Will copal #1 fire a flash ?

[manjo]

This is probably a stupid newbie question ... will my copal #1 fire a flash ?

 

[Dave Parker]

Does it have someplace to attach a flash, then yes..

 

[dphphoto]

There are no stupid questions. Just people too stupid to ask questions, which is obviously not your problem.
What's great about a leaf shutter, as opposed to a focal plane shutter, is that you can fire a flash at any speed.
I've never seen a Copal 1 that didn't have a sync post. Dean

 

[David H. Bebbington]

This is probably a stupid newbie question ... will my copal #1 fire a flash ?

As others have said, if it has a 3mm PC [patch cord] socket, you can hook up a flash. If your shutter is the older type and has a small switch marked X and M, make sure this is set to X (M is only for old-style expendable flashbulbs).

Regards,

David

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

3mm PC [patch cord] socket

I always thought that stood for "Prontor-Compur." I'm fairly sure it does.

 

[Sanjay Sen]

... PC [patch cord] socket...

The 'PC' stands for "Prontor-Compur", as David G pointed out.

 

[David H. Bebbington]

The 'PC' stands for "Prontor-Compur", as David G pointed out.

As far as I am aware, this is one of those abbreviations whose full version changes with time, such as VHS (was Victor Home System, then Video Home System) or DVD (was digital video disc, now digital versatile disc). I would deliberately avoid saying "Prontor-Compur" these days, since Copal is the dominant (in fact I believe only) shutter brand around now and I don't want to upset people who think industry-standard flash cords don't fit this and that they need to buy special cords!

Regards,

David

 

[Donald Qualls]

I would deliberately avoid saying "Prontor-Compur" these days, since Copal is the dominant (in fact I believe only) shutter brand around now and I don't want to upset people who think industry-standard flash cords don't fit this and that they need to buy special cords!

Hmmm. A quick survey of my cameras shows I have eight Compurs in various sizes and a Prontor-Press, but the only Copals in the house are the Copal-Square shutters in my two (non-working) Richoh Singlex II 35 mm SLRs.

Copal is the only large format shutter in current manufacture, but surely not the only one around; mechanical shutters (unlike the current Copal with its electronic timer) can be expected to continue to operate for literally centuries with occasional maintanence (just like clocks). The electronics in the modern Copal are guaranteed to fail after some number of "powered" hours. My Compurs are guaranteed to wear out, after some number of cycles. I'm inclined to put my bets on the Compur lasting longer as measured in years of use, given that most of the ones I own are between 60 and 85 years old and still going strong.

 

[Bob F.]

What??? You mean the PC socket isn't so I can download my pics from my Arca Swiss to a computer? No wonder I couldn't fit my USB cable on to it - no matter how hard I hit it with the monkey wrench....

Guess it's time for another of my ebay: "I have no idea what this is for but it seems to be working OK", sales then...

Cheers, Bob.