[LargeFormat] 5x7 Graflex...

[LNphoto]

Welcome to the confused world of Graflex.

For every rule written in stone, was a stone mason ready to change it.   
This is one of those cameras.

Graflex the company, made two types of backs, well okay three,  The  
Graphic or spring back, the Graflex back, with a removable ground  
glass, and the well known Graflok back where the ground glass had the  
option of being removed.

The Graflex back was developed for the Graflex SLR camera line to  
employ the "Graflex plate magazine" (later "film magazine") This bag  
mag as it's called was too thick to be able to slide under the Spring  
back. The SLR cameras, with their mirror didn't really need a ground  
glass where the film went anyway.  The Graflex back is found on 99% of  
all SLR Graflex cameras like the Series B, D, Super D, Auto Graflex,  
etc.  It also shows up on 1% of the Speed Graphic cameras.

They are easy to spot as the ground glass MUST be removed in order to  
put a GRAFLEX type film holder into position. GRAFLEX film  holders are  
slightly wider and have grooves running the length of the holder to  
catch the slide lock that holds them in. This is the way 99.44% of the  
way Bag Mags or film magazines work as well.  Because they are wider  
and also have a reversed light trap, YOU CANNOT USE MODERN FILM  
HOLDERS.  They don't have the groove to hold them in place.


Now that's the rule that's set in stone.  The PRess Graflex is the  
camera that breaks that rule.  This uses a spring loaded ground glass  
back to hold Graflex film holders in place.  The groove isn't used but  
the width and the reversed light trap are still necessary, so this  
camera still can't use regular film holders without modification. You  
can build up the width of a common holder, but you'll need to plane  
down the ridges and make a groove in the holder.

Also you can't use common bag mags.  Because this Graflex Back doesn't  
have slide locks, they modified the bagmags with pins and clips to keep  
it in place.

Graflex the company made both film and plate holders in both Graflex  
and Graphic type holders.  Infact I've seen a Graphic (common, normal)  
plate holder that they made as late as the mid 50s.

I got mine with a plate type bag mag, but no glass back.


On Friday, December 12, 2003, at 01:36  PM, tripspud wrote:

> Hi Ole!
>
>         I've just bought a Graflex 5x7 single lens reflex camera:
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ 
> eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2969297697&category=11720
>
>      It looks like the back takes 5x7 film holders and not the earlier  
> plates.  I
> hope the
> groundglass back is there, it kind of looks like it, but hard to tell.
>
>      Any help on this appreciated!   Isn't another list member  
> restoring one of
> these
> large 5x7 Graflexes?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Rich Lahrson
> Berkeley, California
> tripspud@transbay.net
>
>
>
> Ole Tjugen wrote
>
>     As the Norwegian with the 5x7" camera, I believe this question is  
> for me? ;)
>
>> The holders for 13x18cm, 5x7" and half-plate (in decreasing film  
>> size) are the
>> same size. I have hoders for all three sizes, and they fit in the  
>> same camera.
>> Last time I was out using it, I had both 5x7" and 13x18 loaded in an  
>> attempt
>> to get rid of some old film. This is not saying that there may not be  
>> half
>> plate holders which will NOT fit, of course...
>
>
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