Shen Hao 6x17 film back on Graflex Speed Graphic?

[polaroid_memories]

Hi all,

Has anyone been able to fit a Shen Hao 6x17 Roll film back to a Graflex Speed Graphic?

I have both an original Graflok back and replacement 20th Century Camera Graflok back for my Speed Graphic and have been unable to get the sliding locks over the back. It fits in place, but seems to chunky to be locked in place. Is there a work around for this? Could I loosen the sliding lock screws to allow for more height?

Many thanks in advance as always.

 

[Donald Qualls]

A 4x5 frame opening is only a little over 120 mm -- no way it's going to cover a 6x17 frame without an extension and setting the infinity stops back by a matching distance.

 

[reddesert]

The 6x17 is an extension back. https://www.badgergraphic.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=177&product_id=123

I've never used one of these backs. The depth of the grooves and their height is not totally standard between different Graflok accessories and camera backs. I would check to be sure that the back is actually sitting firmly in the groundglass area and the light trap notch is seated. After that, whatever mechanical modification you have to make is fair game.

 

[grat]

On my Pacemaker Speed Graphic (1948), the ground glass assembly fits with no difficulty. The film holder, however, fits very snug on mine, and requires a bit of force to get the sliders to start over the edge, but it does latch in place quite securely. A little bit of sandpaper to round off the edge of the 6x17 film holder would probably make it much easier to put on. The back is a pretty simple design, and the base plate can be easily removed.

I should mention, though, that my Shen Hao 6x17 back is so old it's actually an Art Panorama KT617. It's pretty much identical to the first gen. Shen Hao back.

I'd never tried the 6x17 back with my Speed Graphic (it needs some minor repairs right now). Doing some testing, it appears there's some falloff. I'm using the Ektar 127 f/4.7, but if I look through the lens wide open from the front of the camera, it's not the optics that's vignetting, it's the bellows.

My Chamonix, which works fine with the back, has a conical shape-- it's much wider at the film plane end than it is at the front standard. The Speed Graphic has a very small (if any) taper, so it's more likely to vignette a wide angle.

I know 6x17 looks gorgeous, but a 6x12 back might be more practical for a Speed Graphic.