Where to find and how to set up infinty stops for a Folmer and Schwing Graflex 3A

spoolman · Feb 5, 2015

I bought this camera a few years ago and found that it was missing the infinity stops. Can I use it without them?. If not, where can I get a pair and how are they set up.?

Doug

Sirius Glass · Feb 5, 2015

I asked on APUG and Large Format Photography and I got a set quickly. You need to know the focal length of the lens and sometimes more ==> there are six different scales for the 135mm lenses [some of the lenses were 134mm and others were 136mm] See www.graflex.org for more information.

spoolman · Feb 6, 2015

Hello Sirius: thanks for the link. I completely forgot that I had asked that question on Graflex.org. I'll have to dig out the camera to see what lens it has.

Doug

spoolman · Feb 6, 2015

Hello Sirius: thanks for the link. I completely forgot that I had asked that question on Graflex.org. I'll have to dig out the camera to see what lens it has.

Doug

Sirius Glass · Feb 6, 2015

Doug, you are welcome.

Sirius Glass · Feb 6, 2015

Doug, you are welcome.

shutterfinger · Feb 6, 2015

Infinity stops for the Graflex 3A are look the same style as the ones used on the Anniversary Speed Graphic but have only one screw to secure them to the rails.
Infinity scales, as referenced in the previous posts, and infinity stops set up the same. Run the rails in fully. With the camera on a solid surface (tripod) point the camera toward a target at least 5000 feet away. Slide the front standard out until the image on the ground glass is tack sharp. Verify that the front standard is square to the bed and correct if necessary. When the front standard is square to the bed and the ground glass image is tack sharp slide the infinity stop up against the front standard and tighten its set screw, on focus scales align the infinity pointer on the rail piece with the infinity indicator line on the bed piece and tighten their mount screws.

spoolman · Feb 10, 2015

shutterfinger said:
Infinity stops for the Graflex 3A are look the same style as the ones used on the Anniversary Speed Graphic but have only one screw to secure them to the rails.
Infinity scales, as referenced in the previous posts, and infinity stops set up the same. Run the rails in fully. With the camera on a solid surface (tripod) point the camera toward a target at least 5000 feet away. Slide the front standard out until the image on the ground glass is tack sharp. Verify that the front standard is square to the bed and correct if necessary. When the front standard is square to the bed and the ground glass image is tack sharp slide the infinity stop up against the front standard and tighten its set screw, on focus scales align the infinity pointer on the rail piece with the infinity indicator line on the bed piece and tighten their mount screws.

Shutterfinger: Do the stops have to be from an Anniversary Speed Graphic?. Or will stops from any Speed Graphic do?.

Doug

shutterfinger · Feb 11, 2015

Anniversary and earlier Graflex Corp. cameras use a similar style infinity stop. Pacemaker Graphics use a totally different style infinity stop.
The 3A I saw with an infinity stop looked similar to the stop for Anniversary Speed but the 3A stop used one set screw to hold it on the rail and the Anniversary stop used 2 screws and was longer than the 3A stop but fit on the rail in the same manner. I can only assume that Folmer & Schwing used the same/similar style infinity stop for all their cameras with rails from the beginning until 1946.

ic-racer · Feb 11, 2015

Like the one in this picture? You should not need it to focus the camera, since the 3A is an SLR.

spoolman · Feb 11, 2015

Thanks all for your help. It once again makes me glad that I joined APUG in the first place.

Doug

Sirius Glass · Feb 11, 2015

You get your money's worth at APUG!

Where to find and how to set up infinty stops for a Folmer and Schwing Graflex 3A

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