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  #1  
Old 18th February 2021, 12:02 AM
JonathanH JonathanH is offline
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Default Medium format folders on tripods

I am using a variety 1920s and 1930s medium format folders including Goerz, Glunz, Rietzschel, Nagel and Kodak. Really, I should be using a tripod for the best results but my modern tripod mount won't fit them. What thread size are these cameras using And where can I find an adapter?
I've read a number of posts recommending the use of tripods and I have to agree. Without a tripod it's a rather hit and miss affair as to what image is going to work and what isn't. Given my efforts to capture film images in the first place I want to increase my hit rate.
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Old 18th February 2021, 09:56 AM
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CambsIan CambsIan is offline
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Hi Jonathan, welcome to FADU.

Not sure on your exact sizes, but I have used these in the past.

Converts down to a standard tripod thread

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/4004767739?iid=284020198682

Hope it helps

Ian
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Old 18th February 2021, 10:22 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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As Ian says those adapters are all you need. I've only ever come across one camera with a none standard tripod thread and that was an early Lancaster quarter plate camera with a smaller probably 3/16th tripod thread.

Ian
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Old 18th February 2021, 11:31 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Some tripod heads have a reversible screw which has both sizes. It’s worth checking, but not if your tripod has a quick release plate. They tend to be a single thread size.
Alex


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Old 18th February 2021, 11:04 PM
JonathanH JonathanH is offline
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Brilliant advice, thank you so much for your help.
J
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Old 19th February 2021, 08:10 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexmuir View Post
Some tripod heads have a reversible screw which has both sizes. It’s worth checking, but not if your tripod has a quick release plate. They tend to be a single thread size.
Alex
I bought a tripod headat a CAmera fair a few yeawrs ago from a £2 box not realising it had a 3/6 thread to a camera. Must have had it some years before I realised it was dual fit, unusually the outer thread pushes down to expose the 1/4 thread. There's no makers name just a symbol but I think ut;s German.

Ian
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Old 19th February 2021, 08:31 AM
JonathanH JonathanH is offline
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Default Adapter ordered!

Adapter ordered - I'm looking forward to its arrival. I've been handholding medium format folders for years with the inevitable mixed results. Most shots are absolutely fine but then a camera comes along that completely defeats me and I end up with a bunch of blurred results. A certain Balda Baldax with Trioplan lens springs to mind. Other cameras, like my Ensign Selfix, a heavy old rangefinder of a beast, produce much more consistent results. There are times when having a certain amount of weight is a good thing...
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Old 19th February 2021, 09:10 AM
John King John King is offline
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As far as I an aware tripod screws and the threads in cameras have always used 1/4" or 3/8" Whitworth threads. A 3/16th thread would be far too slender to withstand repeated use. If a camera needs a 3/8" thread and your tripod has a 1/4" thread adapters are available.

Last edited by John King; 19th February 2021 at 09:15 AM.
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Old 19th February 2021, 03:34 PM
Nat Polton Nat Polton is offline
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I remember an aunt of mine had a lovely folding camera in a leather case.
All I can remember about it is that it had one size tripod thread on the camera, and a different size thread underneath the screw holding the camera to the case.
So with the case left in position you had one size thread between the tripod top and the underside of the case screw, and with the case removed, the other size was available on the camera base.

Worth having a look to see if you already access to both sizes.

Cheers.
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Old 19th February 2021, 05:31 PM
JonathanH JonathanH is offline
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Now that's crafty - and another lesson learnt. I'll be spending a happy afternoon going through folders and leather cases. I keep most of the folders on display and their leather cases in a large cardboard box. Marrying them up is no fun....
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