Graflex.org

[HektorF]

Just got a super D with Graflex back. It looks like a graflok back with 2 sliding bars, but when I try a normal 4x5 holder or 1268, it can not fit. And the camera come with a 1134, So I assume it should be a Graflex back. I knew 1168 fit it, but what other film holder works for Graflex back?

Did Graflex company produce conversion kit from Graflex back to graflok back ever?

[William Hallett]

I don't know of any film holder that will fit a Graflex back except the Graflex holders. The Graflex holder is wider than a regular holder, and in addition to the slots along the sides for the retaining slides, it has a slot cut across the face at the right hand end which engages with a metal strip on the camera back as a light trap.

There is another very important difference: the film plane in the Graflex holder is about 1 mm deeper than in a regular holder (6 mm depth vs 5). This means that if you were to somehow fit a regular holder to the Graflex, the image would be out of focus. For the same reason, roll film holders made to fit regular 4 x 5 backs will not work in a Graflex. Graflex did make Grafmatic 6 shot holders for the Graflex back as well as the "bag mag" - a 12 shot magazine contained in a leather bag.

Graflex did furnish Speed Graphics with Graflex backs on special order. But their advertising does not mention anything about making a Graflex with a regular or Graflok back. I suspect the reason was that they would have had to change the mounting of the ground glass in the Graflex to accommodate the different film depth in the holder.
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WilliamH