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Kirk Fry
3-Nov-2006, 00:07
Well several weeks ago I asked what was the best hand held 4X5 camera under $500.
There was lots of opinions but there was kind of a consensus on a Crown Graphic. Well I bought one. I have it all set up except for the infinity stops which I don't have yet and one other problem. I have my 4.7F 135mm Xenar on it and that works fine. The camera has this neat little button on the left edge (looking at the lens) that is attached to a shutter release cable the comes down on the left side of the lens. Straight down. All that works fine. How do I connect that to the shutter release on the lens? I have seen a couple of pictures on ebay that show a finger that reaches over to the lens shutter release. Any idea what that finger is, how it attaches to the shutter cable and where I might get one? Of course I can just use a shutter release cable but the one on the camera looks very useful and I would like to get it to work.

Thanks,

Kirk

Ron Stowell
3-Nov-2006, 04:19
Kirk
Sounds like you are missing some parts; once in awhile these parts come up on e-bay. Probably the best bet would be to find a junk body. PM me I hve some parts for a Crown.

Dan Fromm
3-Nov-2006, 04:51
See http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20680

j.e.simmons
3-Nov-2006, 05:39
Kirk, these body releases frequently don't work or work poorly. It's reputed that most folks just reach around the camera and trip the shutter with a finger, or use a traditional cable release. A lot of old news photographers say using the body release pulls the camera down. Some folks would attach a regular cable release to the lens, then thread it over to and through the handle on the left side, then use the left thumb to trigger the shutter.
juan

Neal Wydra
3-Nov-2006, 07:57
Dear Kirk,

I'm going to attempt to attach a photo of my Crown Graphic showing the shutter release. If you are handy, you should be able to fabricate the parts you are missing. I find that mine works very well once I have it adjusted properly. This took more than a few tries, but now I can dial it in quite quickly after a lens change (this is the only lens I have that can use this release mechanism). McMaster-Carr is a great place to find little parts and materials.

It's funny. Looking at it again, I think a handle and a common cable release could be mounted where the flash brackets are. A much better solution. Also, check out www.graflex.org to find sources for infinity stops.

Good luck!

Neal Wydra

http://community.compuserve.com/n/docs/docDownload.aspx?webtag=ws-photography&guid=1746b515-9de1-4ae3-9362-4d2d01cdc4cb

Kevin Crisp
3-Nov-2006, 08:01
Kirk: I have a cannibalized junker in a box on the floor of my darkroom. Send me a photo of the front of yours and I'll see if I have the part(s) you're missing. There is a lever arm with little screws for adjustment that reaches over and pushes down the manual release arm on the shutter. Once adjusted, it works well. To use a cable release you screw it into the little hole by the release button on the body. When everything is adjusted, it works reliably. The problem set up is using a copal shutter since the manual release are is shorter and getting everything lined up just right is a problem. It can be done. Which rangefinder do you have? I need to know that before commenting on infinity stops.

Joseph O'Neil
3-Nov-2006, 08:47
Hi Kirk;
My crown graphic is in excellent shape, and the shutter release never worked 100% on it either. do like me, attach a cable release directly to the lens/shutter itself (get a good quality cable release) and trigger your shutter that way.

Do a few practice / dry runs hand holding your camera and firing off the cable release at the same time, and you will find, as I did, it's not very hard to hold the camera and fire at the same time.

Yes you can replace/repair the shutter release, but my personal experience is/was, this is never 100%, and according to some photographic variant of Murphy's Law, if the shutter release system works 99 out of every 100 times, it will be that 100th time failure when you really, really need to have that shot for sure at that exact moment.

Another thing I do for "speed shooting" hand held with my Crown, is preset the focus to infinity, figure out exactly how close I can get to an object with the lens set at infinity - for example, everything 30 feet and farther might be in focus on a particular lens when set at infinity and wide open, then I stop down ahead of time usually to F16 (give or take), preset my shutter speed, and just wait. I often use the little "gun sight" as I call it to range my shots. With a 135mm lens, it's pretty easy to do, and get everything you want into range. If you know you are shooting closer up - say 20 feet or ten feet away, then pre-focus, lock down, and get ready to shoot.

One last bit of advice - to get really sharp "hand held" shots, resting your body against a telephone pole or brick wall to hold yourself steady really helps, as does setting your camera on top of a park bench or holding the camera against a wall itself with your hands while you shoot is almost as good as using a tripod for image sharpness. Use your imagination, you will find there are many "natural" tripods out there. :)

good luck

joe

65Galaxie
3-Nov-2006, 17:17
My external shutter release isn't 100% reliable either on my Speed Graphic either. I use a standard cable release and it works ok with some mods. Both of my lenses are in a Graflex shutter and the end of the cable release needs to be sanded flat otherwise the cable end slides off the release lever inside the shutter and will get jammed up. Sand it flat and it will work 100% of the time.

Kirk Fry
3-Nov-2006, 21:59
Hi Folks,

Neal has a great picture, mine is identical. I see what I am missing. I have a Kalart side range finder. I will contact folks who have offered help and parts.

Thanks for the help.

Jim Ewins
3-Nov-2006, 23:09
Be sure to vist graflex.org

BrianShaw
4-Nov-2006, 09:06
Another thing I do for "speed shooting" hand held with my Crown, is preset the focus to infinity...

The shutter release on my SuperGraphic works 100% reliably, but only when the battery is good. When battery goes, a cable release works but is a bit more clunky to handle.

For "speed shooting" I prefer to set focus to hyperfocal distance rather than infinity. That requires a DoF table, but generally my memory is good enough to remember the couple of hyperfocal distance settings I might be be using.