Ok, this is a weird one. A friend who used to own a camera store gave me this, said "yours to do with, whatever you want, maybe you can make it work," and what I did with it was let it sit, and sit.
No future in that.
It is an RB Super Graflex, 4 X 5, or 5 X 4 if you prefer. It is in really lovely condition, its metal parts burnished.
But, it does not work.
What I think is, someone gussied this thing up to display. They sand blasted all the metal parts, cleaned the leather, replaced the probably dead leather hood with a wooden mock-up which looks really good, and put on it an amazing lens.
The stripped and polished the bagmag. More on that in a sec.
Check out that lens -- an f 5.5 16-inch Tele Megor, by Hugo Meyer & Co., Gorlitz and New York. The whole thing is sand blasted to bring out the lovely brass, goes all the way down to f32, and as far as I can tell it should be a working lens, the diaphram works, the glass is clean and clear.
Uncoated, of course!
There is a little wooden brace to set under the lens and prevent strain on the lens mount. Very professional. But the lens does mount.
Put the lens on the camera, it projects an image to the mirror and up to the ground glass. Really, what more do you want?
The bag mag -- it is a 12-shot bag mag, all the septums are in it. Someone has constructed what looks like a nice suade bag. Does it work? I wonder. Bag mags are not my thing, so who knows? But the wood is gorgeous.
Did you know that Graflex used the finest mahogany under that leather? It's true. Until the Century Graphic, which is plastic.
Could this camera be fixed? I don't know. Take the bag mag off, there is a shutter curtain back there, but the shutter curtain winding knob does not turn. Maybe the shutter is jammed down there, maybe parts are missing. I don't know. The mirror works, the shutter switch releases the mirror, the focusing rack is all there and works, bellows are tight so far as I can tell and in good order.
Or maybe you have your own museum. This is ready to go!
So, anyone? I figure $250?
Sorry, I would not want to part it out.
That lens alone ought to be worth that. We're gonna have to talk about shipping. Two boxes, maybe $30 for the whole mess? God only knows if you want it shipped to Australia or Europe, we would have to talk about that. Frankly, if you live within 100 miles of Ogden, Utah, it would pay you to come to Ogden and pick it up. I'll throw in lunch at the local brew pub, no extra charge, you save shipping, everyone wins. You can say you tried Polygamy in Utah
-- Polygamy Pale Ale, very excellent stuff.
If you can't wait, wire $280 to my paypal at summicron12000@yahoo.com (which is also my email) and I'll eat any excess postage/shipping in the continental US. Ask questions, let's talk!
Because, really, you need this camera.
No future in that.
It is an RB Super Graflex, 4 X 5, or 5 X 4 if you prefer. It is in really lovely condition, its metal parts burnished.
But, it does not work.
What I think is, someone gussied this thing up to display. They sand blasted all the metal parts, cleaned the leather, replaced the probably dead leather hood with a wooden mock-up which looks really good, and put on it an amazing lens.
The stripped and polished the bagmag. More on that in a sec.
Check out that lens -- an f 5.5 16-inch Tele Megor, by Hugo Meyer & Co., Gorlitz and New York. The whole thing is sand blasted to bring out the lovely brass, goes all the way down to f32, and as far as I can tell it should be a working lens, the diaphram works, the glass is clean and clear.
Uncoated, of course!
There is a little wooden brace to set under the lens and prevent strain on the lens mount. Very professional. But the lens does mount.
Put the lens on the camera, it projects an image to the mirror and up to the ground glass. Really, what more do you want?
The bag mag -- it is a 12-shot bag mag, all the septums are in it. Someone has constructed what looks like a nice suade bag. Does it work? I wonder. Bag mags are not my thing, so who knows? But the wood is gorgeous.
Did you know that Graflex used the finest mahogany under that leather? It's true. Until the Century Graphic, which is plastic.
Could this camera be fixed? I don't know. Take the bag mag off, there is a shutter curtain back there, but the shutter curtain winding knob does not turn. Maybe the shutter is jammed down there, maybe parts are missing. I don't know. The mirror works, the shutter switch releases the mirror, the focusing rack is all there and works, bellows are tight so far as I can tell and in good order.
Or maybe you have your own museum. This is ready to go!
So, anyone? I figure $250?
Sorry, I would not want to part it out.
That lens alone ought to be worth that. We're gonna have to talk about shipping. Two boxes, maybe $30 for the whole mess? God only knows if you want it shipped to Australia or Europe, we would have to talk about that. Frankly, if you live within 100 miles of Ogden, Utah, it would pay you to come to Ogden and pick it up. I'll throw in lunch at the local brew pub, no extra charge, you save shipping, everyone wins. You can say you tried Polygamy in Utah
-- Polygamy Pale Ale, very excellent stuff.If you can't wait, wire $280 to my paypal at summicron12000@yahoo.com (which is also my email) and I'll eat any excess postage/shipping in the continental US. Ask questions, let's talk!
Because, really, you need this camera.
