grafmatic film holder variation

[Raymond L. Fenio]

I recently purchased a Horseman FA. I decided to use a grafmatic film holder and found one at a local camera store. Unfortunately, when I attempted to put it on my camera it is too wide. I did a search and discovered there are two types of 4x5 grafmatic holders -- how wonderful. The cat. no. is 1168 on this holder. How do I determine if a grafmatic will work on the horseman? Is there a specific cat.no. that I should look for? I read in the archives that there is a ridge on the face of the narrower type whereas I have a groove in the face of this holder. Luckily, I can return this holder to the camera store and will continue the search. I'd appreciate any suggestions or opinions.

[Stewart Skelt]

I have a Horseman FA and a Grafmatic cat no. 1268 which fits OK.

[Juergen Sattler]

Ray, as you discovered there are indeed two versions of the Grafmatic - the one you bought is for the older Graflex backs - not the more modern Graflok or spring backs. As Stewart said, look for the 1268 type and you'll be fine. There is also a Kinematic holder for 10 shots and it will fit your horseman as well.

[David A. Goldfarb]

And among the 1268 type, there seem to be two variations. Later ones have a locking pin, so the holder locks after the sixth shot, and earlier ones lack this pin. Both work fine, but with the non-locking variety, you want to be careful to remove the holder from the back by pulling the body of the holder and not the darkslide handle, or you'll pull the darkslide and potentially expose the last sheet. If you have the locking type, you can pull it by the handle, but it's probably a good idea not to, since the handle can crack with repeated stress (you see a lot of old Grafmatics with broken handles).

[Ernest Purdum]

Mr. Fenio, if you care to put that Grafmatic up on eBay, I'll bid on it and I should guess others will too.

[Paul Ewins]

Ray,
eBay is probably the best place for it because the type you have, known as the "Graflex" type, is much rarer than the "Graphic" type which fits the Speed/Crown Graphic and most cameras with a Graflok/Universal back. Otherwise I am sure there are people on this board, myself included, who would happily swap you a regular grafmatic for the one you have.

The "Graflex" type you have was made to fit the old Auto-Graflex and RB Graflex SLRs. The catalog number is 1168 although this may not be printed on the back. What it will most likely have is a little picture of a camera in the middle of the back with "45" G R A F L E X printed next to it. This gets confusing as the company manufacturing them was also called Graflex, so both types usually have "Graflex, Inc" printed on them somewhere.

The "Graphic" type that you need was manufactured for Crown Graphic, Speed Graphic and Super Speed Graphic cameras with the Graflok back. The catalog number for these is 1268 but again, this may not be printed on them. These will either have "45" G R A P H I C printed on them, or may have CAT. NO. 1268 GRAPHIC printed in the top left.

The physical difference between the two is that the "Graflex" type has a wider base while on the "Graphic" type the base is the same width as the rest of the grafmatic. The "Graflex" type also has a slot running across the base near the handle while the "Graphic" type has two ridges in that position.

Have a look at this auction as the pictures are quite clear.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/GRAFLEX-GRAFMATIC-1268-FILM-HOLDER-GOOD-CONDITION_W0QQitemZ7599530299QQcategoryZ29979QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hope that helps!

[Raymond L. Fenio]

Thanks for all the useful information. Yes, I do have the Graflex type and it does have a small profile of a camera imprinted as well as the Cat.no. 1168. Earlier this evening before the 'Sopranos' I did purchase a 1268 grafmatic on ebay for $81. I paid $90 for the 1168 back from a camera store here in Reno. It is in excellent condition which is why I bought it. I planned on returning it tomorrow but if someone had an excellent 1268 I'd consider a trade.

My follow up question---I have a horseman 6x9 that I have only used with rollfilm backs and am not familiar with sheet film. I plan to get a changing tent or bag to load and unload. My ignorance is how to get the E-6 film through the mail to a developer such as Calypso. What is the best method to ship exposed film. I assumed a box but what kind of box or envelope works best?

Thanks again for the help.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Sheet film comes in a three-part light-tight box, and you want to bring or ship the film to the lab in such a box. Of course at the beginning, you might not have spare boxes, so you might just ask a lab or another LF shooter if they have some spares, or ask here, or if you're shooting E-6, buy a film that comes in 10-sheet boxes at the beginning, and ask the lab to return the boxes with the processed film.

To ship film, just put two rubber bands around the three-part box, and pack it in another box, like the small USPS Priority Mail boxes that are about the size of a book, or comparable FedEx box.

[Mark Sampson]

Ray, ship your exposed film in a triple-box, the same kind that the fresh film comes in. If you're just starting and don't have an empty filmbox yet, perhaps your lab will send you a few. Light Impressions also sells a box that will work.