On LF cameras with rangefinders...

S

Stephanie Brim

Mental Experimental.
Local time
8:23 AM
Joined
Apr 12, 2005
Messages
2,859
Location
Iowa
View My Gallery
I put a bid on a very rough Speed Graphic without a lens or a ground glass recently and was outbid. That kind of spurred me on to looking for one that maybe isn't so rough. It's something I've talked about for about a year now and with a baby on the way it may be a good chance to pick it up. I can imagine the photos of my newborn that I could take with one of these, and many other portraits as well, and it makes me smile.

So here I am at that crossroads. Do I really want to go large?

There are pros and cons to the format. None of the lenses are real speed demons. Film can be expensive. Focusing is way different than a lot of what I already have. But the images I see coming out of these cameras are great. The appearance of grain on prints is very nice. 4x5 film is much cheaper than 8x10 film and can be contact printed relatively well. And most of all, large negatives of my baby just sound very good. Seeing how Pan-F and Efke 25 look in 4x5 will be a very interesting thing.

There are so many things around Iowa that deserve to be photographed with a nice, large negative. There are many people, too.

I'm ready to make the plunge. So now I have to decide.

I think the best thing for me would be an Anniversary Speed Graphic of some kind with a focal plane shutter. I've found, though, that some Speeds are going for much more than they were a few months ago. I don't know if people are starting to treat them more as collector's items or what, but I've seen prices over $200 and that's high. The Crowns seem to be going for lower, but I'm under the impression that those don't have the focal plane shutter. Then there's the Busch Pressman models, which are also a good bet, but I can't remember if any of those had a focal plane shutter either.

I just need some help. The main things I'll be shooting with it are landscapes and portraits. I'll be sticking to slower film so I'll be using slow shutter speeds as well. When the baby comes, I'll be shooting a lot of cute posed portraits of the baby. As a newborn, anyway. After 6 months I think I'm going to have to invest in autofocus...

But anyway, if anyone has any input (as I know there are some Graphic shooters here) I'd appreciate it. I'll make sure to tell you what I ended up with.
 
I'd suggest the Crown- the focal plane shutter never appealed to me in such an old camera. Your lenses can get brand new copals if needed, and repairs might (I don't know) be easier. I ran a crown graphic for many years, but without the RF unit, I used it Field Camera style. I'd be interested in hearing about the FP shutter in cameras of this vintage- reliability & repairablity especially.
 
Yeah, I second hearing more about the focal plane. I'm interested in that because of my interest in barrel lenses and my inability to take a lens cap off a lens with any speed. 😀
 
Hi,
I chose a super graphic.
Mainly because these are the newest and fully made of metal. They lack the fp shutter but that also makes the body thinner and therefore much more suitable for short focal lengths. The main problem is the lack of focus cams. My camera came with the 135 cam. Which is themost versatile but i'd like to have cams for the other lenses as well.

I've also used a Linhof 2x3 as a street shooter. Works quit well and can easily be used hand-held to 1/10.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
Barrel lenses have never been my friends!

I have a 3.25x4.25 Graflex- don't know the model, the one with the big pop up viewing hood on top. The shutter in that one does work, though I'm unsure of how reliably. It came with an old 6" or so Tessar that is a very nice lens I've used a few times, enough to make the above statement!

I have one other barrel lens, a Wollensack thing with a big chip out of one edge of the front element that makes stunning antique looking images when I can force myself to concentrate enough.
 
I've seen portraits done by various barrel lenses on APUG and been impressed, so I'm actually wondering about the technique. The lenses seem to produce a very good portrait that's soft in all the right places.
 
Stephanie Brim said:
I've seen portraits done by various barrel lenses on APUG and been impressed, so I'm actually wondering about the technique. The lenses seem to produce a very good portrait that's soft in all the right places.
Click to expand...

And even if you don't end up with a Speed Graphic, you can always take the lens and mount it on whatever respective camera you're using. Hell, I'm sure that you could have it Sweenified for a different format if Brian felt up to it.
 
You can get some very nice portraits with an Ektar or Xenar wide open on any of the press cameras.

If you are primarily interested in using barrel lenses for portrait work then a Speed Graphic may not be your best choice. You will be much better off with an older monorail and a Packard shutter. The older Calumet and Graphic View's are going really cheap right now and would be a good choice.
 
Steph,

If you are mainly interested in contact prints of landscapes and portraits I am going to suggest something slightly different. I would look for a 5x7 camera with a 4x5 reducing back. Add a Packard shutter and you will be able to use barrel lens. The 5x7 makes a very nice contact print. Also the 5x7 cameras normally have a longer bellows that allows longer lens to be used with 4x5 back. The 5x7 camera is only slightly bigger in physical size than 4x5. If you look at the older field cameras like B&J, Korana View, Empire State, and Kodak 2d to name a few, make sure that the rear extention rail is also present. The rails by themselves can be found, but they are only slightly more common than hen's teeth.

I don't think you will be able to get into large format super cheap, but I think less than $300 is feasible. Too bad you didn't want into Graphics about 3 years ago. Dick at Christian Photo in Des Moines decided to sell off his collection of around 200 graphics. I was tight for money at the time, but did buy a Crown Graphic top mouint rangefinder 4x5 with a 162mm f4.5 Optar in a working Graplex shutter for under $200. He ended up selling the bulk of them to one man.

I guess I am rambling now.

Wayne
 
Last edited:
I'm looking at around $200 initial investment. Tight, but not too tight.

Having a birthday rocks. Probably the last I'll get to spend money on myself.
 
Any other advice before I go to the (other) dark side? I got an email from a guy who is willing to part with a Speed, which is my first choice, so we'll see how that goes.
 
Stephanie Brim said:
Any other advice before I go to the (other) dark side? I got an email from a guy who is willing to part with a Speed, which is my first choice, so we'll see how that goes.
Click to expand...
No advice...just that I got my "new" Crown Graphic in the post yesterday and haven't put it down since...and my film doesn't come 'til tomorrow! 🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom