rangefinder details

Gordon Coale

Gordon Coale

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Oct 12, 2004
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These pictures weren't taken with a rangefinder so I won't post them in my gallery but they are of rangefinders so you might enjoy them. They were taken with my Burke and James view camera with a 120 roll back. I got the B&J from Nick R. and he also sent me this very curious lens. It's a 5 inch Elgeet (127mm) but doesn't cover 4x5 at infinity and is just huge. One of the things I wanted a wide angle lens is to get closer close-ups. With 16 inches of bellows, the 5 inch Elgeet gives me 200% enlargement on the film. And what better thing to take close-up pictures of then rangefinders?

The first shot is of my Leica IIIc. The 5 inch Elgeet is an f2 which is very fast for a view camera and at this magnification provides a razor thin in focus area. These were tests to see what this lens did. It does some weird stuff opened up but I kind of like it. Impressionistic metal working.

The other three are of my FED 2 with the lens stopped down at it's maximum --- f22. The third is a crop of the second at the scanning resolution which was 800 dpi. There are some interesting possibilites.
 
Those are very good photos, Gordon. I think they would look spectacular as large prints. I'm a gear-head so I like these technical/engineering shots.
 
Tempting, to say the least. 4 x 5 covers nearly twice as much real estate as my Agfa Record III. Though I must say that my Record III is a bit more compact.
 
And that's a nice stack of cameras you have there, Andrew. The first one looks familiar.
 
Nick asked me to post a picture of the Elgeet 5 inch lens on the 5x7 B&J. This is what a real macro camera looks like. The little lens in front of the camera is a Kodak Ektar 5 inch to give you an idea of how weird this Elgeet is. He suggested I try some color and see what the aberrations look in color wide open. There will be some color close ups of rangefinders coming. Probably a series on the Leica IIIc.
 
Hello Gordon, that Burke & James reminds me of an old ANSCO large format camera. By the way, with regards to sheet film, what's your preference?
 
Actually, I haven't started using sheet film on the B&J yet. I finally found my sheet film holders but am still searching for my changing bag. I'm using a 120 roll film back right now. The Kodak Ektar 5 inch lens is actually off a rangefinder -- my 3.25x4.25 Speed Graphic. The work on that camera has slowed way down with the acquisition of the B&J but I pull it down off the shelf periodically and scrape a little more glue of the wood. The Speed Graphic takes the odball size of 3.25x4.25 and there is only one place that sells that size film -- J and C Photo. Only three choices there and two are Efke. So I will probably be using Efke film for my 4x5 also as well as 5x7 when I get that back rebuilt. I don't have a darkroom yet so that slows things down too. I'm shooting XP2. When I find my changing bag I will start by sending Efke out for development. There are some labs nearby in Seattle that process black and white sheet film. If that works out I will try some 120 and 35mm Efke. I do plan to build a darkroom but reality is putting that off for now.
 
you big camera looks beautiful Gordon, it's impressive for someone used to small cameras.

By the way Andrew, I love your Zorki I + Zorki 3M, they are mint.
 
Here are pictures of an Old 5X7 wooden view camera that I got from Gordy several years ago. It has a Lens hood and cap made by me, machined to fit from ABS drain pipe adapter fittings. I will post more pictures of some of my shopmade lens hoods and caps in another thread, probably in the general discussion section.
 
Speaking of view cameras and rangefinders....

How about a Leica llla dwarfed by a Deardorff?
(photo taken by a Zeiss Ikon Contessamat)
 
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