glennview 11x14 sinar back

[Craig Wactor]

I bought a second-hand glennview 11x14 back. It is obviously an antique camera back mounted on parts of a sinar carrier frame. It seemed to work pretty well until I developed the film. The negs were soft. I measured the (modern) holder vs. the back, and the ground glass is almost exaclty 1mm farther back than where the film plane is with the holder in the camera. I know this is an issue with older 11x14 backs. I suppose I can just refocus by 1mm everytime, but I would like to eventually fix it, especially since refocusing isn't going to be accurate with rear movements in place.
Any ideas on fixing it? I was thinking that the best thing would be to unscrew the spring back and sand it down 1mm. I would hate to make a mistake on it, and not be able to fix it though. Any ideas on where to find a carpenter who would take it on?
I think fixing it would be easier than trying to find the correct film holders.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

You should call Glenn Evans (www.glennview.com/ (http://www.glennview.com/)) and have him make it right. Richard Ritter (www.lg4mat.net/ (http://www.lg4mat.net/)) can do this work for you, but I see no reason that you should have to pay for it.

[Oren Grad]

That's not so easy to fix - you're potentially talking about major surgery on the ground glass frame, depending on its exact construction, the condition of the wood, etc.

I'd second Jason's advice to call Glenn Evans about this rather than try to fix it yourself.

Are you using an ANSI-standard 11x14 holder like the Fidelity? Did Mr. Evans warrant that the back would be compatible with modern holders?

[Michael Kadillak]

Bummer. Such are the very detailed questions that must accompany such a specialized purchase.

Unless Mr. Evans pays to have Richard Ritter or another competent repairman make the necessary adjustments specific to your film holders it is useless and should be returned.

Paying to fix it particularly when you pay the prices that Glenn Evans commands is adding insult to injury. Fixing it yourself unless you are a highly skilled woodworker is not a good idea because you run the risk that you could unintentionally do more harm to its alignment than good.

Spend your valuable time making images.

[Brian Ellis]

I wouldn't be overly optimistic about getting Mr. Evans to do anything that involves him spending money. He misrepresented an item I bought from him a couple years ago. He refunded the purchase price but not the shipping costs either way. I thought that said a lot.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Similar thing happened to me. I bought a condit punch, first time I use it one of the pins breaks, I call him and he said, "you should have made sure the pins were aligned"......My thought was.... hmmm...one would have thought HE would make sure the thing was working perfect for the price he charged.

I never bought anything from him again, he is overpriced and not someone I would trust would treat me fairly or admit he made a mistake.

[J. P. Mose]

Smoke and mirrors.........

I have bought three purchases from Glenn...two have been misrepresented and overpriced....the third was just overpriced. I don't know how people like him survive in this dan age. I will say that Ebay has forced the true meaning of "supply and demand" in the market place. Sorry Craig, but your experience appears to be typical. Look up his rating on photo.net.

[Craig Wactor]

I bought the back on ebay, from someone who bought it from Glenn. I don't think I made that very clear. I don't know if he specified which holders. I also wonder if Glenn will do anything since I am not the original customer. I bought the holders and back from the same person, so I assumed they were correct. They are ansi-standard Fidelity Medical Cassettes.