Instructions for 5x7 Press Graflex

[Arthurwg]

Howdy,

I have a really nice 5x7 Press Graflex with a B&L Zeiss 1C lens. Everything seems to be in excellent condition and working well, but it also seems much more difficult to use than my Super D, which I use regularly. Does anyone have original instructions for this camera that they could copy and send to me?

Thanks in advance,

Arthur

[David A. Goldfarb]

I own one. What do you need to know?

You've got one knob on the bottom right side (presuming you are holding the camera and looking down the chimney finder) for setting the spring tension. Turning the knob increases tension, and pushing the button underneath releases tension.

The top right knob advances the curtain from smaller to larger slit widths, with a lever that releases the curtain to move from larger to smaller slit widths. Use the table to find the slit/tension combination for the shutter speed you want.

The aperture is uncoupled, so you just set it on the lens. Focus is focus. There's a lever on the right side to lower the the mirror to focus with the chimney finder. The button on the left releases the mirror (if it's down) and the shutter curtain to make an exposure.

To remove the groundglass panel release the slider on the bottom and slide the panel down. Then you can attach film or plate magazines that clip into place with a mechanism that is unique to the Press Graflex. You can also use 5x7" Graflex-type filmholders under the spring back.

When you close the camera, lower the front flap before retracting the focus all the way, and if the tab at the bottom isn't bent, a pin will rise to hold the lens cover in place.

That's most of basic operation.

If you have a film or plate magazine (bag mag), I can offer a few tips about those as well, if you are unfamiliar with bag mags.

Catalogue page attached.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Important detail: If you are using a bag mag especially, where you would be tempted to leave the darkslide out when advancing from frame to frame, don't forget to put the darkslide in when you reset the shutter slit, because the slit will be open when you slowly lower it across the film plane into place for the next shot.