Graflex.org

[Garce]

I recently bought a Crown Graphic 32 on Ebay, very good condition. The solenoids on ebay are listed as for a 4x5 and Solenoid #3. Does anybody know what the solenoid for a Crown Graphic 32 would be called?
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Garce from Augusta

[Dan Fromm]

I'm a complete idiot. I didn't know that solenoids for Graphics came in different sizes. I have no idea which size the 2x3ers use.

I have 4 2x3ers, none with solenoid, and don't feel deprived. The solenoid is used to provide flash delay -- fire the flash before the shutter is fully open -- with flash bulbs. Not needed to use flash bulbs with shutters that have M and F class sync. Not needed for electronic flash.

Which shutters do you have? Why do you want a solenoid? Flash bulbs aren't used very much these days.

[Garce]

I may be working too hard at this, I still have to study the manual. I do have a flash gun (Wee Gee style) and found some working flashbulbs on Ebay. Just not sure how to sync them up with the camera, and I'm often seeing the solenoids and the flash guns together in pictures so I thought it might be necessary. Could be I'm overthinking it.
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Garce from Augusta

[Dan Fromm]

Which lens(es) do you have? Which shutter(s) are they/it in?

Solenoids were used with shutters that had no or only X sync? If your shutter(s) has/have M an F sync you don't need a solenoid.

[Garce]

That's interesting, it simplifies things, thank you. The Crown graphic has both M and F and cable posts on a GRAPHEX lens. Skip the solenoid. The Mini speed graphic, with a focal plane shutter and a Kodak Ektar lens doesn't have either. So it sounds like the mini would need a solenoid. I've seen small ones ******* on Ebay so I should probably pick one up for the mini.

Thank you, this was useful.
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Garce from Augusta

[hsandler]

I imagine solenoids might come in different sizes because the bigger ones for 4x5 just may not fit on the limited lensboard space of a 2x3. OTOH, since 2x3 Graphics existed fairly early on, why wouldn't they just make the smallest solenoid to use with all lens boards?

The other reason someone might want a solenoid, apart from providing sync when the shutter doesn't have any, or providing M sync when the shutter only has X, is you can trip the shutter from a button on the flash handle, even when not using flash. This has a certain coolness factor, and gives you an excuse to hang more shiny chrome adornments on your camera, but you don't "need" that.

There is at least one brand, I think it's Mendelsohn, where the solenoid is built into the flash handle, and then there is a cable release that links that to the lens.

I've never used one, but I understand that adjusting the solenoid to get just the right delay can be a bit of a fiddly exercise, and you may burn through a few flash bulbs getting it right.

And of course, no solenoid if using the focal plane flash terminals. You just need the special long-burn FP bulbs. They stay lit for the whole time that the shutter slit is crossing the focal plane. I don't see them come up often, and they cost more than regular M sync bulbs.

[Dan Fromm]