1/2000 ?

**Mikkel McAlinden** · 18-Dec-2007, 14:08

Dear all, you are energetic elves! Peter your information on Kerr-cell sounds very optimistic, send me your e-mail and I'll tell you the big idea, maybe we can figure something out. Dan and David, thank you for your information on Speed Graphics and Press Graflex - it's a good back up, and something I will investigate further. Ah Jim! Where would the fun be in that? And since this is large format photography - How dare you blaspheme! No seriously, as I've seen from your images which I enjoyed, we're all a bit hooked on this strange fetish of making photographs seem real and the more information we can shove into an image the better.
____________
Then I went back into the house and wrote, It is midnight. The rain is beating on the windows. It was not midnight. It was not raining.
Samuel Beckett, Molloy

**bbjorkum** · 18-Dec-2007, 18:05

Well, if you'd go for a Speed Graphic, you could try to modify the curtain by reducing the slit width. I don't think there's more tension left in the bottom roller to tighten it up as much as you'd like. Anyway, it's a big leap from 1/1000 to 1/2000 ... You could try to approach http://www.johndesq.com/

**Brian Ellis** · 19-Dec-2007, 12:31

Horses for courses. Your equipment doesn't seem well suited for the project you have in mind. Time to think . . . gasp . . . digital camera. :-)

**Nate Battles** · 19-Dec-2007, 12:42

A few years ago there was an article in VC about a guy who photographs space shuttles during lift-off, he had an electronic shutter mechanism that fired very rapidly. I don't remember now if he made it or what. I realize this is probably not helpful at all. But, if Steve Simmons is around here, I am sure he'd know.

**Ole Tjugen** · 19-Dec-2007, 13:55

You may be asking the wrong people here, I think.

Not that there is anything wrong with the people here or their technical knowledge, it's just that the person I know of who is best qualified to help you is "Gadget" Gainer.

And he's mostly over on apug.org...

**Eric Woodbury** · 19-Dec-2007, 18:14

How about a rotary shutter? What kind of speeds can one get with a rotary? You might have to build your own and mount a lens around it. Just a thought if it has to be LF.

**Gordon Moat** · 19-Dec-2007, 20:29

The Sinar M shutter system, which will fit onto the Sinar P3 view camera, has a fastest shutter speed of 1/2000. Definitely not a cheap system, but it will work. This could be considered more a medium format system than large format. However, I suggest you contact Sinar directly and ask them about your imaging problem; they might have some quite good suggestions for you.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

**Mikkel McAlinden** · 20-Dec-2007, 09:54

Dear All, I'll try to answer. Brian and Gordon I agree digital is possible albeit expensive. Digital photography has it's positive aspects. I am in fact known for my use of digital manipulation, but I still use film. The downside of digital photography is it's rotten at the core namely the RGB receptors. Highlights always result in "banding", my idea has an infinite amount of highlights and banding really is horrible and breaks the contract with the viewer. Nevertheless I have asked for more info from Sinar. Eric, a rotary shutter may be a possibility similar to some ideas I've had do you have any more information? Ole, thank you for your tip. I will post my question also at apug.org.

**David Millard** · 20-Dec-2007, 18:15

Mikkel -
John Brackenbury designed and made a high-speed shutter consisting of a metal plate with a small 3-4mm aperture fitted in front of the lens, and a single pivoting solenoid-driven shutter vane, to achieve some of the incredible images that appear in his book "Insects In Flight". I'm not sure whether this would be helpful for your goals, but I would be happy to send you a copy of the pertinent pages. If I recall correctly, Stephen Dalton may have also discussed high-speed shutter design in some of his books.

**Ernest Purdum** · 21-Dec-2007, 10:47

High-speed large format shutters have always been rather prone to suicide, ever since the Prosch "Athlete" which obtained its speed by the brute force of two big coil springs. The Super Speed Graphic shutter was much more scientific. Even though many have failed beyond repair, some are around still in working condition. If you got one of these and had it CLA'd, that would probably be reliable.

There was also the "Multispeed" shutter, for which, if I remember correctly, 1/2000 was claimed, but the chances of finding one which could be put into good order would be poor. I did see, though, one which was claimed to work on eBay recently.