Horseman 985 'graflock' & Mamiya rb67 backs?

Leon · Apr 10, 2011

I've just bought a wonderful Horseman 985 mf field camera with the 69 back. It is a really great thing to use.

I have an old mamiya rb67 back hanging around which I want to use on the horseman. The plastic plates on the interface part of both the mamiya and horseman backs look identical. Without measuring I can't see any differences, yet I cant get the retaining sliders on the mini 'graflock' back to fit with the rb67 back.

Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Is there a modification that can be made to the rb back to make it fit? I've googled but can't find a definitive answer.

I can wedge the back in place, and it works ok, but there are a few light leaks so it's not really a solution.

Thanks in advance.

xya · Apr 10, 2011

hello leon,

obviously the horseman attachments are a bit thicker than the mamiya ones. I had the inverse problem to fix a horseman back to a mamiya 23 graflock back. the mamiya sliders wouldn't slide over the horseman back. by adding a thin washer under the sliders it worked, but then the mamiya attachments wobbled a bit. so try to add a tiny strip of hard plastic sheet between the back and the sliders, just where the sliders would go (upper side, not camera side). if it works, glue them. it solved my problem anyway. hope it helps.

reinhard

keithwms · Apr 10, 2011

Hmm, I had a VH and the fit was perfect with the 6x7 and 6x8 backs. Perhaps the 985 is a little bit different. What Reinhard suggests sounds reasonable- some sort of shim or light seal.

Leon · Apr 11, 2011

Thanks guys - I double checked the back, and there were a couple of thin plastic shims stuck inside that were preventing the back being mounted properly! Reinhard - I think you must be clairvoyant. I;ve removed them and the rb67 mounts perfectly, and the horseman 69 also mounts with no problem. I wonder why they were there??? no matter now though.

thanks once again

Leon

xya · Apr 11, 2011

hello leon,

there is a horseman 6x9 polaroid back which is bit thicker than normal attachments. maybe someone used this an that camera. anyway, nice to hear that the problem is solved.

kind regards

reinhard

Leon · Jun 9, 2011

BTW - I've put together a short video review of the camera to show how it all works (I found there was a shortage of info online).

You can view it here

mr. mohaupt · Jun 9, 2011

Damn you Leon... I had never seen a Horseman 985 but it's exactly what I want MF with tilt/shift/rise ect...

Nice video though... Now I just have to explain to the wife....

~M

Steffen Alexander · Dec 21, 2011

Leon said:
Thanks guys - I double checked the back, and there were a couple of thin plastic shims stuck inside that were preventing the back being mounted properly! Reinhard - I think you must be clairvoyant. I;ve removed them and the rb67 mounts perfectly, and the horseman 69 also mounts with no problem. I wonder why they were there??? no matter now though.

thanks once again

Leon

Could you describe this in more detail? I've tried to mount my RB67 backs (PRO-S and PRO-SD) on my 985 without success. There is a gap between the camera and the back. What shims do you mean?

thanks
steffen

Leon · Jan 4, 2012

steffen - they were thin pieces of adhesive backed plastic about 2 cm long and 4mm wide and 0.5mm thick - these were stuck on the lips at the back - I removed them. I have two rb67 backs that I use without issue now. they fit fine with no gap at all.

mgb74 · Jan 4, 2012

Have you used the Mamiya back yet? I'm curious if the film plane (spacing relative to the ground glass) is the same.

Leon · Jan 5, 2012

mgb74 said:
Have you used the Mamiya back yet? I'm curious if the film plane (spacing relative to the ground glass) is the same.

I've used them quite a lot, but only at relatively small apertures. They are sharp. I'll try some wide open to see if there is any discrepancy.

Leon · Feb 17, 2012

I've done some close up pics recently using the mamiya backs and a 150mm schneider symmar s. no focus issues at all. All is sharp where I want it to be:

mgb74 · Feb 17, 2012

That's certainly good to know. And a great photograph.

europanorama · Apr 30, 2015

good not to have.....

mr. mohaupt said:
Damn you Leon... I had never seen a Horseman 985 but it's exactly what I want MF with tilt/shift/rise ect...

Nice video though... Now I just have to explain to the wife....

~M

good i dont have one.... a wife......
which versions have back-rotation?
btw: loud music at the beginning is disturbing also the one inbetween.
regarding focus-precision:
i was told that horseman-backs differ from others, but it was meant for the 4x5-ones.

Leon · Aug 20, 2017

europanorama said:
good not to have.....

good i dont have one.... a wife......
which versions have back-rotation?
btw: loud music at the beginning is disturbing also the one inbetween.
regarding focus-precision:
i was told that horseman-backs differ from others, but it was meant for the 4x5-ones.

I guess you can't all have my excellent tastes in music.

Horseman 985 'graflock' & Mamiya rb67 backs?

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