Shooting the Graflex 22..

[Matthew Rusbarsky]

Good form counts for quite a bit. Proper use of a camera strap can go a long way toward adding stability. Also, trigger the shutter like you are firing a gun: gently pull the release.

 

[elekm]

I would check the collimation of the lens before testing further with film.

If you have an SLR and a telephoto lens, it's very easy to do.

Instructions here. I plan to rewrite these to simplify the process.

 

[cepwin]

Thank you elekm.....I took a look at your instructions and also found a you tube video which clarified your instructions. I have to figure out exactly how to focus this particular lens..in the video (he was focusing a different camera) It looks like he took some covering ring off.


UPDATE: OK I looked at the graflex and there really is no way to adjust the lens focus...it simply screws off unlike the more sophisticated lens in your instructions and in the video. I did look though my makeshift "ground glass" and it seemed like OK focus looking out at a distance. (I didn't try the other way yet but it seemed irrelevant since I can't adjust it...it could prove it's OK though more definitively.)

 

[GaryFlorida]

...which lens does your Graflex 22 have? I ask because their lenses, even the top of the line, weren't the best and had to be stopped down to get good image quality....

what do you know about the top of the line Graflex 22 lenses? I would like to know more about that.

 

[fotch]

what do you know about the top of the line Graflex 22 lenses? I would like to know more about that.

All cameras are nice in their own way. Generally speaking, top of the line and inexpensive cameras don't belong in the same sentence. Not to mean you cannot get great photos from the camera, just that top of the line lens means under magnification or large prints, you will get better results. I would think that if there were more than one lens configuration on the this camera, it would of been equal to all others from this manufacturer. Someone else may have more info. Good luck & enjoy.

 

[tessar]

I sometimes use a monopod with my TLRs (old age, shaky hands). Works well, not cumbersome and doubles as a walking stick!

 

[michr]

I doubt the 1/200 marked on the shutter actually corresponds to a 1/200 of a second, it's probably slower, likewise the 1/100 marking, on camera of this age. Are you using the top shutter speeds when handholding? You need to have a shutter speed of at least 1/80th, based on the rule of thumb that your shutter speed should be at least the inverse of the focal length (not that you can't get good results hand holding at slower speeds, but this is a place to start).

My Graflex 22 seems a bit off, like yours, as far as critical focus wide open. If you just want to use the camera and have fun with it, I'd recommend treating it like an advanced box camera, stop way down, high shutter speeds, ISO 400 film, focus on what you want, and let depth of field do the rest. Otherwise it might need an overhaul.