SpeedGraphic Anniversary owner here.

I'm hardly new to photography, having actually sold some of my work and having quite a few photos printed in magazines in the past (mostly auto racing action shots, once even getting a cover shot), so I know most of the basics. Haven't really done much in the way of film photography in the last 10 years though, but still have a fairly decent setup of 35mm equipment.

While cleaning out my elderly father's house recently, though, I came across his old Speed Graphic, an Anniversary model, which came with a Kalart rangefinder, flash unit (with 6 bulbs still left), and 2 film backs-one for 4x5 sheet film, and one for 120 roll.

I cleaned the camera and found it to still be in perfect working order, so now I want to start using it for stationary photography. I have a lot of questions about things I want to try doing with this camera, so let me ask my biggest ones here:

Firstly, I'd love to try taking instant 4x5 photos with this camera, but can't quite get over having to pay $200 for one of those Fuji adapters. Can the Fuji instant film pack fit into any of the old Polaroid packs, and if so, which ones? I've seen that some of the Polaroid packs don't quite fit on the Anniversary model, but with a little custom bracketry (no problem for me, since I know a number of machinists), I've been told that you can make most (maybe all?) of them fit. Is this true?

Next, I'd also like to get a ground-glass back for fine-focusing, but can't find a cost-effective solution locally, and there is no way I'm going to spent $300+ that they cost in the fine-photo webpages. Any more cost-effective ideas?

Lastly, I have a flash unit from a 35mm camera, and was wondering how I could go about using it with my SG? I have one of those bullet-shaped shutter units on the front shutter, so I know that it did once work with the battery-flashbulb unit, but I'm not sure how to synch it together with a modern flash unit, or even how to trigger the setup.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The difficulty of mounting a Polaroid (or any other kind of accessory) holder on an Anniversay is dependent upon which back your camera has. Mine was retrofil wtih a later Graflok back and everything fits right on with no problems.

There should be a ground glass in whatever back you have; isn't there?

It sounds like you might have a shutter without internal synch. The "bullet" is the syncronizer/solenoid. It will permit M-synch but not X. My Anniversary has these characteristics so I use flash bulbs.

Google around and you'll easily find manuals for both the Anniversary Graphic and Graflite flash unit that will explain how they work.

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Originally Posted by BrianShaw

. . . Google around and you'll easily find manuals for both the Anniversary Graphic and Graflite flash unit that will explain how they work.

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Graphic Graflex Photography by Morgan and Lester is the bible for Graphic photography. Any edition will cover the Anniversary model.

Mine has a Graphic spring-back, FWIW.

Les on www.graflex.org said that you can put a washer under the springs on the back to shim it out enough to use a Grafmatic back. I have done this with my Pre-Anny Speed and have been pleased with the results. No binding or straining of the spring back. The Polaroid back should fit with this adaptation.

... and if that isn't to your liking, Graflock backs appear on ebay every now and again. There are only 5 or 6 screws involved in the remove and replace sequence.

Just an update-I finally checked my opening with a ruler, and found that it's actually a 2.25" x 3.25" format. I'm not sure, but will this limit my choices on single-sheet film and/or instant film (I.E. Fuji 100 in a Polaroid holder)? As it is, I'm guessing that there wouldn't be much advantage in this format size for sheet film vs. 120 roll film, but instant film would, despite the cost, be something that I'd like to try in this camera. Any suggestions?

Yes, that will severely limit you. You will not be able to use 4x5 film or Polaroid. Roll film is PERFECT for that camera, though, and roll film holders are easily available. That format sheet film is extremely limited to 1 (I think) emulsion that only (again, I think) Freestyle carries.

.. but I think you'll still need a Graflok back to mount that size roll film holder.

Well, I have an old 120 roll-film unit, and it does fit (albiet a bit sticky going in), and I know that my dad DID use it. I've also just located the ground-glass focusing unit, so that's one less thing I'll need.

Upon further investigation, it seems that I have a "miniature" Speed Graphic (which, considering the size of the thing, seems almost preposterous today...). Still, I have heard about somebody getting the smaller Polaroid film to work on such a camera, but I'm not certain if it does a decent job, or if that conversion would work with the newer Fuji film. If anybody has any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them.

I shoot roll film in a 4x5 Graphic and would welcome a "miniature" since they are a lot smaller. But it does seem like an odd term, doesn't it?

I think you'll have fun with it!

Welcome to group therepy. Have fun with the little Speed...if you think "minature" is hard to apply to that camera, put it beside a 4x5! :) I think I'd give up on instant films 'till I got a 4x5 to work with.

The old style calumet roll film holder will work, but it uses 620 film (you can respool from 120). But you may be able to fit a 120 as the take-up spool. Be aware that the film take up spool winds "outwards" (reverse of normal), so be careful opening the holder, the film may unwind enough to expose the film. I have also modified the spring backs in the past to have "slides" that hold the 120 roll film holders, but no ground glass viewing. A graflock back for the 2x3 usually goes for the same price as the whole camera.

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Originally Posted by Wayne Aho

The old style calumet roll film holder will work, but it uses 620 film (you can respool from 120). But you may be able to fit a 120 as the take-up spool. Be aware that the film take up spool winds "outwards" (reverse of normal), so be careful opening the holder, the film may unwind enough to expose the film. I have also modified the spring backs in the past to have "slides" that hold the 120 roll film holders, but no ground glass viewing. A graflock back for the 2x3 usually goes for the same price as the whole camera.

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Looks like it is already equipped with 120 roll film holder so he can just load and shoot.

My suggestion is to put a couple of rolls through it and see how focusing and triggering the shutter works.

Once those skills are developed, work on flash synch and then finally think about figuring out how to get instant film working in it.