Infinity Stops on Crown Graphic

[Navy Moose]

Hello Friends,

I have a Caltar II-N 90mm f/6.8 lens in addition to the Wollensak 135mm f/4.7 lens which came with the Crown.

From a couple of searches I ran here, I read I should get an additional set of infinity stops for my 90mm lens. My question concerns where on the rail I should attach the second set of infinity stops for this lens?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Navy Moose

[Dan Fromm]

Go to www.graflex.org , read the Speed Graphic FAQ, pay attention to the directions for adjusting the Kalart RF.

[Navy Moose]

Hi Dan,

I use the ground glass for my work, I honestly wasn't going to bother with the Kalart.

Thank you.

Navy Moose

[Kuzano]

Then, when you unfold the camera, you run the front standard out to the infinity stops for your lens in use. That's your starting point for then using the GG for focusing. Saves having to futz around with a starting point. Not a big deal however. If I were doing it, I would do my first infinity focus on the GG, and then install the infinity stops up against the front standard at that point for future use. Having the two infinity stops also makes sure you are starting with the front standard parallel to the ground glass.

There always seem to be a good supply of Graflex infinity stops on eBay, although some seem to think they are made of a much more precious metal than they are.

[Dan Fromm]

Hi Dan,

I use the ground glass for my work, I honestly wasn't going to bother with the Kalart.

Thank you.

Navy MooseMoose, as Kuzano wrote, if you're using the GG you should set up at least one set of stops so that when the lens you use most is mounted and you pull the front standard out to the stops and run the rails all the way back the lens is focused a tiny bit through infinity. This to make setup easier and to ensure that at least the lens you use most can be set up with no unintended swing.

I use too many lenses on my Graphics to be able to afford infinity stops for each, never mind about there being room for 'em on the rails. To avoid unintended swings, I have a little plate (actually two, one for my 2x3 Speed and Crown, another for my Century) shaped like an inverted top hat that rides on the rails with the narrow section just squeezed inside the rails. This is effectively a set of movable stops that helps me avoid small unintended swings.

Cheers,

Dan

[Kevin Crisp]

I assume that you have the infinity stops for the longer lens already on there and are putting on another pair for the 90 mm lens. The short answer is that they go inside the ones you already have on there, closer to the ground glass.

The longer and better answer is put the camera on a tripod with the 90 mm lens on it, with the aperture wide open. Point the camera at something far enough to away to be your infinity. Rack the focus all the way back in as far as it will go with the bed down in the horizontal position. Now pull the front standard lock out (i.e., unlock it with the lever) so that you can slide the front standard forward and back on the focusing bed. WITHOUT RACKING OUT THE FOCUS WITH THE KNOBS, slide the front standard forward and back until infinity is in focus on the ground glass, with the focusing rack still as far in as it will go. Double check to make sure you don't have the front standard swung a little, as this can happen when you slide it forward and back and lock it in position without the aid of stops. Square it up, lock it in position with the front standard lever then slide the new infinity stops back toward the front standard until they touch. Tighten them down being careful not to overdo it with the tiny screws which are easily stripped. The wire hoop finder should just clear the top of the front of the camera in this position when you pull it up. The hoop finder automatically compensates for the shorter lens since it is now closer to the peep hole on the back and will show an appropriately larger area of the subject. And you couldn't ask for a brighter finder. I find this much better than the optical finders on the top with the masks.

To double check you work, fold up the camera with the focusing track all the way back. Open it and pull the front standard out to the stops you just installed. Check the ground glass looking at something at infinity and make sure it is sharp. If it is, you are done.

If you can find a real Graflex 90mm bed scale, that is obviously the way to go but you can write distances on the bed on white tape or taped on paper and this will work for handheld work or any other time you don't want to check the ground glass. I am assuming that you have the Kalart rangefinder already set up for the longer lens and/or don't have a cam for the 90mm if you have a top rangefinder model.

I personally think the above method (you pull it open and you are ready to shoot at infinity) is very fast and efficient and hopefully your 135mm lens was set up this way too. If not, you might want to change that so both are in focus at infinity when pulled out to the appropriate stops with the focusing bed in the rear position. There are lots of cameras out there set up badly and the instructions on the net are not crystal clear at times. Good luck, great camera I love mine.

[Navy Moose]

Hello Gentlemen,

Thank you for your answers. There is a set of infinity stops for the 135mm lens. I used the camera and the 135mm lens for the first time yesterday. I ran the from standard out to the stop and the object was in focus.

The rangefinder kind of works. I can barely make out an image while looking through it. One of these days I'll clean it.

Thank you again,

NM

[Greg Lockrey]

The stops are good for setting up to infinity. The range finder would have to be readjusted for each of your lenses to be precisely accurate. What I did was have a set also fo a 90mm and a 210mm and used the 150mm rangefinder settings to determine distance and the 90-210 had scales that corresponded to the scale on the 150mm. So I would measure with the rangefinder read the scale for 150 and move the focus to either 90 or 210 to match the distance. It's pretty close when considering DOF.

[bbjorkum]

According to the service Crown and Speed Graphic instructions, the yoke should be moved approx. 1/8 inch forward when adjusting the rangefinder for infinity. I have a Speed Graphic, and things may be a little different than on the Crown. When using my 90mm optar, the front standard sort of balances on the front edge of the rear yoke. I'm also not able to tuse the frame finder, as it's stuck inside the camera body. Luckily I have the 90mm viewfinder adaptor. I have been able to set up and adjust my camera and rangefinder for a nice range of four lenses (90mm, 135mm, 7" and 8").