I blame Pete for this!

[David Mitchell]

Hi all, due to Pete owning awesome cameras erm......

......here is my Pacemaker speed graphic (go big or go home)

 

[Kev Pugh]

Nice David, do you get to shoot it much?

 

[David Mitchell]

It only arrived a few hours ago lol so not yet!

 

[Kev Pugh]

Ah right an early Chrimbo self prez then.......I am hoping to see some period street shots from this baby............

 

[David Mitchell]

I will sort something out soon its a pre 1955 as its got a Kelart side mounted range finder, but it seems that the slider on the side for the shutter selection doesn't slide, it should also have 'front, rear and trip' next to the slider so you can select either the rear focal plane shutter or the front shutter - this one seems to be linked into the front lens although im sure they are ment to have a leaf shutter as well? Apparently some were customs so this might be a custom Pacemaker speed graphic with just the rear focal plane shutter. Im still looking into this though, it should slide, but as you can see from the photo above, there is no mention of the wording.

You can see on Pete's camera the clear wording on the side, which mine hasn't got.

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/4140-1947-speed-graphic.html

 

[Beth Anthony]

lol, yea, looks like it's all pete's fault. congrats!

 

[David Mitchell]

It seems that the spring loaded slider has slightly slipped in the post, the seller is sending me over details on how to reset it - apparently its happened on about 5 of the cameras he has restored and shipped over the past few years, the mechanism is apparently quite crude and i'm guessing probably not used to being sent in a box all over the place considering mine is a pre 1955 model lol

I will probably use it with a cable release on the front lens rather than an internal shutter due to the large amount of material moving inside the camera lol although its good to know I can use barrel lenses on it.

 

[Pete Askew]

Looks nice David. The shutter is set to front at the moment and the linkage from the leaf shutter in the lens connects to the 'button' on the RH side of the camera that can be seen in image 7. Obviously you need to prime the shutter first with the lever on the lens. If you press the selector slide shown in the last image in and up one 'click', the focal plane shutter will be selected and the release 'button' will fire that (assuming you have wound it up to the speed you require with the key - it is presently set at 1/1000s). Don't take the dark-slide out until you have done that (and don't forget to open the leaf shutter). You can also fire the focal plane shutter by pressing the selector slide in and up one more 'notch' - note, this will not close the flash contacts in the lens.

Have fun!

 

[David Mitchell]

The camera was set to the 'rear' internally but the slider was in the 'front' position as the slider had slipped in transit this is all sorted now, the seller sent me over the details on how to reset the switch - its very simple to do, basically remove the and then loosen the cover to allow the slider to move freely to the correct position then retighen. It seems that I am missing a screw on the plate which is why it might have come slightly loose in transit and slipped, its all sorted now! Im glad its quite a simple camera to work on, its firing perfectly now.

Just need to make sure I set the focal plane shutter to '0' before shooting else I will end up without an exposure lol

How did you managed to find the age of yours btw? I know mine is pre 1955 as it has the side mounted range finder, is there a site I can use to put in the serial number?

 

[Pete Askew]

I see. Glad it is now fixed. Mine was dated by the person I bought it from but seems about right based ion the details, lens etc. There is some sort of manufacturers list in circulation but not in the public domain any more it seems. This link might be useful though.

fotoduo.com/images/Graflex_list_of_serial_numbers_and_dates.doc

 

[David Mitchell]

Thanks for the list Pete, it seems that mine is around late 1950 which is spot on as it has the pre 1955 rangefinder but is also a speed graphic, it does however have a better lens than when it came out the factory so someone has cared for it enough to upgrade it slightly!