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wlkehoe · Joined: 17 Jun 2009 Posts: 27 Location: dayton ohio

Just bought this on ebay and could use some advise.
1) The lens is labeled f6.3 velostigmat, no focal length indicated. It's in a self-cocking Wollensak shutter with speeds of 25, 50, 100, 150, B and T. f-stops from 6.3-32. Does anyone know what the focal length might be?
2) Circumnavigating the glass in front is a raised ring with an indicator mark on it that lines up with a distance scale printed on the front of the shutter. Apparently, twisting the ring is intended to focus the lens at distances from 5"-infinity. However, I can't see any movement in the front or rear elements when the ring is twisted. The iris won't stay open at any setting and the groundglass is broken so I can't check the focus but I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen a large format lens with this setup...I haven't. Weirder, the camera focuses by racking the lens in and out, so even if the ring focus device works, it's redundent. The lensboard is clearly original and clearly setup to accomdate this particular lens...this is not an amateur modification.
3) The camera didn't come with a side-mounted rangefinder but there are mounting holes tapped for one, filled with screws. Does anyone know if a standard Kalart rangefinder was used on these cameras?
3) The camera came with a springback but there are several tapped holes surrounding it that serve no function. Could there have been an accessory rollfilm back that screwed on?
4) Any one knowledgable about Printex cameras, please get in touch with me.

bruiser · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:11 am Post subject:

Hi,

I have one of these at home. I'm at work right now so I'll post details later. From memory mine is equipped with a Rapax shutter and Wollensak lens.

Cheers,
Bruce

tsgrimm · Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 158 Location: SE Michigan

I'll bet that some time spent doing a Google search will yield a ton of information about your Printex camera.

glennfromwy · Joined: 29 Nov 2001 Posts: 903 Location: S.W. Wyoming

I have a 4X5 Printex. My lens is a 135/4.5 Zeiss Novar Anastigmat in a Rapax shutter. Lens is coated. The camera does indeed use a Kalart rangefinder. Mine is busted, so I just scale focus, or better yet, just put it on 20 feet and shoot at f/16 or 22. My camera is red and black, but most folk will still speak to me. Just got back from a shoot in Montana with the thing.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

bruiser · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:31 am Post subject:

Well I'll be.......

Just arrived home and removed the lens hood that obscured most of the shutter/lens of the 6x9cm Printex and it has a Kodak Compur shutter with speeds 1 - 1/250th + B and T. The lens is a Kodak Anastigmat f4.5 105mm.

It is fitted with a Heiland solenoid and has a Heiland 2-cell flash attached to the standard Kalart rangefinder.

As for the tapped holes, the back on mine has 11 screws around the outer edge which hold the back on. There are no other holes.

I can't find a serial number anywhere. Anyway if you want I'll post some photos. There's not much info on Google about them.

Cheers,
Bruce

wlkehoe · Joined: 17 Jun 2009 Posts: 27 Location: dayton ohio

thanks for your responses everybody.
1) i too have googled printex and found surprisingly few references.
2) my camera doesn't have a serial# either.
3) my shutter is only labeled "made by wollensak, rochester usa."
4) now that i look at it, my back assembly is mounted with 11 screws too. what i thought were 2 additional holes are actually the heads of allen screws. one is in place to adjust how far back the focus can be racked. the other must be in place to somehow limit the swing of a rangefinder arm if there was a rangefinder.
glenn- what are the dimensions of the body of your 4x5, exclusive of the back assembly, lens housing, focus rack and misc. cast platforms? mine measures about 5"x4.75"x1.5". i'm wondering if yours is the same, with a different sized screw-on back assembly. is the red-and-black a "custom" paint job?
5) bruce- it would be great to see pictures of your camera if you have time to post them. i can't reciprocate...no digital camera...but maybe the ones from the ebay listing are still accessible: item#350218028957.

bill k

bruiser · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:29 pm Post subject:

Hi,

Here are some photos of my 6x9cm Printex, not as nice as yours wlkehoe!
As you can see the lens/shutter combo is different, even the focus scale is a different version.

http://photo.coffsbiz.com/px01.jpg
http://photo.coffsbiz.com/px02.jpg
http://photo.coffsbiz.com/px03.jpg
http://photo.coffsbiz.com/px04.jpg
http://photo.coffsbiz.com/px05.jpg

Everything seems to work on it so I might just take it for a test drive one day.

Cheers,
Bruce

wlkehoe · Joined: 17 Jun 2009 Posts: 27 Location: dayton ohio

thanks for the photos, bruce. it's the same camera except for the lens/shutter and distance scale, and your lensboard is silver whereas mine is brass painted black. i see yours has the same inexplicable rectangular shelf molded to the body under the handstrap...wonder what that was for? i think you should take it for a test drive. i intend to, once i get the shutter fixed, replace the ground glass, find 6x9 filmholders and find 6x9 sheet film. there's something appealing to me about guess-focus and guess-framing.
bill

wlkehoe · Joined: 17 Jun 2009 Posts: 27 Location: dayton ohio

did you see these ads from 1946 and 1947? both have silver lensboards and both have the flash mounted on the left side...that must be what the platform is for.

bruiser · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:37 am Post subject:

Bill,

I did have a look at the ads! Seems a little weird to have the flash mounted on the body when the rangefinder is already there on the other side. Still I guess if the camera didn't have a rangefinder you could tap out a 1/4" thread in that platform to take those screw-in flash handles.

They are certainly a solid camera, much bigger than my cast body 6x9 Baco Press Club camera. The 4x5 Printex must weigh a ton!

Cheers,
Bruce

glennfromwy · Joined: 29 Nov 2001 Posts: 903 Location: S.W. Wyoming

I'll get some dimentions up for the 4X5. You're right, it's a hefty monster. Red and black paint is a custom creation. Originally, mine was a mixture of bare aluminum, black something and crud. Mine isn't all original. It has a Pacemaker Graphic spring back and optical view finder. Regarding that Kodak Anastigmat - I believe it will be the same one I put on one of my Busch Pressman model Cs. You may want to hang on to that one. It's a really good item. They came off one of Kodak's better folders.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

bruiser · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:36 pm Post subject:

Hi Glenn,

I was surprised when I saw the Kodak Compur under the lens shade. A Kodak Recomar lens? All my other oddball press cameras seem to use the Rapax shutter/Wolly lens combination so I had a feeling it was non-standard.

You certainly don't see too many ******* and I completely missed Bill's one on the 'bay.

Cheers,
Bruce

glennfromwy · Joined: 29 Nov 2001 Posts: 903 Location: S.W. Wyoming

Bruce, that's a nice looking camera. I just haven't had the time to measure the 4X5. The square part, however, is about the same size as the back side of a Speed Graphic. Maybe a tad wider. The depth of the square part looks to be about the same as your 6X9. The snoot is going to be little bigger in diameter and length. If your lens has front element focus capability and a distance scale, it wouldn't have come off a Recomar. If it's fixed focus, the Recomar is a good candidate. My Recomar has a Tessar as original equipment. The Printex is one of those post war things when military contracts were cancelled all over the country and those companies were trying to find things to make while the regrouped. There were many that made cameras for a short time. Nearly all failed but a few went on to bigger and better things. That left a lot of short production run cameras that nobody has much information on. A great lot of these unknown cameras were made of cast aluminum, which tells much about what the plants were tooled up to do during the war years. Oddly enough, the Printex is actually a good camera. Just wierd.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

glennfromwy · Joined: 29 Nov 2001 Posts: 903 Location: S.W. Wyoming

Here's a not that good picture of my red Printex 4X5. I bought this thing from a Large Format Forum member who likes oddball cameras as much as I do. It went to Montana for a shoot a couple of weeks ago. Don't ever let anyone tell you the Zeiss Novar lens isn't any good. Stopped down, that thing is very surprising.

_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

bruiser · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:12 am Post subject:

Glenn,

That Printex looks way nicer in red! If only they were so adventurous at the time of manufacture they might have sold truckloads more!!!

Beautiful...thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Bruce