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[Negative Energy]

I recently picked up a 2 x 3 Pacemaker Crown Graphic and also a Graphic 23 back. I shot one roll and everything was out of focus, even the shots I did in the studio only using the ground glass to focus. It looks like the rangefinder and groundglass are in sync and focusing correctly. I suspect the bugbear is the distance to the film plane on the roll holder. Is this the wrong one? I checked the depth to the ground glass versus the film holder and the ground glass is almost twice as far back.

[45PSS]

[Dan Fromm]

The roll holder should be on spec. Three possibilities:

Graflok focusing panel set up for a fresnel, fresnel missing. If there's no fresnel, the bosses the GG sits on should be, um, high.

Graflok focusing panel not set up for a fresnel, fresnel there anyway. If there is a fresnel, the bosses it sits on (the fresnel goes in front of the GG), the bosses it sits on should be, um, low.

All correct BUT GG in backwards OR GG in front of fresnel. The ground side of the the GG should face the lens. The fresnel, if present, should be in front of the GG and the grooved side should face the GG.

There's just one focusing panel casting, so casting number won't help you decide whether yours has high or low bosses.

[Negative Energy]

Dann appears to be right, but I'm not sure exactly how to interpret what he wrote. It's clear someone took it apart (not me!).

It looks like this is the current configuration; there are two elements, a conventional ground glass and a fresnel lens to make the image brighter.

Here is the order of the surfaces if you start from the "inside the camera" side and work your way back to the side you see when you pop open the viewing hood.

1. Fresnel
Side facing lens: ridged
Side facing viewing hood: smooth

2. Groundglass
Side facing lens: smooth
Side facing viewing hood (outermost surface) opaque

I'm sure this is wrong.

Correct order?

Thanks!

RA Friedman
http://rafriedman.com

[troublemaker]

Ground side of glass faces lens, clear side faces hood or back.
Clear smooth side of freznel faces lens, ribbed side faces ground side of glass.

Freznel goes down first into panel and then GG as above.

Also, lookin thepanel and see if the bosses havebeen milled so the panel will properly accept the added depth of the fresnel. I think the fold up hood will not fit very well if not milled. May be a clue. Someone may have tried to drop one in, or according to your list of sequence, took everything out and improperly reassembled. While you've got it apart, clean with windex and soft cloth.

[Dan Fromm]

Hmm. Yes, the fresnel goes in front of (lens side, not film side) of the GG. But the ground side of the GG should face the lens, not the film.