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Thread: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

  1. #11

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    Re: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

    An eyepatch would make you look like a pirate... Arggggh!!! But 3d movies would be out... :-)

    (I actually use an eyepatch for astronomy when there is stray light around that can affect my night vision...) But I also close one eye while viewing a scene, and do the framelines thing with my fingers, to view in 2d, like your one-eyed monster (camera) sees...

    But seriously, you (or anyone) will have a dominant eye, and you can adapt your VF viewing to that eye with most (but not all) cameras... Try to find a way that both eyes can be open so one sees through the VF, while the other sees around the camera to see if anything is entering (or leaving) the frame... With enough practice, the eyes will merge, but there will be framelines in your IC...

    Steve K

  2. #12

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    Re: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

    Maybe check to see that the beamsplitter glass in the rangefinder is in good shape, especially since you'll be using it. They tend to get dirty and cleaned, which can wear off the reflective coating over time. And finding replacement beamsplitter glass isn't usually cheap and replacing them can be a bit of a pain. Also the WWII versions of the Graflex Anniversary Speed Graphic usually come with some bellows made of some weird asphalt impregnated cloth, or something like that. Anyway, they don't hold up near as well as the later Pacemaker versions. I bought one of those and had to replace the bellows, which was a bit of a pain. I eventually bought one of those that that guy from China is selling on the 'bay, which don't say if they're for the Anniversary or Pacemaker models. They're apparently for the Pacemaker, because the rear fits fine, but the front is a bit small. Anyway, with some creative gluing I got it all worked out and now it shoots fine. Also be aware that the shutter curtain material can harden and crack over time. So if you plan on using the shutter of a Speed Graphic (and not get a Crown Graphic), if may be a good idea to inspect the shutter for any cracks or dried out rubber coating. It's easy enough to repair with some lemon Pledge and some Plasti-Dip, but it's a whole lot easier to just buy one without that problem to begin with. Lastly, be aware of the different backs they come with. Some have a standard spring back. Some have the Graflex back, which requires special film holders to use, and some have a graflok back, which uses regular film holders, but also makes switching out to roll film holders a breeze. The front stand on the Pacemaker versions has some front tilt which is nice, especially for the drop bed feature, should you decide to ever use it. The Anniversay versions don't have tilt on their standards, but you can replace the standard bearer on the Anniversary with a Pacemaker version if you just remove one of the set screws to make room for the rangefinder arm while the camera is closed up. Be warned, the bed drops lower on the Anniversary model, so even with the Pacemaker standard bearer attached to the front of an Anniversary, you still won't be able to right the lens board to 100% parallel with the film plane, but you can get pretty close.

    As other's have said, I'm left eye dominant as well and the side mounted range finder works perfectly for me! It was a bit of a pain to set up though, and I don't like how on the Anniversary version, it's not easy to swap out lenses if you have the infinity stop set on the rail (it requires a screw driver to remove). The Pacemaker has it right with the flip out infinity stops that don't require a screw driver to remove.

  3. #13
    Recovering Leica Addict seezee's Avatar
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    Re: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

    Quote Originally Posted by thafred View Post
    Hey seezee, you got it the wrong way around with the M Vf is on the left so you can use your right eye comfortably without digging your face into the camera back
    Tell that to everyone who's ever poked themselves in the face with one of these! ;-b

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    "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."

    seezee at Mercury Photo Bureau
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  4. #14

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    Re: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

    Ditto on Left Eye Only (well, the right is 20/1000 or something like that - quite useful for reading small print at 3" or so from my face.)

    And I fully agree with the concept of only showing folks the good ones!!!

  5. #15
    Recovering Leica Addict seezee's Avatar
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    Re: Busted eye - Radiation - Graflex crown graphic rangefinder

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Andrada View Post
    Ditto on Left Eye Only (well, the right is 20/1000 or something like that - quite useful for reading small print at 3" or so from my face.)
    I never use a focusing loupe with LF because I can just peek over my eyeglasses.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Andrada View Post
    And I fully agree with the concept of only showing folks the good ones!!!
    If you've every looked at JCB's contact sheets, you'd know the truth of this.
    "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."

    seezee at Mercury Photo Bureau
    seezee on Flickr
    seezee's day-job at Messenger Web Design

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