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Thread: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

  1. #41

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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by LabRat View Post
    On a Graflex, most of the boxy body is the mirror box and is large... They only use longer focus lenses due to this...

    You would be well informed by prototyping the mirror box, front lens extension, and FP placement in card or foam board to see the distances needed to get a lens to focus correctly, and work out the order of operations needed to operate camera functions on demand (in a timely fashion)...

    A lotta hills and walls for this project... ;-)

    Steve K
    yes, i know that already. i don't know why people keep bringing it up, like i've never seen an slr before. my mirror box needs to be (roughly) 4" tall, 5" wide, 4"-5" long (depending on how much of the mirror i can have sticking out into the bellows without hitting anything), a little extra length at the back to slot into the fp shutter and a 4"x5" raised section on top for the gg to match the depth of the fp shutter and back. i'm probably going to be limited to 180mm or longer lenses. order of operations is simple: check that the two ggs are aligned properly, load the film holder, set the shutter speed, pull the dark slide, frame and focus my shot with one hand then hold down the lever to raise the mirror and release the shutter with the other hand.

  2. #42
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    Try reading just one post (other than your own): post #4. Your suggestion makes too much sense if the real goal is to photograph with a LF SLR, I fear. LOL
    Well of course you are right about reading the thread. I am visually impaired and the effort to read a lot of text is off-putting. Today the easier to read title caught my attention and I responded "reflexively" (yes it IS a pun!)

    I still haven't read much of the thread probably won't'. However I do appreciate that some folks are moved to DIY things because they can.
    Drew Bedo
    www.quietlightphoto.com
    http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo




    There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!

  3. #43
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by maltfalc View Post
    i'd rather have one camera with the full functionality of a speed graphic and a graflex slr than have to carry around two cameras with lower combined functionality, and i'd rather spend $20-$50 on materials than several hundred on a camera.
    Take a look at what the Leica folks had to do to convert a well designed Range Finder camera into a SLR. The mirror box ("vizoflex housing") is pretty complex mechanically. There is a level of precision required to make the viewfinder image parfocal with respect to the focal plane. The added bulk isat least half to two thirds agan as much. The added depth of body or back focus limits the use of shorter lenses and on and on. In the early 20th Century, all these challenges were addressed by creating an LF SLR from the ground up.

    And I don't think "$20-$50 will come close to covering the materials you'll need to convert a press camera into a LF SLR.

    However, I do wish you well in this project. Please keep us informed on how it goes and post pictures.

    You might also consider as an an interim project, creating a Twin Lens Reflex in 4x5 first to get your feet wet. That will involve the many of the4 same challenges as an SLR while side-stepping the mechanics of a moving mirror.
    Drew Bedo
    www.quietlightphoto.com
    http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo




    There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!

  4. #44

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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Bedo View Post
    Take a look at what the Leica folks had to do to convert a well designed Range Finder camera into a SLR. The mirror box ("vizoflex housing") is pretty complex mechanically. There is a level of precision required to make the viewfinder image parfocal with respect to the focal plane. The added bulk isat least half to two thirds agan as much. The added depth of body or back focus limits the use of shorter lenses and on and on. In the early 20th Century, all these challenges were addressed by creating an LF SLR from the ground up.

    And I don't think "$20-$50 will come close to covering the materials you'll need to convert a press camera into a LF SLR.

    However, I do wish you well in this project. Please keep us informed on how it goes and post pictures.

    You might also consider as an an interim project, creating a Twin Lens Reflex in 4x5 first to get your feet wet. That will involve the many of the4 same challenges as an SLR while side-stepping the mechanics of a moving mirror.
    i'm familiar with the visoflex and the novoflex and the precision involved in cameras. save me some typing and scroll up to my last comment directly above your two comments where i discuss the dimensions and lens limitations. $20-$50 isn't a guess. i know the parts and materials i need and how much they cost. i'll be real surprized if i hit $50. a tlr is no way to "get my feet wet". i have a couple designs for tlrs. one would be simpler than building an slr, but cost as much as buying one, the other would be about as cheap as building an slr, but not any easier and any tlr is going to be less precise and more cumbersome to use than an slr, not to mention added lens costs. i think you're overestimating the mechanics involved in flipping a mirror up and down with my finger and a basic trigger mechanism.

  5. #45
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Sounds like you have this project well in hand.

    Please keep us all informed as you proceed and post pictures.

    I do wish you all the best in this.
    Drew Bedo
    www.quietlightphoto.com
    http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo




    There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!

  6. #46

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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    At the risk of offending you... I ask in all sincerity.

    Can you describe the use-case you are addressing? A regular 4x5 Graphic has met all of my needs over the past 40 years. Focus on GG when time and tripod permits, focus using rangefinder most of the time (which is relatively quick), and range focus with the scales on the bed when "snap shooting". Composition on GG when focusing on GG; composition in viewfinder (either "accessory" or wire frame, with appropriate masks) when using rangefinder or bed scales. These, in natural light as well as flash situations.

    I'm all for tinkering and inventiveness. I just can't quite imagine what situation/constraints you are designing for or how the sequence of events that you previously described are any quicker or more precise that those used by press photographers in the past.

  7. #47

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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    At the risk of offending you... I ask in all sincerity.

    Can you describe the use-case you are addressing? A regular 4x5 Graphic has met all of my needs over the past 40 years. Focus on GG when time and tripod permits, focus using rangefinder most of the time (which is relatively quick), and range focus with the scales on the bed when "snap shooting". Composition on GG when focusing on GG; composition in viewfinder (either "accessory" or wire frame, with appropriate masks) when using rangefinder or bed scales. These, in natural light as well as flash situations.

    I'm all for tinkering and inventiveness. I just can't quite imagine what situation/constraints you are designing for or how the sequence of events that you previously described are any quicker or more precise that those used by press photographers in the past.
    the point is to eliminate any delay between framing, focusing and taking the shot when shooting handheld or with moving subjects. scale focusing won't do that. rangefinder focusing won't do that unless i use a focuspot or laser pointer, neither of which are all that useful on a bright sunny day and would limit me to a single lens and a single focal point with no preview of what else in the photo is going to be in focus. i want to end up with something better than snapshots and photos of people doing their best impression of a mannequin.

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    I just can't quite imagine . . . how the sequence of events that you previously described are any quicker or more precise that those used by press photographers in the past.
    composing the image on a gg while maintaining focus with one hand and raising the mirror and releasing the shutter with a two-finger trigger pulling motion with the other hand is about as quick and precise as it gets. a fraction of a second delay as the mirror rises between focusing and taking the shot.

  8. #48
    multiplex
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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianShaw View Post
    At the risk of offending you... I ask in all sincerity.

    Can you describe the use-case you are addressing? A regular 4x5 Graphic has met all of my needs over the past 40 years. Focus on GG when time and tripod permits, focus using rangefinder most of the time (which is relatively quick), and range focus with the scales on the bed when "snap shooting". Composition on GG when focusing on GG; composition in viewfinder (either "accessory" or wire frame, with appropriate masks) when using rangefinder or bed scales. These, in natural light as well as flash situations.

    I'm all for tinkering and inventiveness. I just can't quite imagine what situation/constraints you are designing for or how the sequence of events that you previously described are any quicker or more precise that those used by press photographers in the past.
    The bed scale and range finder only work with 1 lens.

  9. #49

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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by jnantz View Post
    The bed scale and range finder only work with 1 lens.
    you can have a whole row of bed scales, but trying to guesstimate exactly how far away your subject is while peaking over your camera to read the tiny print on the scale is no way to live.

  10. #50
    multiplex
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    Re: Converting a speed graphic into an SLR

    Quote Originally Posted by maltfalc View Post
    you can have a whole row of bed scales, but trying to guesstimate exactly how far away your subject is while peaking over your camera to read the tiny print on the scale is no way to live.
    a whole row of bed scales? not sure what the point is, sounds like a pain, and useless unless it is for performance art. I have better in the moment flexibility using a Delmar or Cyclone not a speed or graflex slr.
    Last edited by jnantz; 10-Nov-2021 at 22:47.

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