OMG - A Linhof Technika Focal Plane Shutter

On 1/15/2005 2:57 PM jjs spake thus:

"Dan Fromm" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks for the kind offer, I do have a birthday coming real soon now.
And you haven't been outbid yet. One can always hope ...

[eBay auction item snipped]

I am sorry now that I even bid.

More seriously, which vintage of Speed Graphic didn't solve y'r
problem, and why? [...]

Dan, so many of the Speed Graphics' shutters are just trashed. It is usually
the curtains that are bad: evaporated glues, tears, stretch problems. I have
(in storage) an article on how to make new curtains and maybe I should just
guts it out and try. I've put a watch on several Speed Graphics (the ones
that have the FP shutter) on ebay.

I'm wondering if it's really that much of a big deal to fix a Graphic FP
shutter. Having repaired a bunch of smaller ones (Soviet Leica copy shutters),
it seems that it shouldn't be all that difficult. Curtain material is
available, plus better adhesives than were originally used.

I could be wrong, of course, but it seems worth a try.


--
Today's bull**** job description:

• Collaborate to produce operational procedures for the systems management
of the production Information Technology infrastructure.

- from an actual job listing on Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org)

"jjs" kirjoitti
...
Dan, so many of the Speed Graphics' shutters are just trashed. It is
usually the curtains that are bad: evaporated glues, tears, stretch
problems. I have (in storage) an article on how to make new curtains and
maybe I should just guts it out and try. I've put a watch on several Speed
Graphics (the ones that have the FP shutter) on ebay.

Go ahead, I have repaired several old focal plane shutters and Speed graphic
shutter was one of the
easiest shutters to repair. In my opinion one of the most important things
to remember when doing shutter curtains
is to use a cloth with exactly the same thickness as the original. And if
there is a piece of cloth that is not for example cut straight, cut your
cloth the same way
as I have noticed that everything in these shutters has a purpose.

Also, have you considered starting from some other 4x5 camera with a
focal plane shutter? Thornton-Pickard, Ensign, Mentor, ... Or even
searching for a Sinar SLR?
At least the earlier mentors are horrible in design, unfortunately I'm
currently working on one....

Jani

"jjs" kirjoitti
...
Dan, so many of the Speed Graphics' shutters are just trashed. It is
usually the curtains that are bad: evaporated glues, tears, stretch
problems. I have (in storage) an article on how to make new curtains and
maybe I should just guts it out and try. I've put a watch on several Speed
Graphics (the ones that have the FP shutter) on ebay.

Go ahead, I have repaired several old focal plane shutters and Speed graphic
shutter was one of the
easiest shutters to repair. In my opinion one of the most important things
to remember when doing shutter curtains
is to use a cloth with exactly the same thickness as the original. And if
there is a piece of cloth that is not for example cut straight, cut your
cloth the same way
as I have noticed that everything in these shutters has a purpose.

Also, have you considered starting from some other 4x5 camera with a
focal plane shutter? Thornton-Pickard, Ensign, Mentor, ... Or even
searching for a Sinar SLR?
At least the earlier mentors are horrible in design, unfortunately I'm
currently working on one....

Jani

"janierik" wrote in message
...

Go ahead, I have repaired several old focal plane shutters and Speed
graphic shutter was one of the
easiest shutters to repair. In my opinion one of the most important things
to remember when doing shutter curtains
is to use a cloth with exactly the same thickness as the original. And if
there is a piece of cloth that is not for example cut straight, cut your
cloth the same way
as I have noticed that everything in these shutters has a purpose.

A most excellent insight. I owe you one.

"janierik" wrote in message
...

Go ahead, I have repaired several old focal plane shutters and Speed
graphic shutter was one of the
easiest shutters to repair. In my opinion one of the most important things
to remember when doing shutter curtains
is to use a cloth with exactly the same thickness as the original. And if
there is a piece of cloth that is not for example cut straight, cut your
cloth the same way
as I have noticed that everything in these shutters has a purpose.

A most excellent insight. I owe you one.

John, a while ago I foolishly bought a 600 Apo Ronar because the price
was right and because I fantasized hanging it far in front of a 2x3
Graflex. When I got to designing and thinking about further
implications, I realized that making a "baby Bertha" wasn't a good
idea; not as easy to do as I'd hoped, and making one more bulky and
heavy piece of gear to carry.

Since then I've designed a tandem camera rig that can be assembled from
my 2x3 Pacemaker Speed Graphic (rear camera), Century Graphic (front
camera), and a cheap M39 Zenit (I think) bellows. I calculate that the
rear camera's front standard will limit a 600 mm lens' coverage at
infinity to around nominal 6x6. The longest lens that will cover
nominal 6x9 at infinity on it is somewhat over 500 mm.

As designed, the rig adds little to what I now carry: three pieces of
1" x 2" aluminum extrusion to hold everything together, the Zenit
bellows, and a coupler to keep the dark in between front and rear
camera. The coupler I've designed is based on a 2x3 film pack adapter.
It could equally well start from a flat piece of aluminum or even
plastic, but I think the FPA will require less machining.

"Big" short lenses are very problematic on 2x3 Graphics, there isn't
always room for them and there's rarely much need either.

Cheers,

Dan

"Dan Fromm" wrote in message
oups.com...
[... snip good stuff...]

Dan, that's interesting stuff. Do you have any pictures of the construction?

short lenses are very problematic on 2x3 Graphics, there isn't
always room for them and there's rarely much need either.

The rear element of the lenses I wish to use just fit with 1/4" to spare in
the 'box' in front of the 4x5 ground glass. A downside with the FP shutter
is that I will get less tilt out of the back. Darn.

jjs wrote:
"Dan Fromm" wrote in message
oups.com...
[... snip good stuff...]

Dan, that's interesting stuff. Do you have any pictures of the
construction?

short lenses are very problematic on 2x3 Graphics, there isn't
always room for them and there's rarely much need either.

The rear element of the lenses I wish to use just fit with 1/4" to
spare in
the 'box' in front of the 4x5 ground glass. A downside with the FP
shutter
is that I will get less tilt out of the back. Darn.

John, sorry, no pix, I don't have a digital camera.

Not that there's anything surprising or complex. As best as I can
measure, the distance from bottom tripod socket to optical axis is the
same on my 2x3 Pacemaker Speed and on my Century. Similarly for the
distance from side tripod socket to optical axis. These facts
practical implication is that attaching a stiff flat extrusion to each
pair of tripod sockets will align the two cameras' optical axes and
make the rear camera's film plane perpendicular to the optical axis.

My little cameras allow practically no movements, and anyway I'm not
convinced that I'll need any with a great long lens. You're less lazy
and more ambitious than I am.

Hmm. Have you considered mutilating a 5x7 Speed or Graflex SLR and
mounting a 4x5 reducing back? That would get you more room for moves.
Although, given their relative rarity, mutilating a 5x7 seems a bit,
um, barbaric.

Are you thinking of using an FPS because it is impossible to put y'r
lens in shutter or because it is expensive to do so?

Cheers,

Dan

"Dan Fromm" wrote in message
oups.com...

Are you thinking of using an FPS because it is impossible to put y'r
lens in shutter or because it is expensive to do so?

Neither. I have one version machined to take a shutter. You have seen it
at http://elearning.winona.edu/jjs/nl. For the next I would like to obviate
any changes, or chances of a change that might occur when cutting the lens
for a shutter. A FP would do the trick. (It is possible to strip down a
shutter and 'insert' it into the middle of the original lens, but I just
can't bring myself to do that.) I owe you a picture of the 'before' of
this lens, and I'm looking for it now.