<warning> Boring BS Soft Focus Pics </warning> Spencer Portland Achromatic Meniscus!

[colrehogan]

Jim,
Where is the pin you mention on the Packard shutter?

 

[freygr]

I'll add a little to Mark's excellent answer. Most Packards have a pin that selects for instant and bulb. In bulb mode it is very responsive to negative air pressure. So you squeeze to open and release the bulb to "suck" it closed again. It's possible to get about 1/8 second doing this. Slower is simply holding the air pressure a moment longer before the bulb sucks it closed. With practice you can listen to a Nikon FM's 1/4 second and get a perfect 1/4 with the packard. Same for 1/2, 1, etc. In instant, a hard squeeze will give a very repeatable 1/25th 1/30th. An easier squeeze will give a longer exposure. I've grown so comfy with them that it's rare indeed for me to be spoiled these days with a modern shutter.

I have a Packard with two air cylinders, one opens and closes the shutter for focusing, and the other air cylinder is the instantaneous only and no pins to select function mode. Then I have a larger one without any place to install a pin.

 

[jimgalli]

Jim,
Where is the pin you mention on the Packard shutter?

Actually the pin was included in the original boxes when they were new and was mounted out in front on the wood lens board. Nowadays they are largely missing but if you are looking at the piston side of the shutter, look near the top mid-right area above the piston and hopefully you'll see a little protruding round thing. Flip the shutter over and you'll see a matching hole where a small finish nail can go in as replacement for the original pin.

There were 3 types in the old days. A #5 did not have this feature. It would only open and close with the bulb, period. A #6 is as I've described above. With the pin in the hole it is in instantaneous mode. No pin equals bulb mode. A #8 is the one with 2 pistons. One for instant and one for time, or bulb.

Does anyone know which issue of VC mag had the great article about these about 6 years ago?