Newbie Questions

[PhotobyTMR]

Greetings all:
As a new member, let me say how informative the forum has been in helping me bring my late father's Crown Graphic out of it's careful storage (18 yrs), and get ready to take it out for a little use at a music festival in the Texas Hill Country in a couple weeks. The article on film loading has me nervous but better prepared. I bought a 10 pack of Ektar 100 to try. I plan to set up with a tripod and meter the shots but also plan to make a couple night shots with some remaining Sylvania 25B flashbulbs for old time's sake. Questions: Will the color temperature of the bulbs be in the ball park of what the film wants, and when I'm done do I send the film still in the filmholders to a lab for processing or does it go back in the original box?
Thanks,
PhotobyTMR (the message Dad stamped on the back of his prints)

[Robert Perrin]

Welcome! May I suggest a couple of things. First, if you have some of your father's negatives, you can practice loading with those. First in the light, then in the dark. Do be sure to carefully clean the film holders, too. After that period of storage, the shutter may be running slow. Best if a shop could check it, but at least "exercise" if through the various speeds giving it a few seconds between each firing. For flash bulbs, be sure that the shutter sync is set for M not F or X. It's been a long time since using blue flash bulbs but negative color film is very forgiving of color. Watch out though for the rapid light fall-off (difference in light on near and far) from an on camera flash especially in a large room or outdoors. Also if you are using the guide number on the bulb package it's for a small room reflecting some light back. In large rooms or outdoors you need to add about a stop.

[Liam:]

After taking the image put the film back in the box in the dark, make sure you don't muddle up exposed and unexposed You can then tape it up and send it to a lab.

I am using a crown graphic at the moment and its great fun and easy to use compared to other 5x4 cameras, loading film is very easy after some practice.

[PhotobyTMR]

Thank you so much for the responses. I will practice with the negatives and a couple boxes of Tri-X pan from the 79-80 era that I assume are no longer good. I found the original owners manual and carefully learned the basics of handling the camera. It was put away with great care and the shutter seems to function appropriately at different settings. The shutter is marked "(X) SYNCHROMATIC made by Wollensac for Graphex", so I don't see a choice there. It has a solenoid to actuate the shutter when using the flash gun.

[Robert Perrin]

The X setting is for electronic flash; it fires the flash the flash when the shutter if fully open. Flashbulbs take a little time (something like 15 milliseconds as best I recall) to come up to full brightness so they need to be fired that much ahead of the shutter's full opening. The solenoid is set to provide that delay. So as long as you fire the camera with the flashgun & solenoid the bulbs should work fine. The solenoid is also the best way to trip the shutter without flash. Electronic flash should be connected to the shutter but the shutter can still be tripped with the solenoid.

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therepy. Take a sheet or two to practice loading with from that Tri-X box in total darkness...it could very well still be good...the only way to know is to expose a sheet or two and process them. And as to the 25B bulbs, the blue bulb is used with daylight film, which Ektar is, so you should be OK. I'd be a little wary of using old bulbs in a public area with lots of people in front of me...flash bulbs sometimes shatter, spraying glass everywhere. I've had that happen to me twice and it was very disconcerting (I'm 63, so I used flash bulbs for a few years before strobes became the norm); fortunately, neither of my subjects was injured and neither sued me...of course, that was before everybody sued at the drop of a hat. A handle mounted strobe with Graflex clamps looks really cool on those Crowns, though.

[PhotobyTMR]

Robert,
thanks for the additional info. The information on the back of the flashbulb box says to use a shutter speed of "up to 1/30 for X Sync." (faster settings for M Sync). With a guide number of 190 for 100 speed film I get an aperture in f12.66 range at 15 feet. At those settings, does this sounds like a hand held shot? It sounds slow(shake), but the focus would be forgiving. These night shots will need to be quick and as unobtrusive as possible.
Vick,
point well taken. The batteries will be fresh too-I plan on shooting the musicians from 10 to 15 feet away and will watch for dancers!
Thanks

[Robert Perrin]

As far as hand holding 1/30 goes, when I was 50mmmm years younger I sometimes did when the image was destined to be used a column or two wide and there was little subject movement but I'd be much more comfortable with a 60th or faster. Unlike the short lit times of electronic flash, you'll pretty much get light throughout your exposure time so you have to stop subject motion, as well as camera movement, with the shutter speed. As mentioned in an earlier post, the guide numbers are for a "normal" room. I dug out a box of 25B bulbs and will try to go out tonight and meter one at 10 or 15 feet to compare with the guide number. I'd also suggest one quick experiment if you have a digital camera available. Outside in the dark, take a flash-lit picture of something like a picket fence from an oblique angle, or some kind of objects you can space a foot or so apart, to illustrate how the light falls off with distance.

[Robert Perrin]

I popped a few 25B bulbs. My Shepherd flash meter will not respond to the bulbs but an old Wein WP500 does. I got about the same results using bulbs with the Wein and electronic flash with the Shepherd, about one-half stop less light outdoors than in a regular room. These were done at 10 feet. The bulbs were in a bright 5" reflector which is quite directional. As near as I can figure the outdoors guide number (open flash, essentially equal to 1/30th or longer) with it is about 140. This was over some smooth light brown soil. These results seem consistent with what I could quickly find in the way of other individuals current tests but are a smaller adjustment than found in some of the old literature. One old Kodak book recommended 2 stops! I'm sure I never used that much. Do remember that guide numbers are not absolutes and there are many variables including your synchronization, dark vs light clothed subjects, surroundings, ambient light and surely dozens more. With negative color film a little more exposure is better than less so I'd tend to lean that way.

[PhotobyTMR]

Robert, How kind it was of you to do that test and share the results. I'll use that info as a basis, and bracket a few shots. (Uh Oh, this project may grow into another pack of film). There will be some stage lighting for these shots, usually with red and blue gels. I'll try to get in as close as I can. I did the experiment you suggested in my dark shop shooting a wall of exposed metal studs, and the fall off is significant.
I'm anxious to put all of this to the test.
Thank you very, very much.