Graflex.org

[willysmb]

Hi every body,
Is somebody know the date and the reason (s) where Graflex changed the Folding view finder for the tubular one on the Pre_Anniversary

I collected 3 serial Number from mine, and Friends camera and serial Number from my Miniature Speed Graphic :

#Number Date type View finder type
230192 1938 Pre Anni Folding
242164 1939 Pre Anni Tubular
242723 1939 Pre Anni Tubular

249288 39/40?? Miniature Folding

With all my best thanks
Laurent





[ This Message was edited by: willysmb on 2006-11-29 09:01 ]

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Laurent,

Richard P. Paine, in The All-American Cameras: a review of Graflex, states (p56):

"The only alteration made to the camera [Pre-Anny 4x5] was the change to the tubular viewfinder througout the line in 1939."

He illustrates a 1939 model with s/n 242750, haing a tubular finder.

_________________
Best regards,

Doug

[willysmb]

Many thanks Doug for this information.

Cheers
Laurent

[Les]

Graflex introduced the tubular finder on the Mini Speed, I think in May of '39. The earliest version of the tubular find did not have parallax adjustment or a slot for masks. This version lasted only two months and is only found on a Mini speed. Once they got the improved version they used it across the board on all of their Graphic cameras. Of course at the time there was only one, the 4x5 Pre Ann.

Why did they do it? Well it's a better view finder than the folding version. The folding version couldn't be adjusted or tweaked for different focal length lenses. A guy that bought a Pre Ann with a 13,5 cm Jena Tessar and another guy that bought he camera with a 152mm B&L tessar got the same viewfinder.

And Dick Paine isn't entirely correct when he says The only change was the tubular viewfinder. Sometime around 1936-37, the Speed Graphic engraved front slider showed up, and about that time a safety lock on the focal plane shutter appeared too.

_________________
"In order to invent, you need a good imagination and a lot of junk" Thomas Edison

[ This Message was edited by: Les on 2006-12-12 06:41 ]

[Doug Kerr]