Hello Everyone.

I've just bought a second hand 4x5 Cambo NC (sucessor to the SC). I have a question about the back; I'm presuming that I have the one which commonly comes with this camera.

Inserting film holders seems unusually awkward with my camera. There is a small lever which raises the spring back to permit the film holder to be inserted. This lifts only a single corner; in order to easily slide the film holder into the back, it is necessary to pull the other end of the back open and hold it open with one hand while inserting the holder with the other hand. There is quite a bit more resistance to inserting the film holder than I'm used to with a Speed Graphic or a Tachihara.

This isn't a big deal but it seems less graceful than I was expecting with a modern camera and it does create an opportunity to bump the camera after having composed and focussed.

Any thoughts? Your comments will be appreciated.

TIA

-- Ed Balko (veggie@monmoutj.com), May 26, 2002

Answers

Ed, my Toyo 45AII has a similar type of lever on the back. It's smaller than the large bailers on some other cameras, but it does the job. No need to pull the other end open. Just use the other hand to push back to equalize the insertion pressure. Keeps a lot of extraneous dust out of the back of the bellows and reduces tension on the back springs from stretching them too far. The springs should last longer.

-- Eugene (TIAGEM@aol.com), May 26, 2002.

Ed,

this is by design. You will have to lock focus tight and use a litte more force when inserting the holder. When using thick holders (like the Polaroid pack film holder or a Fuji Quick Change), I would recommend using the Graflock. It is accessible after you have removed the outer back by pressing the two chrome bars.

Regards,

-- Thilo Schmid (tschmid@2pix.de), May 27, 2002.