Hello from Salt Lake City

rleishm · Oct 19, 2023

I have been a DSLR and Canon junky, but I recently inherited a Burke and James 5X7 view camera with a Bausch and Lomb 7/5" f4.5 lens with a Synchro Alphax matic shutter. Some questions:
1. After T and B there is a 100 in black followed by 50, 25, 10, 5, 2, 1 all colored red--I suppose these numbers represent shutter speeds, but I'm not sure if they are 100ths if a second or. . . ?

2, Also, even when I cock the shutter, the release cable plunger seems to wedge alongside the internal 'trigger' and holds the shutter open on the second attempt to use it. Do I need a special shutter release or is the mechanism probably warn?

3. Where should I look to learn how to use the back plane and lens adjustments in the process of focusing and establishing the focal plane/depth of field, etc.?

Anxious to learn,
Bob Leishman

armadsen · Oct 19, 2023

Welcome to Photrio! Unfortunately I can’t answer your questions, but just wanted to say hi from a fellow Salt Laker. I shoot large format (4x5) now and then. It’s a blast!

Rick A · Oct 19, 2023

Welcome to the asylum.
The shutter speeds are fractions of a second, just imagine there's a 1 above the speed number, 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, etc. You may need a longer throw cable release for that shutter, I have several Alphax shutters and they're fussy about which cable I use. Here's a couple of sites that will help you.

A large format photography home page

Large Format Photography Forum

A discussion forum on large format phtography http://largeformatphotography.info

www.largeformatphotography.info

rleishm · Oct 19, 2023

armadsen said:
Welcome to Photrio! Unfortunately I can’t answer your questions, but just wanted to say hi from a fellow Salt Laker. I shoot large format (4x5) now and then. It’s a blast!

Thanks for the reply. It’s good to know Salt Lake is represented here.

rleishm · Oct 19, 2023

Thank you. I’ll check them out. I was wondering if I needed one with a shorter throw since on the second release it seems to bind and hold open the shutter. I’ll dig further.

rleishm · Oct 19, 2023

Rick A said:
Welcome to the asylum.
The shutter speeds are fractions of a second, just imagine there's a 1 above the speed number, 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, etc. You may need a longer throw cable release for that shutter, I have several Alphax shutters and they're fussy about which cable I use. Here's a couple of sites that will help you.

A large format photography home page

Large Format Photography Forum

A discussion forum on large format phtography http://largeformatphotography.info

www.largeformatphotography.info

Thank you. I’ll check into those leads. I wondered if I needed one with a shorter throw as this one seems to bind and hold the shutter open on attempts after the first.

mshchem · Oct 19, 2023

Welcome!!! That's a great old beast of a camera.

koraks · Oct 20, 2023

Welcome to Photrio, @rleishm !
I second what @Rick A said about the shutter speeds and the release cable. Some shutters need a release cable with a slightly longer throw than others. Try operating the lever manually to see if it's reliable that way; then use something like a pin or watchmaker's screw driver to mimic the action of the cable release. If all that works well, it's just a matter of finding the right kind of cable. There are plenty for sale on various platforms, including very affordable Chinese ones.

rleishm said:
I wondered if I needed one with a shorter throw

If there's a problem with the throw, it's usually that the throw is too short, not too long. If the throw is too long, you'll just press down until the shutter lever won't go any further and that's fine (without forcing it, of course).

Don_ih · Oct 20, 2023

If the shutter binds open, a cable with too long a throw was used and bent the point of contact which trips the shutter. Then a short-throw cable won't trip it and a longer-throw cable trips it, slips past it, and binds the shutter open. The shutter probably needs to be taken apart and adjusted.

koraks · Oct 20, 2023

Don_ih said:
If the shutter binds open, a cable with too long a throw was used and bent the point of contact which trips the shutter.

Hm, good point. This can indeed happen. In this case, the shutter would remain open with the protruding pin of the release cable wedged against the shutter release lever, right? I've not (yet) had this happen, but I can see how it could.

Sirius Glass · Oct 20, 2023

Welcome to Photrio!!

Rick A · Oct 20, 2023

Don_ih said:
If the shutter binds open, a cable with too long a throw was used and bent the point of contact which trips the shutter. Then a short-throw cable won't trip it and a longer-throw cable trips it, slips past it, and binds the shutter open. The shutter probably needs to be taken apart and adjusted.

Not necessarily, sometimes the internal trip lever is slightly bent to the side allowing the cable release to slip off and jam.

Sirius Glass · Oct 20, 2023

You probably need a different cable release.

Don_ih · Oct 20, 2023

Rick A said:
Not necessarily, sometimes the internal trip lever is slightly bent to the side allowing the cable release to slip off and jam.

True - but the end result is also needing the shutter serviced.

rleishm · Oct 21, 2023

maybe one day we can get together for a shoot. I've got a lot to learn, and sometimes it's quicker to see and do than to read and interpolate. , .

rleishm · Oct 21, 2023

And this will be my next step. thank you.

armadsen · Oct 21, 2023

rleishm said:
maybe one day we can get together for a shoot. I've got a lot to learn, and sometimes it's quicker to see and do than to read and interpolate. , .

Well, I’m no Ansel Adams, but I’m always happy to share my hobbies with others.

rleishm · Oct 22, 2023

armadsen said:
Well, I’m no Ansel Adams, but I’m always happy to share my hobbies with others.

JulienPictures74 · Dec 29, 2023

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