Just bought a Galvin, now which back?

Mark Fisher

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I made a mistake on ebay....I saw a mint Galvin and thought I'd love to have that , but I don't want to pay more than $200 so I bid $200 and ended up with the camera! I really didn't expect to win it. Now, I have to do something with it. Well, I am making an adapter board to take Linhof boards tomorrow (nice to have access to a CNC at work!) so I can use my existing boards and get a recessed board. The question I have is which roll film holder to get. I've heard that RB67 backs would work and I'm hoping that one of the 6x8 backs would work. The RB67 backs seem to be the nicest for the least money (if they work!). I've heard that the Graphic backs aren't all that great, but I've never used them. I'm hoping that the collective wisdom out there can help me out!
 

DanielStone

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the linhof rollfilm backs are damn sweet, from my limited experience with them.

Horseman backs are nicely made as well. RB backs are nice, just be aware that the light-trap seals are generally quite worn, depending on the age/usage of the back itself. These are usually in need of replacement, which is quite easy to do. And since you're good with a cnc machine, I'd imagine installing some new foam wouldn't be too out of the ballpark either .

choose a format(2x3=6x9, 6x6/7/8/9) If I were you, I'd just get the 6x9, and crop it down to what you want when printing/scanning, etc.... Unless you like squares for everything, or the uncropped 6x7/8 frame.

-Dan
 

williamtheis

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not all Graflex rollholders are created equal: the ones with the two stainless steel rollers adjacent to the opening work just fine... stay away from the others. I use them all the time with my Galvin 6x9
 

mhcfires

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williamtheis said:
not all Graflex rollholders are created equal: the ones with the two stainless steel rollers adjacent to the opening work just fine... stay away from the others. I use them all the time with my Galvin 6x9
Click to expand...

The best Graflex holders are the ones with the lever film advance rather than the knob.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Posted wirelessly..

Linhof rollfilm backs won't fit a Galvin.
 

DanielStone

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David A. Goldfarb said:
Posted wirelessly..

Linhof rollfilm backs won't fit a Galvin.
Click to expand...


oops, my bad.

I thought that the Linhof 6x9/7/6 backs that were designed for the 2 1/4 cameras(from the get-go) would work fine with the Galvin. I haven't seen a galvin in a while now, so my memory is somewhat fuzzy.

thanks for the clarification

-Dan
 

David A. Goldfarb

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The Galvin has a 2x3" Graflok-style back, if I'm not mistaken.

Linhof 23 backs have a circular flange so they can rotate on the back of the camera, and they don't fit other cameras. Alpa has adapted the Linhof 23 backs for their architectural and wideangle cameras, but I think that's also a proprietary flange that doesn't fit anything else.
 
OP
OP

Mark Fisher

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Thanks for the advice. I managed to find a BGN Horseman back at KEH for a good price so I'm going to give that a go. I figure that composing on that tiny screen will be hard enough so I'd better go for all the real estate I can!
 

David A. Goldfarb

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I found I could shoot 4x5" more easily after I'd used 8x10" for a few years, and 2x3" came more naturally several years later when I needed a more compact format for travel (with child), but still wanted a view camera. I also use a 6x loupe for 2x3", while I use a 4x or 3.3x for larger formats.
 

Pupfish

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IIRC from my buddy demonstrating his Galvin to me recently: the Galvin 2x3 back itself is not Universal or Graflok; it has a unique wide gape, bail back designed especially for accepting roll film backs UNDER the GG without it's removal. This means using standard 2x3 Graflok roll backs, at least those which won't beat up the GG too bad (for instance by having a badge in the wrong spot or by being too fat). I think Graflex/Singers work as do Mamiya RB types.
 
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