Hello. I have a Graflex super speed graphic camera with a (Graflex) Rodenstock Optar 135mm lense with a funny clock-back the whole collar shutter mechanism. The color images are not very good and I want to buy a better quality lens. What lenses would fit this camera? It has a specific lense-board, but I suppose this is typical for most graphlex cameras?
thanks, Mark
Can you post an image or two that you're unhappy with? It's doubtful that the color issue is a problem with the lens unless the shutter is slow and you're overexposing.
The Rodenstock Optar should be a good lens, although one without a lot of coverage.
Give us a bit more to work with and I'm sure you'll get some helpful advice.
JD
Originally Posted by Joseph Dickerson
hmmm.ok i'll post some examples. maybe I'm not scanning the slides properly.
mark
I have never had a complaint with my Optar 135, either because of "coverage limitations" or image quality (color or B&W) when the camera was properly used. For chuckles I once replaced the Optar with a 135 Schneider Symmar MC. I recall it being a easy swap on a Super Graphic board but the electronic release could not be used. I think the Super Speed board your lens is on is different. You can get a regular Pacemaker metal board and make it work, but I don't know if you can remove the lens you have and do a straight replacement or not. In teh end I didn't find the Symmar to be such a great improvement over the Optar so I went back to the original configuration. I would suspect, as JD said, that your problem is more probably with the shutter and exposure... or from not using tripod or fast enough shutter speeds if handholding.
hmmm. perhaps I need a new optar lens. I tried to upload some samples but they were too big. But I just noticed that at 100%, the images that I wanted to send are REALLY unsharp. Hmmm. (Scanned at 2400ppi to get a photo that will be 100cmx80cm at 300dpi, using silverfast on an epson v750 pro) they were done on a tripod on speeds of around a quarter of a second between f/11 and f/32. Funnily enough I have some very sharp images too - they were done manually - since my shutter doesn't work over half a second, I measure the light and set the aperture by hand- I kind of have to guess the size of the hole and cover and uncover the lense with a sock. hi-tech but it works.
Did you refocus between shots? Did you focus with the rangefinder or on the groundglass? Are you using a loupe to focus on the groundglass?
Are you examining the thing you focussed on in the image for sharpness? Different apertures will affect the sharpness of other elements in the scene.
Blurry images taken on a tripod are "usually" a focussing error, not a lens problem or other problems. Since some of your images are "very shap," its more likely that focussing is the culprit.
Peter Y.
I focus using the ground glass screen. I figured that if I have a small aperaturte, say f/11 to f/32 then if one third in front and 2 thirds behind the focusing point will be sharp then that gives me a wide margin for error. what I'm thinking about at the moment is: how acurate are these press cameras in terms of the ground glass being exactly where the film is?
They're usually accurate except if the fresnel is installed wrong. Look at your ground glass panel. There should be a plastic fresnel lens installed facing the lens (rough side facing lens). The frosted side of the glass should be facing the fresnel. Anything else will throw off focus by a little bit.
Dan
Close, but not quite... (I'm assuming by "rough side" you meant the grooved side.)
The fresnel should be on the lens side of the back, but the fresnel grooves and the frosted part of the GG should be sandwiched together in the middle.
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