Aero Ektar Speed Graphic Project

[tigger_six]

Ed's advice is right on the spot. Regarding bleaching the Aero Ektar lens, this works fine with a simple IKEA Jansjö LED lamp for 10 EUR/USD. The lamp was placed appr. 1"/2.5cm above the rear element. The maximum temperature reached at the rear element was less than 40°C/104°F.
After 10 days, the bleaching process seemed to be more or less complete, as can be seen in the image below:



Cheers
Andreas

I'd point out that the Ikea Jansjo lights are of many different makes (have different part numbers), and
not all are strong enough UV sources. The one I bought, for instance, didn't work and I used a UV flashlight instead, powered by a appropriate power supply instead of batteries.

[tigger_six]

Also, since I also have a newish SG/AE, does anyone have any advice on how to calibrate the rangefinder? Yes, I have read http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/kalart/new.html and http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/kalart-adjustment.html, but I still have trouble finding a slider position that lets me focus at 15 and 4 feet at the same time. (The issue is that the fix point of the front/back adjustment procedure seems to lie out of bounds of the rear scale.)

[Michael Cienfuegos]

I have an Aero-Ektar/Pacemaker that I only shoot off a tripod these days. It is a heavy kit, nearly eleven pounds, and as I have gotten older I am no longer able to hold it steady. It's still a great combination, the most expensive part of my kit was the Jo-Lo lensboard/hood combination.

m

[Valdecus]

I'd point out that the Ikea Jansjo lights are of many different makes (have different part numbers), and
not all are strong enough UV sources. The one I bought, for instance, didn't work and I used a UV flashlight instead, powered by a appropriate power supply instead of batteries.

This may be true. However, at 10 USD, I gave the LED lamp a try and it worked fine.

What is the UV wavelength range on your flashlight? How strong is it and how much did you pay for it?

Thx,
Andreas

[Valdecus]

Also, since I also have a newish SG/AE, does anyone have any advice on how to calibrate the rangefinder? Yes, I have read http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/kalart/new.html and http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/kalart-adjustment.html, but I still have trouble finding a slider position that lets me focus at 15 and 4 feet at the same time. (The issue is that the fix point of the front/back adjustment procedure seems to lie out of bounds of the rear scale.)

Since the depth of field at f2.5 is quite shallow, I didn't even bother trying to get the rangefinder calibrated, but rather focus on the ground glass. I have the rangefinder calibrated for the original 135mm f4.7 Graflex Optar lens instead. I heard that some photographers are successfully using the rangefinder calibrated for the AE, though.

Cheers,
Andreas

[tigger_six]

This may be true. However, at 10 USD, I gave the LED lamp a try and it worked fine.

What is the UV wavelength range on your flashlight? How strong is it and how much did you pay for it?

Thx,
Andreas

I think it's this one: http://www.amazon.de/UltraFire-WF-50...=uv+flashlight

I rigged it to the Ikea lamp power supply..

[EdSawyer]

I will see if I can look up my rangefinder settings for the Kalart with the AE. I was able to get it to calibrate one hundred percent down to minimum focus with a fair bit of effort. I just have to compromise very slightly on infinity focus but since I rarely shoot it at that length it was fine to do so. The end result was that infinity was not exactly at infinity between the rangefinder and the groundglass. But that compromise allowed the rangefinder to calibrate at all other distances excellently. By stopping down to f/4or 5.6 Infinity was in focus at the infinity rangefinder distance anyway.

[Corran]

Those Kalarts aren't necessarily consistent. Almost every one I've worked on didn't have the exact same calibration settings. Some were easier, one I had was completely impossible. It wouldn't even get close. I trashed it and used fresh mechanism from a different camera. I think I've calibrated about 6 AE/Speed cameras to be about perfect - but only if your eye was dead-center in the window!

[tigger_six]

I have spent maybe 5 hours now alternating between 4ft and 15ft, but it seems impossible to find a good configuration. Worst of all, the front scale moves forward and backward in addition to up/down, which makes large changes to the image alignment. I'm thinking about just buying a new rangefinder and swapping...

[Salmo22]

I was delighted to discover that a fellow photographer in my area has a "Aero-Speed" set-up. We met for lunch yesterday to discuss my interest. He brought along his camera and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time "playing". What a wonderful lens and camera combination. I came to a few conclusions (i.e. personal opinions). First, my initial thought of primarily using a tripod for my future Aero-Speed is a good idea - that is one heavy combination. Second, the Jo Lommen lens board, lens hood, filter holder are extremely well made and work perfectly with the Aero-Ektar and Pacemaker SG. Third, at f/2.5 composing and focusing via the ground glass and viewing hood was wonderfully easy. Lastly, to really maximize an Aero-Speed's unique properties for making photographs, I'll need to develop an "eye" for the types of situations, locations, and subjects that are enhanced by this terrific photographic tool.

I came away from this lunch meeting and opportunity to fondle an Aero-Speed with more enthusiasm for my project than every - what a wonderful camera/lens combination.