shutter life

[david_haardt2]

Hello folks,

 

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As shutters are the most likely thing in LF photography to let you down when you really need them, I am a bit concerned about the average life of a mechanical spring shutter.

 

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I own a Graflex (Rodenstock) Optar 4.5/135 mounted into a Graflex 1000 2A shutter (the Super Speed Graphic lens/shutter combination). All the shutter times sound different, the longer ones sound reasonable (I would never claim to be able to tell whether the short ones sound reasonable), and I didn't have any exposure problems so far, so I assume that at the moment it is fully working.

 

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Are there any signs I should watch out for to notify of a degrading shutter? Is there any sort of maintenance I should do to it? If yes, do you know any able repair store in Germany/Austria?

 

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Are the other ones among you who only own one lens as concerned as me too, that their shutter will let them down some day when they are on an important trip/shooting? Of course I am only an amateur, but nevertheless I would like to be able to shoot without any afterthoughts ;-)

 

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Best regards,

[kcrisp]

David: Unless you have needs of shutter speeds higher than 250-300

(which is what the Compur's seem to have as real top speeds) I would

use a different lens. I considered buying the lens/shutter

combination you have, and asked around first about reliability and

ease of repair. In particular, I spoke to Steve Grimes who knows a

lot about repairing shutters. (SKGrimes.com) The word I got was

that this shutter is problem prone and that repair is very difficult

and occasionally impossible. If this is true (and I am sure others

will have a history with it) then I would be particularly concerned

(as you are) that this is the one lens you are carrying around. The

Schneider 135's are readily available in Compur shutters at

reasonable prices and should still give years of trouble free service

after a cleaning and lubrication. This is only what I've heard, I

went for another option after checking into the shutter you mention.

To answer your more general question, there are inexpensive digital

timers available which will allow you to check your shutter speeds.

It isn't a bad idea to check them now and then, especially before

important trips. (And long enough before the trip that you could get

it fixed if necessary.)

[david_haardt2]

What I would like to add to my initial posting:

 

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I also thought of keeping (or even mounting and leaving it there

until I need it) a Packard shutter as a never-die back-up. I thought

the one with 1.75" opening hole (3.5x3.5" overall dimensions) would

fit well.

 

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Cheers,

[dave_willison]

David:

 

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As Kevin suggests, you might want to purchase a shutter speed testing

instrument. It's a little plastic box with an LED and a sensor on the

front. You place your lens in front of a light bulb or other light

source, fire the shutter, and read the LED. The device also comes with

a chart that allows you to determine whether your shutter speeds are

within 1/6 or 1/3 of a stop. I bought one from Calumet.com several

years ago for about $75. It's a good investment if you worry about the

consistency of shutters. It's also a good tool for evaluating and

adjusting used lenses or applying the zone system for different

lens/film/developer combinations. You might also do some searching on

this site for posts regarding the care and feeding of modern shutters.

I remember reading some discussion about periodically exercising

shutters and whether they should be stored with the shutter set at a

certain speed.

 

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Your follow-up on the Packard shutter reminded me that Packards also

die, although with a little work they can be brought back to life.

I fixed one several years a ago that would open and then fail to

close. I ended up removing the blades to ensure they were flat and

then polished and lubricated the pneumatic cylinder on the rear of the

shutter. This did not solve the problem and I ended up attaching a

small weight to the top of the cylinder. It worked like a charm.

Also, it takes a little creativity to mount the Packard on certain

cameras, particularly if you have a large lens and a small lensboard.

Packards can be purchased with differnt size openings to fit the rear

of the lens, but a larger opening generally means a larger shutter.

The other complication is that the rubber tubing that fires the

shutter has to be mounted through the lensboard, the lensboard holder,

or (god forbid) the bellows. The tubing is about 3/8 wide so you need

an extra 1/2 inch or so if you plan to mount the shutter to the

lensboard. The other option, of course, is the mount the shutter in

front of the lens or in some type of extension "box" on top of the

lensboard. I hope this helps.

 

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