Paid $150 for a vintage shutter timing tool and it was dead on arrival

Bought a Graf-Pak shutter timer off eBay for $150 from a seller in Ohio, got it yesterday and the readings jump all over the place. Anyone else get burned buying old repair gear online?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.cole1mo ago

Nah, that's not a Graf-Pak, you're thinking of the Graflex.

alexc931mo ago

Wait, did they mix them up that bad? I mean, I've definitely been there though, confusing those old Graflex flash units with the Graf-Pak backs. It's way too easy to get tangled up in all the vintage gear names, especially when you're digging through a box at a swap meet or something. Idk, it's like my brain just short-circuits on those old press cameras sometimes. At least they're in the right neighborhood, you know?

joseph_torres27d ago

Oh man, you're totally right, but this whole thing just reminded me of a time I was at a camera show and this guy was dead set that his old Speed Graphic had a "Graflex" lens on it. I stood there for like 10 minutes trying to gently explain the difference, and he just kept pointing at the brand name on the shutter. I finally just nodded and walked away because sometimes you can't win those battles, especially when someone's got their heart set on a story. Your mileage may vary, but I've learned to pick your arguments with vintage gear folks, haha.