Misc.

I received the Gran View 4x5 the other day.  It is just as advertised and in good shape.  My first impressions confirm what I was able to find out about the camera before I bought it.

• Focusing is a bit crude.  It'll take some trial and error to set up infinity on it when I finally get a lens mounted.  Worse, I'm not sure how stable the set up will be.  I'm afraid it may drift in adjustment.

• The lens mount is copal 1 sized and all the 75mm lenses I find are mounted in copal 0!  I'm going to have to make some kind of aluminum donut to size the mount down.

• The flocking in the focusing cone is loose and starting to fall off.  The focusing screen showed a great deal of flocking debris.  Worse, the debris will get on the film.  I'll have to remove that flocking and replace it with flat black paint.

• The handle is awkward, but I found good hand holding methods for horizontal and vertical shots.

• It looks like I can manage several degrees of rise and fall in the vertical orientation.  That may come in handy.

• I like the accessory shoes.  The locking screws are a great touch.  I've dropped more than a few viewfinders off of loose shoes and it's a terrible feeling.

I also received my first rolls of Ektar 100 in 120.  I've got a roll loaded right now in my Iskra.  Now to find something colorful to point at.  I'm thinking that the Balda, loaded with black and white and the Iskra, loaded with Ektar, will be my new carry gear.

I sold off a VC Meter II (shoe mounted meter) that I was not using and a double accessory shoe.  Both went quickly on Rangefinderforum.com. The accessory shoe in particular was in great demand.  They're no longer made and I'm pretty sure I asked/got about half of what I should have.  I still have an old 6x9 roll film adapter for 4x5 cameras I need to get rid of.  Selling off these toys is getting me close to enough cash to buy the 75mm lens needed to complete the Gran View.