Kalart Experiment: Failed (So Far)

[rdenney]

I've written about my experiment to add a Kalart side rangefinder to my top-rangefinder Pacemaker Speed Graphic. The specific objective was to be able to focus a Paragon 8-1/2" lens.

But I think the Kalart that I bought off some Anniversary Graphic is knackered. Firstly, the Pacemaker actuator arm is clocked differently on its collar, which is riveted down. I was able to get the actuator arm pointed in generally the correct direction by forcing the collar around on its rivet, such that I could get the Kalart to show infinity in focus in the middle of the focus-rail cam's adjustment range, at a position on the focus rail that also showed infinity on the top rangefinder. Then, I tried to set the 15-foot setting, and was able to get it very close, but with its adjuster at one extreme. But when I tried to get the close-focus adjustment done, there was no setting on the front scale that would allow the 15-foot setting to remain correct. After chasing the two settings for a couple of hours, I'm done.

Also, some prior bonehead turned the 15-foot adjuster clamp screw (which is left-threaded) the wrong way and stripped the head to the point where I have to use excessive force to make a screwdriver grip. This Kalart has been crapped on too much.

For the curious, minimum rangefinder focus is about six feet wtih this lens before the focus rail pulls the cam off the actuator arm.

I might do better with a Kalart in better condition. Or, I might not--I'm not sure the Kalart can be adjusted for a lens that long and work. I'll try and find a better Kalart to make one more try.

Rick "on to the next project" Denney

[Leigh]

Hi Rick,

The Kalart rangefinder manual that I just scanned does not say what focal lengths it works with, but the longest in the preset table is 6 3/8".

You may just be outside of its working range.

- Leigh

[rdenney]

Hi Rick,

The Kalart rangefinder manual that I just scanned does not say what focal lengths it works with, but the longest in the preset table is 6 3/8".

You may just be outside of its working range.

Could be. I saw that in the manual, too. If I can't get the Paragon to work, I'll probably try again with a Symmar 180, which I really don't need for my Sinar in any case. And I can reserve the Paragon for ground glass work.

But failed experiments add to the body of knowledge
As much as successful ones.

Rick "who knows others are also considering this trick" Denney

[Jay DeFehr]

Rick,

I have one (Kalart RF) to play with, and an 8-1/2" lens. My RF was completely frozen, and now, after some elbow grease and a dab of olive oil, it's a little better, but still doesn't move freely enough to work. In looking at my example, I think it might be necessary to add a cam to focus an 8-1/2" lens. It might be more work than you're willing to commit to the project, but I think it could be done. I think something similar could be done with a Polaroid RF. It's just a matter of linkages.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Rick,

I'm not clear from your description that you're using a second stock Graflex actuator arm (that came from a pre-Pacemaker Crown) engaging the focusing rail? I'd assume you are. If such an actuator arm is beyond the limits of the focusing rail travel range when used with an 8-1/2" (210mm) lens, couldn't it be lengthened (and, as needed, the holes for the Kalart simply relocated)?

Ivan "Prior to attempting this myself and screwing up my Kalart Synchronized RF perfectly adjusted to a 135mm Caltar on my Meridian" Eberle

[rdenney]

I'm not clear from your description that you're using a second stock Graflex actuator arm (that came from a pre-Pacemaker Crown) engaging the focusing rail? I'd assume you are. If such an actuator arm is beyond the limits of the focusing rail travel range when used with an 8-1/2" (210mm) lens, couldn't it be lengthened (and, as needed, the holes for the Kalart simply relocated)?

Ivan "Prior to attempting this myself and screwing up my Kalart Synchronized RF perfectly adjusted to a 135mm Caltar on my Meridian" Eberle

Ivan,

I had two arms, one for an Anniversary Speed and the other for a Pacemaker. The Anny arm has a long, gentle curve over its length, which runs into the attachment point for the internal cable release. The Pacemaker arm is straight but for one kink near the bottom. But the mounting collar, which has a screw that tightens against a flat on the Kalart's input shaft, is clocked differently on the Anny arm compared to the collar on the Pacemaker arm. Also, the offset to reach the focus-rail follower is different. That was easy to fix with pliers, but I still had the interference problem. So, I modified the Pacemaker arm by forcing a rotation of the collar to clock it correctly. When I get that were I want it, I will stake down that rivet connection again to retighten it.

The arm's forward travel it limited by the bed brace on the starboard side. It could possible travel a bit further if modified to clear that brace, which would not be hard to do, though then it might rub the bellows. But it was enough for the long lens to focus down to about six feet, which isn't that bad in an of itself, if it could do it accurately.

But the rear and front adjustments on the Kalart were at their limits, and I still could not find a spot that would focus both 15 feet and 6 feet. I suspect Leigh is right--the long lens is outside the range of the Kalart.

I have a line on a couple of newer Kalarts and that will give me a way to experiment further. Experimentation with the old one is made very frustrating by the stripped head on the rear adjustment screw, which is left-threaded, a fact which apparently escaped some previous tinkerer.

I think the rangefinder is sensitive enough even for this lens. I was checking focus at f/4.5 with a 10x loupe, and movement that visibly changed focus also visibly changed the rangefinder position.

Rick "postponing failure for a couple of weeks" Denney

[Leigh]

... I still could not find a spot that would focus both 15 feet and 6 feet.
:confused: The manual I have says the distance settings are 15 feet and 4 feet.
The LM-63A collimator designed for setting the rangefinder has targets at those distances.

When setting the close focus, is your target at the correct height, at the axis of the upper rangefinder lens?

- Leigh

[rdenney]

The rangefinder arm no longer contacts the cam follower on the focus rail when focused that close at 4 feet. I therefore expected more interactions between the measurements because of that. I tried about a dozen before giving up.

Rick "struggling to make many small iterative adjustments with a stripped adjuster screw head" Denney

[Ivan J. Eberle]

One variable at a time, dude. It's frustrating enough to adjust for a new lens with a functioning Kalart set up. And, it's an iterative process. (Which process is done faster and easier if you have a laser pointer at hand to shine through the RF-- to test for coincidence with the ground glass image.)

[rdenney]

One variable at a time, dude. It's frustrating enough to adjust for a new lens with a functioning Kalart set up. And, it's an iterative process. (Which process is done faster and easier if you have a laser pointer at hand to shine through the RF-- to test for coincidence with the ground glass image.)

Oooh! That is a neat trick!

(Another point for Leigh that I forgot to mention: I'm not using a collimator but I'm being careful about measurements.)

Rick "remembering that for the next iteration" Denney

[Leigh]

The rangefinder arm no longer contacts the cam follower on the focus rail when focused that close at 4 feet.
OK. You're definitely beyond the design maximum focal length for the rangefinder.

- Leigh

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Rick, the Kalarts pretty much all disengage below 3-4 feet as designed. Parallax error starts to become large at these closer distances.

Leigh, the question interests me a whole lot, so I'll press you as to whether you know this to be a fact through personal experimentation--or are you just quoting published literature?

[Neal Chaves]

Is the top range finder working? Why not just cut a cam for the 8 1/2" lens. The closest RF focusing will probably be around 8-10' with that lens, but you can cut the cam for one "Big Shot" close up distance of about 5'. Cutting TRF cams is not difficult. PM me and I will tell you how.

[Leigh]

Leigh, the question interests me a whole lot, so I'll press you as to whether you know this to be a fact through personal experimentation--or are you just quoting published literature?
That would depend on what 'this' means. :D

My comments are based on the published instructions for the Kalart rangefinder setup, two different editions, and the instructions for the military LM-63A collimator.

The LM-63A was designed by Kalart specifically for calibrating their rangefinder, although it can be used for other equipment as well. I have two of them, and have used them to set up numerous Kalarts on Graphic cameras.

- Leigh

[Ivan J. Eberle]

I too would like to have my 210mm lens working with a side-mount Kalart. It does seem from my own adjusting attempts yesterday that this out of range with the standard actuator arm on my Meridian. (Though I did seem to get it working between 6-15 feet). Does anyone have experience of changing the length of the arm or adding a bellcrank to change ratios or other mods in order to get longer lenses to work out to infinity?

The Top Mount Super Graphics have a long laundry list of cams out to 400mm. These have the plunger-ball set-up for the actuator, and in my limited experience from the one I owned can be very accurate and repeatable. But I also found that the cams are no longer easily sourced except for the common 135mm. And TRF Crown cams are different and even less available. So likely as not going to be a custom grinding job. But the main issue for me with the Super was that it didn't adapt as readily to an LED cat toy laser pointer. (Hence my interest.)

[rdenney]

Is the top range finder working? Why not just cut a cam for the 8 1/2" lens. The closest RF focusing will probably be around 8-10' with that lens, but you can cut the cam for one "Big Shot" close up distance of about 5'. Cutting TRF cams is not difficult. PM me and I will tell you how.

The top rangefinder is accurate with the 127mm lens for which the cam is designed. All cams for these are hard to find, and they never made one for an 8-1/2" lens. I looked into what it would take to cut a cam, and then I looked at the size of the cam (tiny, compared to the Super Graphic, and very tiny compared to the Linhof cams). I didn't think there was a chance in hell I could make a cam that would work accurately. A man has got to know his limitations.

Rick "visualizing sanding too much off of about a hundred blanks and then committing suicide" Denney

[Peter York]

You could pool together with other Pentac owners and have a cam for the lens made. This should substantially reduce the costs.

Neal has been kind enough to show me the cam making process, but if I am unable to do it myself, I MAY pursue this option. I am probably more interested in a 178mm cam for the Aero Ektar and Aviar, though.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Hey, whattaya know! I'd given up in frustration last night but gave it another try this morning. Finally did get the 210mm to work with my side-mount Kalart on the Meridian. I'd forgotten that the iterative process involves going back and checking/adjusting infinity after the other 15ft/ 4 ft (actually, about 6 feet). Each one of the adjustments affects the others: ballpark, close, closer, perfect is about how it went when I remembered to check all three.
I don't know if my experience relates to a Crown Graphic as the actuator arm may be entirely different. (I expect that the Meridian one might be a tad longer.)

[Peter York]

I'm jealous Ivan! When I first bought my Meridian 45B I removed the Kalart, thinking I would never use it. I broke the actuator arm in the process and so far have not been able to fix it. Someday I'll have someone perform the reapirs. What a great camera!

[rdenney]

Hey, whattaya know! I'd given up in frustration last night but gave it another try this morning. Finally did get the 210mm to work with my side-mount Kalart on the Meridian. I'd forgotten that the iterative process involves going back and checking/adjusting infinity after the other 15ft/ 4 ft (actually, about 6 feet). Each one of the adjustments affects the others: ballpark, close, closer, perfect is about how it went when I remembered to check all three.
I don't know if my experience relates to a Crown Graphic as the actuator arm may be entirely different. (I expect that the Meridian one might be a tad longer.)

I gave up as much as anything because making the adjustments with a ruined adjuster screw was just too difficult. I'm encouraged by your success and will give it another go when I've mounted a Kalart in better condition.

Rick "who needs a workspace accessible to an infinity target" Denney

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Peter, I have a Meridian 45B that's never a RF mounted, and I like it just fine.

But I find that I use my second one more often, a 45CE that came with a Kalart RF and Focuspot, since it's even faster to set up in rapidly changing light and because it's like a big handheld point & shoot when I'm out with a Grafmatic or two.

[rdenney]

Hey, whattaya know! I'd given up in frustration last night but gave it another try this morning. Finally did get the 210mm to work with my side-mount Kalart on the Meridian

Tried again today with a better Kalart, and SUCCESS!

The official instructions require adjusting infinity first (with the cam), then 15 feet (with the rear adjustment), then 4 feet (with the front adjustment).

Unlike the other Kalart, there was no flat on the input shaft, so finding the correct position of the actuator arm on the shaft was no small thing. It needs to be just right to allow adjustment room at infinity but full travel. That took about 10 attempts and a little bit of cussing, and I'd think I had it right but then find I still ran out of infinity adjustment room on that eccentric cam in a later iteration.

I also discovered pretty quickly that the lens had a touch of swing racked in. There's somthing slighly wierd about my focus track or front standard, but I found the setting on the infinity stops that provides a completely square lens position. That should be checked and corrected before even messing with a rangefinder. Any tilt or swing will make the whole exercise frustrating.

This Kalart was fresh as a daisy--it looked like it had never been mounted, let alone used. I bet it was a repair part, which may have been why it had no flat on the input shaft.

The rear scale, which is adjusted at 15 feet, ended up at an extreme end of its adjustment range (value of 20 on the rear cale). Right at 15 feet the RF is not quite absolutely perfect, but it is very close. At 25 feet and at 10 feet, it's perfect. I'm judging perfect with a 12x magnifier on the ground glass, which is surely pushing the limits of a Speed Graphic in any case. The front scale was not at an extreme, but it was close, maybe 9-1/4 on a scale that goes to 10 before reaching a hard stop. The 8-1/2" lens really is right at the edge of what the Kalart can be calibrated to focus.

As with Ivan, I had to adjust at infinity, adjust at 15 feet, and then adjust at a bit longer than close focus (about 6 feet). Then, go back to infinity and iterate. Four complete iterations nailed it.

I'll make some pictures of the camera and show it in the "Show your camera" thread. But my goal of being able to rangefinder focus after a quick change both the 127mm lens and the 8-1/2" lens has been achieved. Need to throw some Fujiroid in it and play.

Rick "not too impressed with that Graflex ground glass after getting used to the Maxwell screen on the Sinar" Denney

[Leigh]

That's wonderful, Rick. Congratulations. :D

- Leigh

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Hey Rick--
Congratulations! Private message en route...

[gevalia]

Tried again today with a better Kalart, and SUCCESS!

The official instructions require adjusting infinity first (with the cam), then 15 feet (with the rear adjustment), then 4 feet (with the front adjustment).

Unlike the other Kalart, there was no flat on the input shaft, so finding the correct position of the actuator arm on the shaft was no small thing. It needs to be just right to allow adjustment room at infinity but full travel. That took about 10 attempts and a little bit of cussing, and I'd think I had it right but then find I still ran out of infinity adjustment room on that eccentric cam in a later iteration.

I also discovered pretty quickly that the lens had a touch of swing racked in. There's somthing slighly wierd about my focus track or front standard, but I found the setting on the infinity stops that provides a completely square lens position. That should be checked and corrected before even messing with a rangefinder. Any tilt or swing will make the whole exercise frustrating.

This Kalart was fresh as a daisy--it looked like it had never been mounted, let alone used. I bet it was a repair part, which may have been why it had no flat on the input shaft.

The rear scale, which is adjusted at 15 feet, ended up at an extreme end of its adjustment range (value of 20 on the rear cale). Right at 15 feet the RF is not quite absolutely perfect, but it is very close. At 25 feet and at 10 feet, it's perfect. I'm judging perfect with a 12x magnifier on the ground glass, which is surely pushing the limits of a Speed Graphic in any case. The front scale was not at an extreme, but it was close, maybe 9-1/4 on a scale that goes to 10 before reaching a hard stop. The 8-1/2" lens really is right at the edge of what the Kalart can be calibrated to focus.

As with Ivan, I had to adjust at infinity, adjust at 15 feet, and then adjust at a bit longer than close focus (about 6 feet). Then, go back to infinity and iterate. Four complete iterations nailed it.

I'll make some pictures of the camera and show it in the "Show your camera" thread. But my goal of being able to rangefinder focus after a quick change both the 127mm lens and the 8-1/2" lens has been achieved. Need to throw some Fujiroid in it and play.

Rick "not too impressed with that Graflex ground glass after getting used to the Maxwell screen on the Sinar" Denney

Rick,
Glad you could put the Kalart to good use!
Ron

[Peter York]

Congrats Rick! I'd love to see some pics as I may go down this road in the near future.