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#1
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Notes on an antique shutter
Just got finished rebuilding my old Rochester Optical shutter; seems to
be working about as well as it was when new. But I have a few questions about it, directed to those who know a lot more about these old units than I. First of all, let me ID the shutter: it's a pneumatic shutter that says "R. O. & C. Co/Rochester, N.Y." on the top. On the bottom, on the aperture scale is "VICTOR". Speeds are 1-2-5-25-100 plus T & B. The lens says "SYMMETRICAL 5x7" on the side of the front element. Marked apertures are 8-16-32-64-256 (!!). My questions: 1. As I said, I think I got this working about as well as it ever did. The "slow" speeds (those below 1/25) seem extremely dependant on the condition of the (right-hand) pneumatic cylinder. With the cylinder (& piston) clean and dry, the speeds are noticeably much too fast. When I applied a little bit of oil, they slowed down appreciably. Seems as this is simply a fact of life for these types of shutters; sticky oil, dirt, or cold weather is likely to have major effects on shutter speeds. Was the photographer expected to keep his or her shutter "in tune"? 2. Speaking of pneumatic cylinders, the shutter has two, one on each side. But the one on the left does absolutely nothing! There's even a hole at the bottom of the cylinder. Were there other models that actually used both cylinders? If so, perhaps they wanted to keep the appearance the same, so they kept the left cylinder even though it is non-functional. Can't think of any other reason to have it there. 3. The operation of the shutter--that is, how the operator uses it--leaves much to be desired. There's no provision for a cable release. The same lever is used for cocking (push up) and shutter releasing (push down). So the only way one would get good results with long exposures would be if one had a very steady hand (or a massive tripod, or both). The thing that doesn't seem right is that the shutter doesn't work correctly unless one keeps the lever held down until the shutter closes. If you release the shutter but then let go of the lever before the exposure ends, the shutter will stay open until you press the lever again. Is this the way these were supposed to work? (I guess I've been spoiled by modern shutters.) |
#2
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Notes on an antique shutter
In article m,
David Nebenzahl wrote: Just got finished rebuilding my old Rochester Optical shutter; seems to be working about as well as it was when new. But I have a few questions about it, directed to those who know a lot more about these old units than I. First of all, let me ID the shutter: it's a pneumatic shutter that says "R. O. & C. Co/Rochester, N.Y." on the top. On the bottom, on the aperture scale is "VICTOR". Speeds are 1-2-5-25-100 plus T & B. The lens says "SYMMETRICAL 5x7" on the side of the front element. Marked apertures are 8-16-32-64-256 (!!). My questions: 1. As I said, I think I got this working about as well as it ever did. The "slow" speeds (those below 1/25) seem extremely dependant on the condition of the (right-hand) pneumatic cylinder. With the cylinder (& piston) clean and dry, the speeds are noticeably much too fast. When I applied a little bit of oil, they slowed down appreciably. Seems as this is simply a fact of life for these types of shutters; sticky oil, dirt, or cold weather is likely to have major effects on shutter speeds. Was the photographer expected to keep his or her shutter "in tune"? 2. Speaking of pneumatic cylinders, the shutter has two, one on each side. But the one on the left does absolutely nothing! There's even a hole at the bottom of the cylinder. Were there other models that actually used both cylinders? If so, perhaps they wanted to keep the appearance the same, so they kept the left cylinder even though it is non-functional. Can't think of any other reason to have it there. 3. The operation of the shutter--that is, how the operator uses it--leaves much to be desired. There's no provision for a cable release. The same lever is used for cocking (push up) and shutter releasing (push down). So the only way one would get good results with long exposures would be if one had a very steady hand (or a massive tripod, or both). The thing that doesn't seem right is that the shutter doesn't work correctly unless one keeps the lever held down until the shutter closes. If you release the shutter but then let go of the lever before the exposure ends, the shutter will stay open until you press the lever again. Is this the way these were supposed to work? (I guess I've been spoiled by modern shutters.) Don't know anything about these shutters, sounds interesting. I wonder if a dry lubricant like graphite might be a better choice than oil. -- Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back. |
#3
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Notes on an antique shutter
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message s.com... Just got finished rebuilding my old Rochester Optical shutter; seems to be working about as well as it was when new. But I have a few questions about it, directed to those who know a lot more about these old units than I. First of all, let me ID the shutter: it's a pneumatic shutter that says "R. O. & C. Co/Rochester, N.Y." on the top. On the bottom, on the aperture scale is "VICTOR". Speeds are 1-2-5-25-100 plus T & B. The lens says "SYMMETRICAL 5x7" on the side of the front element. Marked apertures are 8-16-32-64-256 (!!). My questions: 1. As I said, I think I got this working about as well as it ever did. The "slow" speeds (those below 1/25) seem extremely dependant on the condition of the (right-hand) pneumatic cylinder. With the cylinder (& piston) clean and dry, the speeds are noticeably much too fast. When I applied a little bit of oil, they slowed down appreciably. Seems as this is simply a fact of life for these types of shutters; sticky oil, dirt, or cold weather is likely to have major effects on shutter speeds. Was the photographer expected to keep his or her shutter "in tune"? Air brake controlled shutters were very common until the invention (by Ilex) of the clockwork escapment regulated shutter. The air cylinder should not need oil. I suspect the air leak is too large. I've forgotten exactly how the Victor shutter is layed out and can't find a drawing but most air brakes have a small leak at one end. Its possible the end cap is loose or that the gasket has shrunk up. Some air-brake regulated shutters, like the Compound, are quite accurate and quite reliable. 2. Speaking of pneumatic cylinders, the shutter has two, one on each side. But the one on the left does absolutely nothing! There's even a hole at the bottom of the cylinder. Were there other models that actually used both cylinders? If so, perhaps they wanted to keep the appearance the same, so they kept the left cylinder even though it is non-functional. Can't think of any other reason to have it there. The second cylinder is for an air release. The end of the hose pushes over the nipple in the end and its operated by an air bulb at the other. Many old shutters were made this way even when they had fittings for a wire release. Air releases are more flexible and can be longer. 3. The operation of the shutter--that is, how the operator uses it--leaves much to be desired. There's no provision for a cable release. The same lever is used for cocking (push up) and shutter releasing (push down). So the only way one would get good results with long exposures would be if one had a very steady hand (or a massive tripod, or both). The thing that doesn't seem right is that the shutter doesn't work correctly unless one keeps the lever held down until the shutter closes. If you release the shutter but then let go of the lever before the exposure ends, the shutter will stay open until you press the lever again. Is this the way these were supposed to work? (I guess I've been spoiled by modern shutters.) I think there is something out of order, perhaps a lever is in the wrong place. The shutter should trip with a push and not close until the air brake finishes its travel. I am sure I had some sort of information about this shutter but will have to search for it. The shutter should certainly latch on the T setting. The Rochester Optical Company was eventually bought out by Eastman Kodak and became the Rochester Optical Division of Kodak for a time. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#4
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Notes on an antique shutter
On 1/7/2008 5:58 PM Richard Knoppow spake thus:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message s.com... 2. Speaking of pneumatic cylinders, the shutter has two, one on each side. But the one on the left does absolutely nothing! There's even a hole at the bottom of the cylinder. Were there other models that actually used both cylinders? If so, perhaps they wanted to keep the appearance the same, so they kept the left cylinder even though it is non-functional. Can't think of any other reason to have it there. The second cylinder is for an air release. The end of the hose pushes over the nipple in the end and its operated by an air bulb at the other. Many old shutters were made this way even when they had fittings for a wire release. Air releases are more flexible and can be longer. Of course; d'oh! 3. The operation of the shutter--that is, how the operator uses it--leaves much to be desired. There's no provision for a cable release. The same lever is used for cocking (push up) and shutter releasing (push down). So the only way one would get good results with long exposures would be if one had a very steady hand (or a massive tripod, or both). The thing that doesn't seem right is that the shutter doesn't work correctly unless one keeps the lever held down until the shutter closes. If you release the shutter but then let go of the lever before the exposure ends, the shutter will stay open until you press the lever again. Is this the way these were supposed to work? (I guess I've been spoiled by modern shutters.) I think there is something out of order, perhaps a lever is in the wrong place. The shutter should trip with a push and not close until the air brake finishes its travel. I am sure I had some sort of information about this shutter but will have to search for it. The shutter should certainly latch on the T setting. It works fine on both T and B. Oh, and I forgot to say that it (the shutter) was made by Bausch & Lomb. I looked on eBay after posting this to do some research and found a *lot* of these shutters (or cameras, like Pocos and Premos) up for auction there. (Just search for "Rochester" to find them.) They sure made a lot of different models of this shutter, all with minor variations. Must have made tens of thousands of them. |
#5
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Notes on an antique shutter
On 1/7/2008 3:23 PM ____ spake thus:
Don't know anything about these shutters, sounds interesting. I wonder if a dry lubricant like graphite might be a better choice than oil. Graphite is OK, but needs to be used extremely sparingly and with care, otherwise you get graphite flecks all over the inside your lens. Don't ask me how I know this. One trick to lubricating shutter blades on leaf shutters is by rubbing a pencil lead over the parts that touch. |
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