Electronic flash for Crown Graphic

[campy51]

Does anyone know if the Sunpak handle mount flashes will fit in a graflex flash bracket?

 

[Dennis-B]

Don't think they will.

 

[StrangestStranger]

No, but the SunPak handle mount flashes come with a tripod mounting bracket that should work great with the Graflex. just screw it into the tripod socket on the graflex and you are good to go.

 

[campy51]

I have a Metz 45 CL3 but it's a little awkward and heavy. I would like to use my graflex brackets so it would just attach just like the graflex flash.

 

[hsandler]

I have a couple of bulb flash handles. They are 37mm diameter. If the Sunpak is close to that, the quick release clamp rings for the bracket should fit it. They adjust to some extent, maybe 1mm diameter either way.
Crown Graphic by Howard Sandler, on Flickr

 

[lxdude]

I have a couple of bulb flash handles. They are 37mm diameter. If the Sunpak is close to that, the quick release clamp rings for the bracket should fit it. They adjust to some extent, maybe 1mm diameter either way.

My Sunpak 555's handle is exactly 42mm diameter.

 

[campy51]

That's what I needed. The graflex brackets are less than 39mm and loosening them up didn't come close to 42mm.

 

[campy51]

Whipped this up today, but needs to be refined a little. It's not the best but it's lighter than my Metz 45 CL3. I am considering getting the graflite jr and removing the flash part and inserting this but the wood is 1 1/2 inch which is too thick so I would have to sand it down. I also had to put some Moleskin padding so the clamps were tight enough.

 

[wiltw]

Waaaay back, when I was Photography Editor of my high school newspaper, we used a Speed Graphic to shoot night football games on ASA 1250 4x5 film, and we used that camera with a Stroboframe electronic flash unit like this one (which was powered with 450V battery pack)...

The head just screwed on top of the handle, so you could simply screw a more modern flash on top using the same 1/4" thread that held the Stroboflash head on top. Like the Quantum Q-Flash unit.

Yoiu can still find Graflex flash components, like this one...

Vintage Graflex 2773 Flash Handle for Parts | eBay

<p>Vintage Graflex 2773 Flash Handle for Parts. </p><p>Used to build Star Wars Holiday Special Luke Skywalker Lightsaber. Handle has moderate wear, no returns.</p>

www.ebay.com

 

[ags2mikon]

@campy51 You have got the right idea. I did the same with my metz 402. Yes it's still working. I'll try to remember to get mine out and shoot a picture.

 

[Eric Rose]

Weegee Night!

Each year I try and get my large format group out for a Weegee night. Strap flashes to whatever 4x5 field camera we have and go out in the night and see what we can capture. This year we will be stalking the grounds of the Calgary Stampede. A...

www.photrio.com

Here you are

 

[hsandler]

Here I bolted a cold shoe onto the top of an aluminum cap which fits tightly on the battery tube of a graflite. I think the cap might be for plumbing, or perhaps scaffolding.

Frankenflash by Howard Sandler, on Flickr

 

[ags2mikon]

@hsandler. That looks real nice. And having the flash up high like that helps with red eye and shadows.

 

[jtk]

For a macho version, try Stroboflash III.

https://ghq.graflex.org/GHQ-13-1.pdf

 

[campy51]

I will look for a cap and try it. I prefer the graflex handle over the wood.

 

[BrianShaw]

@hsandler. That looks real nice. And having the flash up high like that helps with red eye and shadows.

While that is very true, one thing to be mindful of is light fall-off. My experience with a very similar configuration (Vivitar 285) is that sometimes there is some fall-off ont he bottom of the image. My next "design goal" is to lower the flash... but reconfguring my flash rig for this camera isn't very high on the priority list at the moment.

 

[wiltw]

While that is very true, one thing to be mindful of is light fall-off. My experience with a very similar configuration (Vivitar 285) is that sometimes there is some fall-off ont he bottom of the image. My next "design goal" is to lower the flash... but reconfguring my flash rig for this camera isn't very high on the priority list at the moment.

The 'fix' is for slight downward aim for the head, to reduce the cutoff of the bottom from light coverage...parallax issue due to vertical offset. This poses a bit of an issue when shooting at longer distances, in comparison, when there is danger of the top cutoff in the light distribution. The problem is amplified when mounting a flash designed for the overlong 135 format. The problem is greatly reduced when using a flash with a more circular reflector, such as the Quantum unit I mentioned earlier.

I mounted a Metz 45 'potatomasher' atop a flash bracket, when shooting with my medium format camera to cover weddings 3-4 decades ago. No issue of cutoff at the lower portion of the field. But admittedly I also put a small softbox on the flash, primarily for reduction of shadow penumbra for less obvious shadowing...elimination of shadows was greatly helped by a flash positioned directly over the len axis!

 

[BrianShaw]

The 'fix' is for slight downward aim for the head, to reduce the cutoff of the bottom from light coverage...parallax issue due to vertical offset. This poses a bit of an issue when shooting at longer distances, in comparison, when there is danger of the top cutoff in the light distribution. The problem is amplified when mounting a flash designed for the overlong 135 format. The problem is greatly reduced when using a flash with a more circular reflector, such as the Quantum unit I mentioned earlier.

I mounted a Metz 45 'potatomasher' atop a flash bracket, when shooting with my medium format camera to cover weddings 3-4 decades ago. No issue of cutoff at the lower portion of the field. But admittedly I also put a small softbox on the flash, primarily for reduction of shadow penumbra for less obvious shadowing...elimination of shadows was greatly helped by a flash positioned directly over the len axis!

Yes, of course... pointing down to correct for parallax. Did that but it took, for me, too much thinking when I'd really needed to concentrate on my subject and all of the mechanics of taking the photograph. Like you, I used diffusers and accepted the loss of GN: Sto-fen and Lumiquest pocket diffuser. Improved the situation immensely. That's a very good point and I'm glad you brought it up!

My latest attempt to address this common goal actually was what you suggest, a more circular reflector. I bought a 1956-era strobe, Heiland Strobonar 62-A, but it's going to take a lot of restoration to get it working. Capacitors seeem shot and the vibrator may be also. Nothing happens with DC and with AC there is buzzing and hot capacitors. Although the ready light illuminates... no flash, so I'm wondering if the flash tube is faulty. Round strobe that was designed to fit on the Heiland/Graflex flash handle; Seemed like a good thing to try. I might not have the knowlege to actually accomplish that, though. Perhaps that was a bad choice but at least it was extremely inexpensive.

 

[ags2mikon]

It's not a speed graphic but it is the same idea. I think that we are all old enough to view a little camera porn.

 

[ags2mikon]

The grey tube is a honeywell part for mounting a flash that came with a 1/4-20 female brass insert pressed into the plastic. I removed it and drilled a hole and used a bolt and nut. The bolt and nut holds a stroboframe metz adapter, part of a graflex flash bracket and a P-clamp that holds my cable release. The bottom is one of those rubber freeze plugs that you should never use except in an emergency. It holds the other half of the Graflex flash bracket bent at a right angle to install the Graflex side strap. I use the diffuser for short distance and remove it for longer distance. This is also compatible with the Metz 60 and 45 potato mashers. The 402 is very light as is the 60 ct.

 

[Montegoblue]

A cursory glance on this site that I very rarely view, as I'm more of a vintage radio man frequenting those sites, the Graflex holders are for the original Garaflite flash or the Strobonar flashes originally marketed as a Graflite replacement. A Stobonar will do very nicely. Regards.

 

[campy51]

It's not a speed graphic but it is the same idea. I think that we are all old enough to view a little camera porn. View attachment 324598 View attachment 324599 View attachment 324600 View attachment 324601

Is this what you used?

Vintage Honeywell HEILAND FUTURAMIC STROBONAR FLASH UNIT Model 64-B Camera BIN | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Honeywell HEILAND FUTURAMIC STROBONAR FLASH UNIT Model 64-B Camera BIN at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[ags2mikon]

@campy51 The grey tube I used is just a hollow plastic tube made by honeywell for mounting odd ball things to a Graflex mount system or honeywell mount system. I think you could remove that tube from the model 64 and use it. Be very careful around any capacitors that may be inside the flash. Playing substitute flash tube can make your lights go out. By the way I had one of those 64-B flash units mounted to a century graphic many years ago. I was in a court room shooting pictures of a civil wedding for a guy I worked with when it malfunctioned and shocked the hell out of me when I went to cock the shutter. I recited some of the special words that my dad learned in the navy. The judge had a sense of humor and thought it was quite funny.

 

[Montegoblue]

Like this. It is a Honeywell Auto Strobonar 700 I picked up inexpensively and rebuilt the battery pack with sub-C NiCad cells, easily available. Recalling the context of the period when Honeywell was marketing these models, Graflexes were still being used regularly. The Strobonars were a drop-in replacement on those cameras, as long as they had more modern shutters with a X sync. The Graflite mounting rings work perfectly for them.

 

[maltfalc]

vivitar grips work for me.