I was just looking at some ebay auctions and I noticed this.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/GRAFLEX-GRAFMATIC...#ht_3075wt_980
I guess this holder holds 6 sheets of film? Is that correct? Is that compatible with all modernish 4x5 cameras?
I was just looking at some ebay auctions and I noticed this.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/GRAFLEX-GRAFMATIC...#ht_3075wt_980
I guess this holder holds 6 sheets of film? Is that correct? Is that compatible with all modernish 4x5 cameras?
Yes but it's overpriced. You shouldn't pay more than $80US for a nice one or $120 for one mint in original box. At least not in today's economy.
There is another one going for ~$40. I was more curious as to whether these things perform well, and are generally useful. I guess the main disadvantage is if something goes wrong you lose 6 sheets of film, rather than one. Perhaps its also harder to keep track of the development notes for each sheet of film.
I've been using them for 60 years and never had any kind of mechanical problem (yet).
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
Grafmatics are a slick bit of WWII-era technology that makes advancing sheet film reminiscent of using a 6-shot carbine rifle.
They do require a bit of practice, being much harder to load than standard 2-sided holders. You'll want a roomy changing tent and not just a changing bag-- or better still, a darkroom.
Couple of caveats. If you've got your camera setting up waiting for the right light, with the Grafmatic darkslide drawn and the film ready to be exposed-- but the light never improves enough to get the shot (as happened to me just last evening at sunset)-- then you have to move on to the next shot to get a darkslide in place in order to remove the holder. Then you'll need to remember which frame is unexposed and cycle through all those 6 sheets again to expose it out of order.
Grafmatics can be used in a spring back provided you have a wide enough gape, or can widen it with washers or a spacer block as I do with my Meridians. Something to watch for is that the action of cocking it for the next exposure can lift it off the film gate to cause a light leak if you have weak back springs. So they perhaps work best in a Graflok back with the sliders engaged.
Oh, incidentally, since you've got a modernish 4x5, be sure to buy the model 1268. (There was an earlier version --1168?-- for the Graflex back, that will not fit a modern spring or Graflok back.)
Actually, I don't have a 4x5 at all yet I'm strongly considering getting a Sinar F.
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