Grafmatic: Sequence of Operation (Confused)

[spacegoose]

I've acquired a Grafmatic, have it loaded, and am a little confused about its operation.

Currently, the dark slide is down, the wheel is at X - the red indicator is black.

Before attaching to camera, I will turn the wheel to 1?

My confusion is this - everything I've read does not mention leaving dark slide up during exposure.

Do you leave it up during exposure?

E.g. this (http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/accessories.html) mentions not needing to leave the dark slide out. And the red dot indicating exposure, and its absence indicating an unexposed frame.

Since I have to pull the entire assembly out, and then push it back in, to advance the counter and frame, I can't see how leaving the dark slide in during an exposure will also allow me to advance to the next frame without fogging the frame. Perhaps mechanical magic will move the currently exposed frame to the back, while also moving the next unexposed septum to the front, yet still behind the dark slide?

Does pulling and pushing the dark slide bring a septum in front of the dark slide, or is it still behind it, when the dark slide is down?

I assume pulling the dark slide will pop a septum in place to the front, allowing it to be exposed. Pushing the slide down will protect it, allowing me to pull the whole magazine out to advance to the next frame, repeating until 6?

Thanks,
sG :confused:

[KenM]

I've acquired a Grafmatic, have it loaded, and am a little confused about its operation.

Currently, the dark slide is down, the wheel is at X - the red indicator is black.

Before attaching to camera, I will turn the wheel to 1?

My confusion is this - everything I've read does not mention leaving dark slide up during exposure.

Do you leave it up during exposure?

E.g. this (http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/accessories.html) mentions not needing to leave the dark slide out. And the red dot indicating exposure.

Since I have to pull the entire assembly out, and then push it back in, to advance the counter and frame, I can't see how leaving the dark slide in during an exposure will also allow me to advance to the next frame without fogging the frame. Perhaps mechanical magic will move the currently exposed frame to the back, while also moving the next unexposed septum to the front, yet still behind the dark slide?

Does pulling and pushing the dark slide bring a septum in front of the dark slide, or is it still behind it, when the dark slide is down?

I assume pulling the dark slide will pop a septum in place to the front, allowing it to be exposed. Pushing the slide down will protect it, allowing me to pull the whole magazine out to advance to the next frame, repeating until 6?

Thanks,
sG :confused:
Yes, advance the wheel to one. Depending on the version of grafmatic you have, this will unlock the mechanism so you can pull the darkslide. Other versions do not lock the tray when at 'X'...

You should always push the darkslide back in after pulling it to expose the next negative. This prevents any extra light from fogging the other sheets of film. The septum pops forward; when you push the darkslide back in, it goes behind the top septum.

Once the exposure has been made, place your left hand on the camera back (ensuring that you don't pull the grafmatic away from the camera, thereby fogging your exposed sheet), and using your right hand, engage the silver lever and pull the entire tray out. Once you pull it out all the way, the front septum will go to the back of the stack. You'll hear it. Then, push the tray back in all the way until you hear a click. The counter wheel should have advanced to the next number.

You can now remove the grafmatic from the camera.

I would suggest playing with the grafmatic outside the camera (with no film in it!) to get an idea of how the sequence works. A little bit of practice, and it'll be second nature.

Good luck!

[Paul Ewins]

OK, once it is loaded you need to move the counter from x to 1 before you can start the cycle.

Once you are ready to take a shot and your shutter is cocked pull the darkslide all the way out and then push it back in. The top most septum will now be sitting in front of the darkslide.

Fire the shutter and then pull the tray in and out. As you pull it out the top most septum will stay in place while everything else moves. The springs in the body will then push the septum to the bottom of the grafmatic. Meanwhile the darkslide is covering the rest of the septums as you pull the tray out.

When you push the tray back in the septum sitting in the bottom of the grafmatic will be pushed under the bottom septum in the tray.

Note that once you have pulled the darkslide if you decide not to shoot then the only way to protect the exposed septum is to cycle through to the next sheet - or through all six sheets if you want to get back to where you started. I've fogged a few sheets of film by deciding not to shoot and then removing the grafmatic from the camera so I can compose the next shot.

[Denis Pleic]

SG, have you read the instructions? They can be found on the same page you linked:

HERE are the Grafmatic instructions (http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/grafmatic).

Once you read those, everything should be clear - you'll also find illustrations which will help.

[David de Gruyl]

If you are having trouble conceptualizing the way it works, why not load the septums with paper (regular paper) and cycle it. At least then you will see when it is ready for exposure and when it is not.

You can do this without the paper, but the septums look remarkably like the dark slide.

[spacegoose]

OK, once it is loaded you need to move the counter from x to 1 before you can start the cycle.

Once you are ready to take a shot and your shutter is cocked pull the darkslide all the way out and then push it back in. The top most septum will now be sitting in front of the darkslide.

Fire the shutter and then pull the tray in and out. As you pull it out the top most septum will stay in place while everything else moves. The springs in the body will then push the septum to the bottom of the grafmatic. Meanwhile the darkslide is covering the rest of the septums as you pull the tray out.

When you push the tray back in the septum sitting in the bottom of the grafmatic will be pushed under the bottom septum in the tray.

Note that once you have pulled the darkslide if you decide not to shoot then the only way to protect the exposed septum is to cycle through to the next sheet - or through all six sheets if you want to get back to where you started. I've fogged a few sheets of film by deciding not to shoot and then removing the grafmatic from the camera so I can compose the next shot.

Thanks everyone, this clarified it for me!

[Kevin Crisp]

Spacegoose -- a few more suggestions.

1. A lot of them out there aren't too stellar at keeping the carriage in all the way when you pull the dark slide out for the exposure. If yours has an issue like this, put a thumb on it when you pull the dark slide. If yours is fine, don't worry about it. Always make sure the Graflok slides on the camera or back are really fully engaged before the big tug.

2. Jams are frequently caused by septums that don't quite hold the film, so it can slip out a little. There were two designs on the septums. Make sure that yours are holding the film in, just gently, or you may have an issue. You can ever so carefully bend the little tab on some to hold the film a little tighter.

3. After you are done with an exposure, do use the little wheel at the bottom to lock the slide and carriage until you want to use it again.

4. Plan for a little loss of negative area for the numbering wheel, if yours is still there.

5. If you are shooting with the camera pointed significantly down, level it out before you cycle the carriage. It took me some time to figure out what was causing jams and this eliminated a lot of them. When shooting handheld, there is a natural tendency to point the camera straight down to cycle to the next one, which causes problems.

6. Carry a cheap little changing bag, just in case.

Good luck, they are really a pretty amazing device.

[JOSEPH ANDERSON]

The little numbers are nice, if you want to take notes on your exposures.
A little practice and you'll get it down pat.

good luck Joe A