Medium format Polaroid back

[Joseph Dickerson]

I am shooting with a Gowland 6x9 field camera and would like to use Polaroid for proofing etc. Several companies offermedium format Polaroid backs but they don' t indicate if the backs fit a standard Graflock back or require a special adapte r.

I seem to remember that my Horseman VHR (long since sold) used the Graflock slid es to hold the Polaroid back in place but required a spacer to get the Polaroid into the proper focus plane.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Pete Caluori]

Greetings,

You may want to ask your question on the Medium Format discussion group at: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a.tcl?topic=Medium% 20Format%20Digest&topic=Medium%20Format%20Digest

Regards,

[Jeffrey Goggin]

Unfortunatley, you'll need to fabricate an adapter as the 2x3 Graflock back isn't wide enough between the slides to accomodate a Polaroid 405 back directly.

However, any good machinist should be able to handle this for you or you might try Gowland himself, Jim Galvin (jgalvin@cwo.com) or Steve Grimes (www.skgrimes.com), any of whom should be able to help you.

[David Brown]

This is something I've wondered about myself. It seems that a polaroid back from a RB67 or Graflex XL would fit, but I don't know for sure.

[dennis Lee]

Hi Joseph, I believe you are right about the Horseman polaroid back. I am 99% sure it will fit the standard 6x9 grafloc. I haven't tried it myself but have been told by 'reputable' sources that it would fit. The problem is finding one. I saw one on ebay a long time ago and it went pretty quick for around $250. The polaroid for the RB's has prongs that stick into the back of the camera after the grafloc is removed for this special mounting. I'm not familiar with the Gowland so I don't know if your back comes off in this same manner. I've been shooting with a 6x9 Century Graphic and made my own polaroid back in a few hours out in the garage. I took an old polaroid swinger, cut off the back with a hacksaw, and grafted it to a disected graflex sheet film pack (I'm sure you could use a standard 6x9 film back). I measured the difference in focal plane and put in a second set of infinity stops especially for the polaroid back. I checked the focus by putting a ground glass inside the polaroid back and adjusted the stops accordingly. It works quite well and the swinger handle allows for perfect polaroid pulls every time. The only problem I experience with the back is forgetting to change the lensboard between film and polaroid. Good luck, DL