Owners Of Graflex XLSW 703

Hey folks. Some of you may have owned this camera at one time and maybe still have it. I’m just curious about your experience shooting it and what did you shoot. I purchased one lately and will test for light leaks in the film holder ( Horseman 6x9 version ). Shutter sounds fine and everything else looks great. The big knob to turn the helicoid is a bit stiff but moves with a little more effort—is this normal?

I’ve looked at these many times and have gone through many variations of similar cameras. This looks to be pretty nice and well made.

Well, the Air Force was forced to buy the Graflex XL system as the body was made in the U.S by Singer (the sewing machine Singer) although the lens were German. In theory a nice system. By 1973, as I recall, Air Force was allowed to replace the Graflex XL with Konica Rapids. The Xls did not hold up the abuse dished out by 18 year old Airmen. I only used one a few times, although well designed, the example I used has been sent back for repair 3 times, don't recall if their 3 different issues or just a recurring issue. We also had a Graphic Super, it was well build. My only advice to be gentle with it, the lens are very good. Signer sold the Graphic Super production line to Toyo and the Graflex to a Dutch company, not sure if they were better made than the U.S made versions.

If I recall correctly, the XLSW was a unique version of the XL system which mounted only the 47mm 8.0 Super Angulon. A regular, used XL system was my first investment in medium format. It was a disaster for me. Mine had a unique focus problem caused by a prior owner's abuse of the lens mounts, but the basic design and material used to construct the camera were terrible. The most apparent issue was the focus mount, which used exposed (i.e., dirty) helical grooves, ala Kodak Medalist, to drive lens barrels by three plastic tabs, which broke off sooner or later. The lens choices came in several levels of quality. All were good; the best were as good as could be had at the time. I ended up saving the lenses for a medium format view camera and trading the body, lens barrels and such to a dealer. If I ignore the hundreds I spent on getting bogus repair attempts, I broke even in the end. In short, the XLSW as a stand-alone model might be worth buying for a few hundred dollars, but IMO buying into the XL system is just crazy today. If the focus is stiff, dismount the lens very carefully, clean and try a wipe of silicon lube. These parts were intended to be self-lubricating, but the plastic used didn't last.

The XL’s had a reputation for the rangefinders getting out of adjustment. They were also a bit slow to use, since the film advance was separate from shutter cocking (as I recall). I was one of those 18 YO airmen, I didn’t have any particular problem with the XL’s, but one of the Sargents convinced me to use a Rolleiflex instead, so I didn’t end up using an XL all that much in my first two years.

Given that it’s the optics that really count, an XL plenty capable of producing really good results.