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View Full Version : Need help from Wista Metal Field Camera Owners



Robert Ley
21-May-2004, 10:48
I recently upgraded to a Wista VX from my trusty Super Graphic and have run into a problem with Graphmatic holders. Last weekend I went up to the Mountains to try out my new Wista. I was shooting B&W in Riteway holders and color neg in my Graphmatics. Most of my color was light struck and some was very badly fogged. My VX has a spring loaded bar that presses against the holder when it is inserted. I think this small bar has something to do with Wista's special shutter in that this bar will activate a cable that will close the shutter when a holder is inserted. My question to you experienced Wista users is: Can this spring loaded bar be removed and if so how, or is there a technique to using these holders with this camera? I fooled around with some empty graphmatics and my camera last night and if I hold the graphmatic from the bottom when I pull the slide I can keep it seated properly, but can see that this might be a problem depending on how my camera is positioned. Any light that you can shed on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Matt Long
21-May-2004, 11:19
Robert:

I have a Wista 45 SP and can directly address you question. The lever is an interlock mechanism for use with a press shutter. When using cut film holders or my Quickload holder, I just dealt with it, as it was a minor annoyance. When I got a 6x12 rollfilm holder, this little lever turned into a pain in the butt and it had to go! Fortunately, it is quite simple to remove the lever mechanism. While it is a very straightforwad task, I can't overstress the importance of having a good micro screwdriver to use for the job (or for any camera work, for that matter). First, remove the two small screws that hold the cover in place over the interlock mechanism. You will then see the lever attached to a coiled, watch-type mechanism spring. If I remember correctly, this mechanism simply slides onto a small pin. Anyway, removal of the innards is self explanatory once you see the setup. I put all of my extra parts in a sealed bag if, for some reason, I ever want to put the mechanism back in place. It was so easy, I wondered why I didn't remove the lever long ago. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Matt

jarrod connerty
23-May-2004, 19:16
A year ago I spent well over $1000 to convert my 5 lenses to Copal Press shutters, pay for engraved aperture scales & then ultimately purchased the Auto Interlock Release Cable which works with the aforementioned self-cocking shutters.

After a year of shooting, I've determined for me that with some caveats the whole mechanism ain't worth the trouble.

The problem is that to attach the cable to a lens, you must 1) place a film holder in the back to make the protruding portion of the cable recess 2) open the Copal Press shutter 3) attach the cable to the back & shutter 4) "close" the Copal Press shutter 5) remove the film holder.

Perhaps this is practical for someone who mainly uses one lens and has no need to fold up the camera intermittently, but for someone travelling constantly and frequently changing lenses it isn't worth the nuisance.

All that being said, if you're shooting with one lens without the need to frequently fold up the camera, you'll find the shutter/cable combo to be awesome. To my knowledge, no other field camera has such a system. And though ultimately I don't use the cable much with the shutters, I'm very glad I made the conversion with the shutters.

Robert Ley
24-May-2004, 11:24
Thanks Matt and Jarrod I have successfully removed the offending lever. My graphmatics seat much better now. I really doubt whether I would ever use the shutter interlock feature on my wista. If I decide to use it in the future, I can always replace the part. Thanks again for all the good info.

Garry Teeple
26-May-2004, 18:34
A simpler system to disable this mechanism is to use a long #10 screw or the metric equilvent to hold the lever down.