Any Razzle or other 'compact' 4x5 users out there?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
Local time
8:18 AM
Joined
May 5, 2006
Messages
19,242
I remember way back when 'Ash' was a member here he was about to get a 'Razzle' but departed the forum in a huff just prior to this from memory.

Sometimes I long for something that shoots 4x5 that's not quite as cumbersome and unwieldy as the Crown. The Crown delivers the goods OK for hand held LF shooting but by the time you've sighted the rangefinder, made shutter and aperture adjustments and composed, people and situations have moved on! :p

What cameras are out there in the mold of the said 'Razzle' and who owns or has owned one and what did you/do you think of it?

Conversely are they just a gimmick with no real practical use in LF photography?
 
Last edited:
the littman is pretty much the same. the proprietor has a bad rep on the internet, but the cameras seem ok. one just sold on ebay for $1750.

there's also the fotoman, gran view, and custom cameras made by kipp wettstein.

not small, but two gowlandflexes are on ebay right now.

graflex 4x5 slrs are another option.
 
Last edited:
A converted Polaroid is no faster to use than a Crown or any other handheld 4x5. You have to cock the shutter, focus the rangefinder, frame the shot, adjust the speed and aperture on all of them.

Ash has his Razzle for sale here:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=60658

I've owned two myself, Dean Jones does a great job and is a peach of a guy.

But, not to disservice Dean, a $2-400 Graflex Pathfinder Crown Graphic is a far more robust and versatile camera, not much larger than the Polaroids, better RF, etc. There is a reason that so many press photographers used them. The Polaroid rangefinders are always going out of wack, POS crap.

Ash is a good kid. Fickle though ;-)

If you really want to shoot FAST what you want is a heavy Sinar on the largest Gitzo with the auto cocking shutter or Grafmatics and self-cocking Compur shutters. You don't move the camera, you make it rock solid, then you can just jam the film in and fire away like a human motor drive. $100 worth of film later you might have a shot or two....
 
Last edited:
I have the razzle polaroid 800 conversion along with the 110B from Dean. he is a great guy to deal with. The waiting list is pretty darn long (one year) unless you are able to get them used.
I like Dean's back adapter design a lot.It's very versatile though I use polaroid back 80% of the time. The rangefinder is okay. It's big and heavy.
 
patrickjames said:
.....Here are the two I have kept. The black one is pretty much a stock 110b with different leather and slightly modified lens......
pol.jpg
Click to expand...

The black strikes me a beautiful as a Black Pen F or OM-1, a classic to be used and treasured.

I really like the Deconstructed series, great stuff.

Keith, have to agree with Frank (2nd time ever I think) the Crown is as robust and easy to use as they get. You can find a smaller field camera but you loose hand held.

Going that direction if you want a build it yourself you might look here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/474058-REG/Bulldog__4x5_Self_Assembly_Camera_Kit.html

or here for a bit of a step up

http://www.viewcamerastore.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_72&products_id=823

B2 (;->
 
those old folding cameras are quite appealing. bolt on some strap lugs and an L bracket, hang the camera off one shoulder, put a couple film holders and a traveller size gitzo in a small shoulder bag, and i'll be ready for a leisurely walk around town.
 
I have one from Dean and it is pretty nice. I won't use it for anything other than snaps until I can reliably process 4x5. So far film processing is harder than shooting 4x5.
 
Once we are at large compact cameras - I was wondering whether some of the polaroid (or other similar) cameras could be modified for 6x12 120 film with a lens like Kodak Ektar 100/6.3 (or even wider - the 80 mm one)

Or - in other words - where would you turn for a COMPACT 6x12 camera ?
 
Rayt said:
I have one from Dean and it is pretty nice. I won't use it for anything other than snaps until I can reliably process 4x5. So far film processing is harder than shooting 4x5.
Click to expand...



I bought a Combi Plan tank from Freestyle which processes six negs at a time but uses a litre of solution unfortunately ... and leaks everywhere during inversions ... aside from that it's brilliant! :p

My biggest problem is negatives that seem to be covered in crap that require endless time with the cloning tool in PP to get right. I'm damned if I can figure out where it's coming from because it doesn't happen when I process 35mm where I only get the odd spot. It seems to be happening during developing and not while drying which mystifies me ... I think it may be a problem with my wash water which is from an outside rainwater tank. Whatever crud is in the water seems to adhere to the emulsion during washing and although I do a final thorough rinse in filtered water it's still there when the neg dries! The joys of living in the sticks! :D
 
I checked out the LF Forum today and there seems to be Razzles for sale fairly often considering ... and Ash's is currently still for sale.

I still hear from the lad occasionally ... he was good fun when he was here! :D
 
Keith said:
I bought a Combi Plan tank from Freestyle which processes six negs at a time but uses a litre of solution unfortunately ... and leaks everywhere during inversions ... aside from that it's brilliant! :p
Click to expand...

Keith, consider rotary processing - I use a Jobo (2650n or something, for 6 sheets, 1+ litre volume) and fill it with 300 ml of developer (Rodinal 1+50 usually). Now I simply fill up a sink with 1-2 litre of water (20°C) and turn the tube myself. Quite doable and the negatives are very even.

martin
 
Keith said:
Sometimes I long for something that shoots 4x5 that's not quite as cumbersome and unwieldy as the Crown. The Crown delivers the goods OK for hand held LF shooting but by the time you've sighted the rangefinder, made shutter and aperture adjustments and composed, people and situations have moved on! :p
Click to expand...
I used a Speed Graphic and a Crown Graphic when I worked for a newspaper in 1964. The guy who showed me how to use it told me to try to predict every shot, always set the camera to hyperfocal distance when idle, have the new film ready with the slide out and cock the shutter.

For some reason we never used 120 backs. There was always a large flash attached to the camera with a push button to operate a shutter solenoid.

After a shot, outside:
-either flip or change film holder
-set camera to hyperfocal distance if you were going to wait for a while.
-"sunny 16"
-cock the shutter
-then pull out the dark slide and hold either in mouth or under little finger of the left hand.

After a shot, with flash:
-either flip or change film holder
-use guide number for bulb or electronic flash to determine f-stop after checking distance.
-cock the shutter
-put a new bulb in the flash or wait until the light comes on in the electronic flash.
-then pull out the dark slide and hold either in mouth or under little finger of the left hand.

In about two weeks of practice I became quite proficient at using the camera, and did everything quite automatically.

A few years ago I became a little nostalgic and bought a old Speed graphic. Most of what I learned came back but it was easy to see why the 35mm camera and motor drive became popular for newspapers.
 
literiter said:
I used a Speed Graphic and a Crown Graphic when I worked for a newspaper in 1964. The guy who showed me how to use it told me to try to predict every shot, always set the camera to hyperfocal distance when idle, have the new film ready with the slide out and cock the shutter.

For some reason we never used 120 backs. There was always a large flash attached to the camera with a push button to operate a shutter solenoid.

After a shot, outside:
-either flip or change film holder
-set camera to hyperfocal distance if you were going to wait for a while.
-"sunny 16"
-cock the shutter
-then pull out the dark slide and hold either in mouth or under little finger of the left hand.

After a shot, with flash:
-either flip or change film holder
-use guide number for bulb or electronic flash to determine f-stop after checking distance.
-cock the shutter
-put a new bulb in the flash or wait until the light comes on in the electronic flash.
-then pull out the dark slide and hold either in mouth or under little finger of the left hand.

In about two weeks of practice I became quite proficient at using the camera, and did everything quite automatically.

A few years ago I became a little nostalgic and bought a old Speed graphic. Most of what I learned came back but it was easy to see why the 35mm camera and motor drive became popular for newspapers.
Click to expand...


Great read thanks. :)

I really admire you guys who worked with these things for a living ... did you hang the camera off some sort of neck strap ... it would need to be pretty heavy duty I'd imagine! :p

I do like shooting the Crown ... it's always a camera that has caught my eye in movies etc and at some stage I knew I had to have one. I've been using it meterless over the last few days which is a good thing IMO because it's one less thing to carry and those big negs sure have some flexibility in post processing after scanning! Amazingly though my exposures have been fairly accurate ... probaly because I'm really having to think about what I'm doing and tend to plan well ahead when estimating light.

I'd quite like to try a Razzle but I can't ever imagine parting with the Graphic! :)
 
I’ve a Razzle on order, it should be done by now. Just waiting on Dean to reply to my e-mail (he can be a bit slow).

For processing I use a Jobo 2550 tank and a six sheet reel. It uses 1.5 liter’s off solution and can get a bit tiresome...

I have a Polaroid 110A converted to Fuji instant film and agree with Frank that it’s no quicker than shooting a Crown hand held.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom