3 of a stop, then they went to the new ASA raising the numbers by about a stop. Great way to seem to make progress without actually doing anything. So, the 1935 40 speed film, became the 1950 50 speed film, became the 1960 100 speed film.

Ain't it interesting, the things you learn reading old books.
 
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