Graflex.org

[LoveDOld]

After my mother passed away a few months back I've been going in to old boxes at my father's house. I found an old Graflex "Speed Graphic" camera that he seems to date back to the late 60s, could be early 70s. The camera seems to be well, for the age but needed some work on it. For one the thing the lens was very bad. Anyway, I am try to get this until in work, or best as I can, order. My father said it came with a flash but we haven't been able to find it and I fear it's gone for good. TO my shock, a few flash I have seen on ebay seem to go really high, more than other flashs. Also looking around on sites it seem a "Graflex "Speed Graphic" uses more than one can of flash, is that right? Will a Graflex Side Lighting Unit work on any camera? If anyone can tell me how to get a flash, cheap please reply. Off topic, anyone know the best say to clean the lens? I love taking picture, its my life and job. To fix this old camera, so it works, would be fun and just a great look hobby to do
any info on parts needs, flashs, cases, or maybe can link me to a fix it site would be great.
thanks

[alecj]

Check the main board for Related Web Sites which contains a list of Graflex equipment sellers.

Do a lot of reading about these cameras on the main site to become familiar with them before you post such general questions here.

[ This Message was edited by: alecj on 2004-04-01 20:33 ]

[t.r.sanford]

Do you want to assemble an outfit that will be historically authentic for (say) 1970, or do you want a working outfit? The two objectives are not incompatible, but the weight you assign to the first may condition your choice of flash equipment.

The overpriced Graflex flashguns you'll see advertised usually are the one or two models that are popular with young people wishing to make them into Jedi light *****s. There were many, many similar flashguns, including the later "Graflite" models from Graflex as well as a long-lived and highly-regarded line from Heiland (later acquired by Honeywell), that are not overpriced. They also, for that reason, are not offered as frequently, but they do turn up.

Remember that flashbulbs are hard to come by, and that they were abandoned 30 years ago for a number of very good reasons. They do have capabilities hard to match with electronic flash, but the need for those capabilities tends not to be great. Are you averse to mounting a capable electronic flash unit on your "Speed"?

If you will make your way through some of these threads, you'll find more information about cleaning lenses and shutters than I had thought existed in one place. We all have found ways that have worked for us, but you get a diversity of opinions and methods that should give you a pretty good idea of what you're up against, and how you might proceed.

The thing is definitely worth doing.

[Nick]

If you're looking for a relatively cheap newer flash then I can relate what I did.

Assuming it's a 4x5 camera you'll be using fairly small F/stops most of the time. That means either a powerfull flash or fast film. Or a combination of the two. I picked up a used older Metz 45. With 400 speed film it has a guide number of close to 300. That's a fair bit even at F/16. In between everything it cost me about $100. The same flash will work on all my cameras. With 35mm it might be a bit of overkill for me but better too much power then too little. The bigger Metz 60 might have been a better choice with it's more powerfull output but I found a good deal on the 45. Plenty of used Metz units around. Keep an eye on non-ebay sales since the prices on that site can be out of touch with sanity-)


If you want a new flash Sunpak sells a couple with similar power levels. The 544 doesn't have TTL functions and so would save you a few dollars. OTOH I doubt it includes that many F/stops so you might have to do a little mental math to use it in auto mode. The 555 is a few dollars more and you can get modules for different cameras so you can take advantage of TTL on your smaller cameras.

Personally I think the Metz was a better deal. Metz seems to support buyers better. They answer thier email and have a good website with plenty of info. The same units have been sold for a long time with only minor changes so finding accesories is relatively easy.

[t.r.sanford]

The Metz handlemount flashguns are powerful and versatile. The only problem with Metz (and everyone else, nowadays) is that the flash handles are oddly shaped and too big to accept the "Graflite" clamps or Honeywell quick release clamp or Kalart slide. I'd be interested to know how you attach yours to your camera; is there a way of doing this that doesn't involve a flat bracket attached to the tripod socket?

Why is there never a Braun "RL510" around when you need one?

[Nick]

I use the tripod socket. I don't plan on using it handheld but I've experimented with bending the metal part that holds the flash head to the mounting bit. It's possible to attach the head to the right side of the camera with the tripod plate and use the hand hold on the other side. If I was going to use it that way I would get an extra metal piece since I don't get the impression it would enjoy being bent into different shapes very often.

On the simpler side wouldn't just duct tape be enough to attach the flash to the flash holder on the camera? I know it's not going to be pretty but it should work.

[t.r.sanford]

The idea of making an L bracket and using the tripod socket on the side of the body makes a lot of sense. But, for me, the challenge is to come up with something that allows quick detaching (and reattaching) of the flashgun for off-camera use when desired, while preserving some kind of handgrip on the camera. This rules out the duct tape solution.

The "Graflite" mounting plate is ideal, but it expects to work with clips attached to the side of the flashgun. Modern flashgun makers expect the attachment point to be the bottom. The funky shape of modern flash handles raises obstacles to designing some sort of "Graflite" clamp surrogates to encircle the flash.

I suppose, if a bracket were sturdy enough and you wanted to modify it with some sort of baseplate that would prevent its rotating beneath the camera, you could use the bottom tripod socket, leave the Graflex leather handle on the left, and lead the bracket out to the right.

The Metz "45CTxx" guns are very impressive, and seem to be available used for less than I think they're worth. Some practical way of mounting one securely to a "Speed Graphic" while preserving your ability to take it off easily would be very valuable.

[Nick]

I've got a third party bracket but the real Metz one is likely better so I think this applies. If you're willing to leave the bracket on the bottom of the camera all it takes is unscrewing one screw and the flash comes off the bracket. It's a big screw maybe an inch or so in size so it's easy and quick. The real Metz bracket maybe a quick disconnect setup.

All you then need is a long cable and the flash can be placed any place. I've got a pc to pc cable that works fine. Metz I think sells a long cable with the right fittings for the flash but the patch cable I use is cheaper and can used with any normal sync cable.