Graflex woes...

Okie dokie... I come seeking the advice of the people that know best!

A while ago I had a friend give me his old Graflex 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 and I've used it as a display and even as a prop at my studio as finding film for it is pretty darned hard. I took the next step and happened to be perusing Ebay and got a hold of some x-ray film, from what I understand will yield orthochromatic results if processed as regular film. Just what I was looking for! I have a darkroom and have made a jig to cut the film down to size. This brings me to my two questions...

Any advice on processing Agfa X-Ray film? Chems or times??

And I have a vintage inspired event coming up at the beginning of April- I was hoping to use this camera there seeing as though it'd fit right in! Is there currently a flash in production (potato masher style) that I might be able to use on this? Something that wouldn't look terribly out of place?) Any suggestions would be welcome!!!

I'll have pics up in the next few minutes on my myspace site of the camera...
http://www.myspace.com/80389237

Scuffy

Scuffy, are you talking about a Graflex SLR or a 3x4 crown graphic or speed graphic? This will make a difference in available flashes: the graflex SLR uses a focal plane shutter and as far as I know, there is no available flash for these.

Are you needing 3x4 film? Send me an email as I have many sheets of Efke100 3x4 film in the freezer going unused right now.

Assuming you mean the SLR, your best bet would be to use flashbulbs, as you would otherwise be limited by the slow shutter to shooting at the "B" setting. The old flashes are pretty cheap (except for the Graflites bid up by Star Wars geeks), and 5 and 25 size bulbs aren't terribly expensive either.

As for the film, JandC presumably will carry it again when they re-open. I would try the X-ray film in whatever developer you usually use and develop by inspection in a tray under an appropriate safelight.

Sorry about the lag between posting and getting the pix up- had a baby to photograph!

It is a Speed Graphic.

In that case, any speedlight will work with the front shutter, provided it has x-synch. The comments about the slow shutter speed apply to the rear shutter.

Xray film acts more like paper than film. Start with about asa 3 and soup it in some Dektol to see where you're at. You can soup it with the same light on that works with paper I think.

buy some lith film and shoot it at about iso 5. I soup it in Rodinal at 1:150 and watch it develop under the RED safelight (don't use the safelight for multigrade paper, it'll fog the film) The contrast builds slowly with the very dilute rodinal. Agitate only about once every minute. 5X7 lith from freestyle is pretty cheap, and you can get two sheets out of every 5X7.

Rick.

How about send me an address and I'll send you some 3.25x4.25 film. A box of Classic200. 25 sheets might get you through the event.

BTW - you don't have a graflex, you have a speed graphics. And I don't care about originality, my Sunpack444 goes quite well with my press cameras.

tim in san jose