'Shur' Hand needed for the Shur-Flash

Recent posts on this forum inspired me to pick up an <a

href="http://www.ctzphoto.com/collection/anscoshurflashqr.htm">Ansco

Shur-Flash</a> box camera. This is a little beauty that takes

surpisingly crisp images. But make sure you use a sure-hand to

ensure that your Shur-Flash produces sharp (for a box camera) images

so you won't be disappointed with the results that will surely occur

if you don't use a sure-hand...whew!<br><br>

 

Much like the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye I'm amazed at the results. The

samples I'll provide below are scanned from the prints produced by a

local print shop. Fuji Superia 120 roll film was used, ISO 100. I

thought I was doing a good job of keeping a steady hand when using

this camera, but about half of the shots came out quite blurry. When

I did manage to hold 'er steady the quality of the print is pretty

damn good for an old $3 box camera, as seen in other posters'

threads. I'm sure this is due to the eye level finder. Most of my

other box cameras of this type have the waist level viewfinders and

allow you to press the camera against your chest or abdomen. Holding

the Shur-Flash up to your eye to compose the shot makes it that much

more important to keep it steady. There is obviously little room for

error.<div></div>

Hold 'er steady, matey!

These look really bad as prints...

No for the good ones! This is a mural and BBQ in Williams, AZ.<div></div>

A shot taken from Snow Bowl in Flagstaff, AZ.

Old Santa Fe coach at the Williams, AZ train station.

Nice work with that Shur-Flash. Aside from producing surprisingly good images, I think these simple cameras serve a very useful function in establishing a base line for judging the performance of others with fancier features and price tags. Whenever I'm trying out a new camera, the first thing I take note of is how well the images stack up to my mental image of what I know I can get from my Hawkeye Flash.

I don't know what it is about the Shur Flash but they take cool looking photos. You need to hold your breath and jam the camera into your body as you pointed out. In fact that's a good idea anytime you're below 1/125 sec.

 

Nice looking shots.

Nice shots-I'm gonna have to try color,one of these days-

 

 

I find when I shoot a box camera at eye level,I have to brace my elbows on something and lean into it- a fence,a car a trash basket- anything

I have the same problem with mine, TW. I end up mashing the camera against my nose trying to stabilize the situation. I'm gonna make a tripod adaptor for mine and get "serious".

 

Your shots show the typical Shur Flash condition. Some motion blurred, some nice and snappy. I haven't tried color in mine, but your photos here show it's up to the task. Nice shots.

Nice job! Hey, I remember spending about a year in Williams one week (or two) about '63, when the union was trying to onionize Haining Lumber Co. I hope I never have to work in another sawmill. I was only there long enough to get a paycheck so I could continue my journey. They were just about finished with Interstate 40 as I rode off into the sunset.

The one roll of TMAX-100 I put through my Shur-Flash came out nowhere near as sharp

as your pictures, and there was quite a bit of vignetting in the corners. See for example

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/3104022">this shot</a>.

<p>

The first shot I took with that camera came out <em>very</em> blurred. As I expected

the moment the shutter clicked. The shutter release button on those old box cameras has

a <em>significantly</em> different feel to it from anything on a modern camera. Both

the amount of force needed to fully depress it and the amount of travel involved are

greater. I soon learned to hold my breath and depress it with a slow steady motion.

<p>

I have yet to try color film in mine.

I was very surprised with the prints I got back from this camera. The print shop did have to crop the images a little to make 4x6 prints, but I don't see any obvious vignetting on the negatives. I want to scan the negatives to see if there is any difference, but of the eight 6x9 images only four were sharp. Luckily for me the mural shot I took twice just in case, one was blurry the other is the one I posted.

 

David, maybe the quality control of these old Ansco lenses was a little loose, and some variations exist that would cause the results you received. But I agree that the shutter release button on the Shur-Flash requires the user to place additional force against the side of the camera to fire the shutter, which may cause increased shake. Unlike the guillotine lever on most old box cameras where light pressure against the lever itself and not the camera fires the shutter; resulting in less camera shake. All my other box cameras with the guillotine shutter release are not this sensitive to blurring, plus the eye level viewfinder probably adds to the potential problems. Even though some additional care is required to achieve sharp images, this is still a fun camera to use, and great looking too.

I just got a shur fash today, from an ebay seller :-)

 

anyone have idea about the approximate aperture & shutter speed ?

 

please help

Duncan, best guess is that the aperture is around f/11 or f/16 and the shutter around 1/30. I've discovered that as a general rule ISO 100 film will give you acceptable results across the board for outdoor shooting when using any of these older box cameras, although I prefer ISO 50 for B&W. ISO 100 is usually cheaper so I tend to use it more often, and can compensate for the over-exposure during development. IS0 100 color film can be corrected by the shop developing it when they make prints. I've never had an issue using either speed. Remember with the Shur-Flash, hold that sucker still when shooting.