old school flash

[rippo]

there's a type of flash connector on older cameras...i thought it was just a different style of PC sync. it's about the same size, but it's an 'outie' rather than an 'innie'. i've seen it on my Kodak Flash Bantam, and also my Busch Pressman Model C. probably some other cameras too.

is this in fact a type of PC connector? can i get an adapter for it? i'd like to use my Pressman with an electronic flash.

[rentavet]

On my bantam RF there is a "post" or outty flash connection that connected to a flashbulb holder.  I think it was a Kodak thing but I don't remember for sure and can't find my link to the folks that sell different PC cords.  Since it's for flash you would have to adjust it to be instant instead of delayed for the flashbulbs for best results I think.

[doubs43]

Without seeing either, my guess is a connection for a solenoid which mechanically pushed the plunger inward to trip the flash and shutter at the appropriate time. The solenoid was battery powered and connected by a wire to the power source. Many of the old Speed Graphics & Busch Pressman cameras used them and as I recall they had to be adjusted for the shutter they were being used on.

Walker

[rippo]

rentavet, yeah that sounds like the same thing.

doubs43, i was wondering about that. my Busch Pressman has a manual flash-delay timer. i thought it was a self-timer at first, but you cock it and it fires the flash first, then the shutter. you can set it to medium or fast (i hate to think what a 'slow' flash would have been. a bonfire perhaps?). but if you don't cock the timer, it seems like it's firing immediately. i had the shutter apart and was watching the flash sync, and it didn't seem delayed in this situation. that's why i wasn't sure if this could be successfully used with semi-modern x-sync flashes.

[ImageMaker]

The Flash Bantam probably has the same connector as my Pony 135, Signet 35, and Reflex II: ASA.  I don't recall ever seeing a brand of camera not part of Kodak use that connector (unless it was Ansco during the short time they made 620 cameras).  Most of the "semi-professional" Kodak flashes from the 1950s used that connector, also; it's a push-twist lock, with the sprung center pin forming one conductor and the shell the other.

Paramount sells an ASA to PC adapter cord for about $20, last I checked; that's female PC, I think, to allow connecting a modern flash to the antique camera.

Rippo, what you're describing on your Pressman is exactly what you think.  Don't cock the delay, you have X synch.  The "fast" position has (IIRC) a 5 millisecond delay for the gas-filled Type F bulbs (they were weak, but fast; burn time was about 5 ms with a 5 ms ignition delay), and the "slow" position is standard M synch for Type S bulbs, with 20 ms delay to allow for ignition time of magnesium bulbs.  There were also a few "FS" bulbs: M2, AG-1, and AG-3, plus the Phillips PF-1 baseless that was never sold (or at least never common) on this side of the Atlantic; they're generally usable with M synch, but actually have a shorter ignition delay and are also usable with X synch at 1/30 or slower without reduced guide number (S bulbs will have reduced guide number at 1/30 and are pretty much useless at faster speeds with X synch, though they work fine at 1/15 and slower).  Very, very few shutters have a correct FS synch delay, and it's so marked on the few I've heard of.

[rippo]

thanks donald! (and please, call me matt. )

now that i know what they're called, i'll hunt around and see if i can find an adapter.

[ImageMaker]

Good luck.  I've seen two of 'em on eBay during the time I was looking for one (a period of about six months); both went for $20+ without any indication whether they were in good enough shape to just plug in and work.  I'd suggest that, for that money, you could just get one of the Paramount adapter cords...

[rippo]

eh? i thought we were talking about the paramount adapter cords?

[ImageMaker]

Okay, when you said "adapter" I incorrectly adduced that you were referring to the simple version without the cord -- which is probably more reliable (all photographic extensions are infamous for failing without notice, at the worst possible time, largely because Paramount doesn't seem to have ever heard of strain relief), but rather hard to come by.

[rippo]

i was using the terms loosely, because i don't know what the options are. those paramount cords are expensive! it'd be like $40 or so. i think i might just pass, or try and rig something myself. i don't even know if the flash sync is working, so i'd better determine that before dropping cash.

thanks!

[ImageMaker]

Sensible, though in general the metal-leaf synchs in older shutters are pretty robust; as long as they aren't too corroded to make contact, they'll keep working (unless you find one that's been used to ground a welder, like the one Jorn is working on).