Remember my Graflex post?

Yesterday we received an ebay purchase for the Graflex in the mail – a 75mm lens for the large format press camera. I was very excited.

Ebay?

Yep, there are very few lenses available for sale in Ottawa for 4×5 cameras. The Camera Trading Company has another Graflex camera for sale but, alas, not the wide angle lens I lusted after.

I started searching online – finding a good deal on ebay. I have had good experiences there before.

Buyer beware

It was billed as “Glass is clean and clear. Shutter, focus, and f-stop are smooth, solid, and consistent. Body is in very good condition.” The seller had a 99% positive rating and over 22,000 sales – a reasonable track record.

The lens arrived. I found the shutter speed ring was seized. Seized?! Deflated, I started to dread contacting the seller about the bad lens they had sold me.

Canadian Camera to the rescue

Before contacting the selling store I thought it best to consult Canadian Camera – Ottawa’s prominent camera repair shop. I went in and presented my conundrum – had the lens seized or had I missed something?

Kishor and Raj are super. With years of experience and problem solving they quickly found the trouble – the shutter had been modified for another lens. Coupled with the glass of my new lens the shutter speed ring would not move. Removing the spacing ring (second from left, below) solved the problem.

Phew!

Many thanks to Canadian Camera. The Ohio based ebay seller also forgot to send the lens board we bought. I need to contact them – Any suggestions as to what to say?