Question about my new Anni Speed Graphic

[Wade D]

I just got the camera as a hand me down from my step mom. Her 1st husband used it in his studio for years. The camera is in great shape.
My question is that it has a Graflex back and I'm having trouble finding film holders for it. I've checked ebay and other sources to no avail.
Perhaps upgrading to a Graphic or Graflok back would be a good choice.
I have many Lisco & Rhino Lite holders I use with my Crown Graphic.
Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Wade D

 

[removed account4]

wade:

i always get confused by the different backs and what they are called ...
your anni, does it require grooved film holders?

pacifrimcamera.com and equinoxphotographic.com sometimes have them ...

john

 

[Anscojohn]

Wade,
My Annie with the spring back takes the same regular old film holders I use with my Ansco Universal View Camera. Ditto for my 541i Polaroid film holder.

John, Mount Vernon, Virginia USA

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

If it only accepts the holders with notches down the sides then i'd look into a spring back or graflok back if you can afford it. I rarely see the notched holders for sale myself and the spring backs are a fraction of the price of a graflok back. They work fine if you're just using regular holders. Although, i've yet to see a spring back with Ektalite fresnel installed but you never know.

Congratulations on the new camera, the best cameras are the ones that are a gift

 

[DBP]

I'd keep a look out on the auction site for a spring back or a graflok. The Graflex back is a nuisance and the holders are too hard to find. Though given that it was a hand me down, perhaps the holders are in a closet somewhere...

 

[Skorzen]

Hmmm I actually just saw some of those grooved film holders the other day, kinda wondered what they were for (now I know). If you are interested I might be able to find out what the guy selling them wanted for them.

 

[Wade D]

Thanks for the replies. The anni takes the grooved holders. I had a box of those holders years ago but sold them because they didn't fit the Crown. If I had only known. As I recall those old holders were pretty beat up so I will keep a eye out for one of the other backs. I've always wanted a Speed After having used one in college.

 

[Ole]

I think I may have some of those holders somewhere. Since my own anni has a regular springback, I don't need them...

 

[BrianShaw]

My Anny has been updated from a Graflex to a Graflok back. It's the best thing since sliced bread and canned beer!

 

[mattk]

I just posted a graflock back on ebay--it's in good shape. I'm not sure if you could just swap it out or not.

 

[Captain_joe6]

The Graflex back, on the other hand, will take cut film magazines, which show up on ebay all the time, usually under the name 'bag mag.' I got seven of them from a local for $140 total, and now I can load up 84 sheets of film and not have to worry about running out, especially if I got out for a weekend and bring a changing bag. A search will probably turn up even more info, but here's a primer:

Basically what you're dealing with in a bag mag is 12 thin metal plates with their edges folded over to form a flange on 3 sides that will hold a sheet of film. A picture is taken, and then a rod on the holder itself is pulled, which pulls the exposed film, in its metal sheathe (called a 'septum'), out of the solid portion of the holder and into the leather bag side, at which point you manually manipulate the septum in the bag into the back of the stack in the solid side. It all sounds quite complicated, but in practice, they are incredibly simple to use and very, very easy to repair.

Here are my buying tips: make sure it has all 12 septums. It won't work without all 12 present. Make sure the septums are flat and true, bent septums can be bent back to straight, but you don't want to get something that is excessively mangled. On the inside of the metal lid there are two flat metal springs which should both be present, missing one makes the holders prone to jamming, missing both makes them inoperable. Don't worry about the bag, these holders are easy enough to take apart, and it is very, very easy to make a new bag once you've got the old one off. If you do have to make a new bag, make it a little bigger than the original, the little bit of extra space is nice to have.

Or you could just track down a Graf-lok back and some Grafmatic holders, but they only hold 6 sheets of film and usually sell for two- or three-times the price of a 'bag mag.'

 

[ljsegil]

I am in a similar situation to yours, having recently picked up an "Anni" with a Graflex back. It's taken some snooping, but I have come up with one Grafmatic, two bag mags, and a handful of cut film holders that work. A Graflok or spring back would certainly make life easier (especially as I would like to shoot Polaroids, while they last, and there is no holder at all for Polaroids on the Graflex back). One caveat--I did buy one Graflok back, only to find that the back would not fit--the screw holes lined up fine, but the bevel (if that's the correct term) of the wood abutting the camera back was too wide for the Graflok, so I had to switch back to the Graflex. At this point I think I'm going to stick with the camera as is, with the holders I have found, as I have no way of telling which Graflok or spring back will end up fitting.
However, if anyone out there knows the secret to the well-fit back, I might yet change my mind--then Graflex back holders will be a glut on the market.
Best of luck with your new camera, however you may decide to configure her.
LJS

 

[Wade D]

I received a PM from a fellow APUG member who has 6 Graflex holders for sale.
I'm in the process of making the transaction and getting them here so I'm off
to a good start. I'm still keeping an eye out for other options as well.
Thank you all for the advice.
Wade D

 

[Murray@uptowngallery]

graflex.org user Bert (Saunders?) sold me a spring back with cloth viewing hood for about $30

They don't like/tolerate wanted posts there, so if you register (free) and just PM him, that's probably best route.