Graflok back for 4x5 camera

[glrerun]

I am having a 4x5 back made for my 5x7 Deardorff. I have the option to get the new back with a Graflock back. I am undecided!!! I would like for the camera to be in its traditional form, but the graflok back does allow me to shoot 120 film as an option. Is this worth doing? Has anybody ever shot 120 film on their large format field camera or is this a goofy idea?

[B.S.Kumar]

If you're getting it made, it might be a good idea to make it modular, in the sense that the 4x5 part itself should be easily removable. Then, you could adapt it to whatever camera you might get in future. Or fit it to a half-plate camera. The Graflok would be useful, and wouldn't cost that much more, since only a couple of sliders need to be added. I just sold an excellent condition Rittreck Graflok 4x5 back - the buyer's original 4x5 back wasn't a Graflok type.

Kumar

[Kevin Crisp]

Well, it doesn't qualify as goofy, but a DD 5X7 bellows gets a bit problematic with lenses shorter than about 120mm. Whether this is an issue depends on what MF format you are shooting. You have to go to the 'wide angle' position on the front standard, eye balling it and leaning it back. That is a level of imprecision some people don't like. On the other hand you have the sliding panel on the front which excels in this position. There are better choices if shooting 120 is your goal. The Graflok back is handy for using Grafmatics, which I use often, and the classic Graflok gg and fresnel are decent enough, though not on par with a Maxwell screen. And the Graflok back is inherently strong and durable.

There is nothing non-traditional about a Graflok back on a 5X7 Deardorff; factory ones were available with a fixed Graflok back (manually reposition it for verticals) and a rotating Graflok back.

[Drew Bedo]

Shooting 4x5 or roll film on a 5x7 camera allows for some extreme macro due to the extra (for 4x5) vellows extension.

If course there is a penalty at the other end as shorter lenses will not focus at infinity.

In the 1990s I had a 5x7 Burk and James with a DIY 4x5 reducing back—a Grafloc—that I liked a lot. Wish I still had it.

[djdister]

If you are going to make a 4x5 back for a 5x7 camera, make sure the back can work with a 6x12 roll film back, since you will be able to shoot nice mini-panoramic shots on a plethora of 120 film...

[Drew Bedo]

Whatever you do . . .please post here and let us know how it works for you..

Cheers

[Robert Brummitt]

My Wisner Tech Field has a graflok back. I used it much more then my 4x5 for two reasons. First, I like roll film. I can do more with roll film then a single sheet. Second, is I can get a tighter image on my ground glass without extending my lens bellows.
There is a third benefit. I use a Horseman 6x7 roll back but there are also 6x6, 6x9, and I understand wider roll backs. All these give you a boarder range of image sizes to work in.
The negative thing for my graflok is I have to unscrew the ground glass to use the roll back. It's a pain specially in cold weather but do able.

This is my two cents.

[Drew Bedo]

Unscrew? With The Grafloc design that I am familure with, the GG mounts and is removed simply by depressing two clips. The Roll film backs that I have used are held securely in place with sliding retaining strips.

My ignorance is profound and vast (just ask my monter-in-law): What do I not understand about your Grafloc back?

[Robert Brummitt]

154501
Unscrew? With The Grafloc design that I am familure with, the GG mounts and is removed simply by depressing two clips. The Roll film backs that I have used are held securely in place with sliding retaining strips.

My ignorance is profound and vast (just ask my monter-in-law): What do I not understand about your Grafloc back?

See the two knobs? Those I have to unscrew to fit my rollback in.

[Dan Fromm]

154501

See the two knobs? Those I have to unscrew to fit my rollback in.

Sir, your camera doesn't have a Graflok or even an International back. It has a spring back. Which roll film backs do you use with it?

[Robert Brummitt]

Sir, your camera doesn't have a Graflok or even an International back. It has a spring back. Which roll film backs do you use with it?

Thank you for calling me Sir. Very much like that! But if you look to the sides behind the spring locks you'll see the Grafloks. When I bought the camera from Wisner I paid for the Graflok back so I can use my 120 Horseman 154507rollback.

Maybe I have it wrong but thats what I've been using for 20 years.

Thanks again!

[Dan Fromm]

I was half wrong. Not Graflok, International.

The difference between the two is that a real Graflok back's focusing panel is held to the camera's back by two spring-loaded bars and detach easily. International backs come in many varieties, some with easily detachable focusing panels. For example, Cambo made at least three types of International backs for the 2x3 SC-1. I have two different ones. One has a focusing panel that slides out to allow a roll holder to slide in. The other has Graflok slides, like yours, that, unlike yours, hold the focusing panel in place; when the focusing panel is removed the slides hold a roll holder.