Help with Poor Man's Linhof

[jmg1911]

<p>Just got this Horseman 980 complete with GG and rollfilm back and have it mostly figured out with 2 glaring exceptions.<br>

1. What in the world does that knob on the left side of the front standard do? It is just about in the center of the attached picture. It is very stiff or maybe just overtightened and I am a little leery of messing with it until I have a better idea what I am doing.<br>

2. Loading the rollfilm back, how far do I wind on before closing the back? Surely something lines up with something, so far I don't get it.<br>

Thanks much for any help. This is one time good old Butkus wasn't much help. His 095 manual is more of a what than a how-to.</p>

[jmg1911]

<p>Messed up posting the photo. Here 'tis.</p><div></div>

[paul_wheatland]

<p>I believe the satin chrome small knob on the side of the standard is a rise and fall lock and the gear driven larger black knob on the top of the opposite standard is to allow measured action raising the lensboard up and down for architectural photography. The small knob dead center under the lens board, locks the shift feature left and right shift and the larger black knob below the rise and fall control is for measured shifting of the lens board. I'm uncertain which knobs offer forward and backward tilt. My experience has been with Graflex and related cameras but not Horseman or Linhof. These comments are my educated guesses.</p>

[robbiebedell]

<p>Paul is correct on the front knobs. The center one frees the front shift. The little lever on the lower left when pushed down releases for the front swing. On the back should be four knobs to adjust back movements when loosened. Thats the way I remember it from my formerly- owned 985 which is quite similar.</p>

[andrew_kleinfeld]

<p>The knob is stiff because it's supposed to be, until you loosen another one. The idea is that you loosen one knob that holds the lensboard firmly in place, and then wind the other to get rise or, winding it the other way, to get the lensboard back down in order to close the camera. Then you tighten the other knob again to prevent looseness and undesired movement in the lensboard.</p>

<p>As for the back, there's a circular window in the insert. You load the film onto the insert so that the paper shows through the window (and the film will face the lens), wind until the arrow on the paper shows in the circular window in the indert, then opuyt the insert into the back and lock it on.</p>

<p>What's a "GG"? Ground glass? The camera works great with that, on a tripod, or the coupled rangefinder.</p>

<p>These are great cameras, incidentally, on a tripod or handheld.</p>

[john tonai]

<p>Paul is mostly right except the top knob on the opposite side is for the front tilt and the bottom knob on that side is for the rise. To loosen the satin knob in this side, just turn it counter clockwise.</p>

[andrew_kleinfeld]

<p>The knob is stiff because it's supposed to be, until you loosen another one. The idea is that you loosen one knob that holds the lensboard firmly in place, and then wind the other to get rise or, winding it the other way, to get the lensboard back down in order to close the camera. Then you tighten the other knob again to prevent looseness and undesired movement in the lensboard.</p>

<p>As for the back, there's a circular window in the insert. You load the film onto the insert so that the paper shows through the window (and the film will face the lens), wind until the arrow on the paper shows in the circular window in the indert, then opuyt the insert into the back and lock it on.</p>

<p>What's a "GG"? Ground glass? The camera works great with that, on a tripod, or the coupled rangefinder.</p>

<p>These are great cameras, incidentally, on a tripod or handheld.</p>

[jmg1911]

<p>Thanks everyone! Going out tomorrow to check out the wonderfulness of it all. I even have filters bought for a Kiev 4a. Jim</p>

[andrei_arkhipov]

<p>Download manual for VH-R at Butkus site. It's a how-to manual.</p>