4x5 Field Camera: Wood or Metal?

As someone who has 4 Graflex's I'd be careful in your choice, because there are quite serious limitations with the most common models.

I use my Pacemaker Crown Graphic and an emasculated (no shutter) Pacemaker Speed Graphic for hand held work, but their very limited range of movements is very restricting for tripod work. There's some rise/fall and tilt in landscape mode, but no movements at all in portrait mode. The upside is they are cheap.

However the less common Super Graphic's are quite different and have far better movements as well as a revolving back. This is why I've recently switched to using one instead of having to make a choice of either taking my Wista or Crown Graohic (or both) when off shooting for a few day's.

Ian

Vaughn said:

I had forgotten about the Graflex SLR 4x5. Not a very practical camera for landscapes. One could not set it up very high on a pod and still see through it. Instead you would find places to climb up on. As far as appearing in public, it would probably help to look a little like Dorothea.

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I found that I do not have to put the 4x5 Graflex Model D up high on a tripod. Waist level works well. Raising a camera high for distant landscapes is like asking someone at the Grand Canyon to step back a little more so they will be in focus! Oops, sorry the edge was closer than I thought. Have a nice trip anyway. Well at least you made a big impression. Great coverage ...

Wood or metal?

I vote "other".

The two best cameras I have or have had through my hands are the Gandolfi Variant (MDF) and the Carbon Infinity (carbon fiber).

Get a wood, metal or "other" camera not because of the material, but because it has the functions you want at a price you can afford.

Oh - the Gandolfi Traditional is wood, and a great camera too! Possibly my favourite camera, but I haven't tried that in 4x5" - only 5x7" and 8x10".

mfratt said:

I feel the mass-production American nature of the Graphic excludes it from that category.

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The Graphic company benefitted from many decades experience in camera making. The Speed and Crown Graphics after 1948 were well engineered, well built, and very versatile. The cameras were just part of a complete system. Their features and build quality are better than the B&J press cameras I occasionally use for their few advantages, and perhaps better than I recall the Busch press camera to be. American products from people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John M. Browning, Edwin Land, and George Eastman were leaders in their day. They should not be compared to today's mass-produced items.

Ole said:

Wood or metal?

Oh - the Gandolfi Traditional is wood, and a great camera too! Possibly my favourite camera, but I haven't tried that in 4x5" - only 5x7" and 8x10".

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Oh! what a shame.

Are you after sympathy or something

Martin

mfratt said:

But before this thread gets too off track, can anyone speak to the quality of the Chamonix against a pricier camera? I do like the Lotus a lot from what I see, buts its also $3000...

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As a Chamonix 45n-2 owner. I think its an excellent camera and provides tremendous value for the price. I took a workshop with a LF photographer that uses Ebony cameras exclusively and he was quite impressed with my Cham.

Michael Gordon: http://www.michael-gordon.com uses the Chamonix as well.

I may be biased since I own the camera but I don't see the advantage of paying $3K for a camera that doesn't give you that much more.

I would upload some pics from my workshop but they are HUGE! over 28MB.

Sirius Glass said:

I found that I do not have to put the 4x5 Graflex Model D up high on a tripod. Waist level works well. Raising a camera high for distant landscapes is like asking someone at the Grand Canyon to step back a little more so they will be in focus!...

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You are correct. I rarely do "distance landscapes" so my opinion was biased towards my intimate landscapes in the redwoods. At waist level, I would just get a lot of images of sword ferns! My lens is usually about 6 feet above the ground.

lilmsmaggie said:

As a Chamonix 45n-2 owner. I think its an excellent camera and provides tremendous value for the price. I took a workshop with a LF photographer that uses Ebony cameras exclusively and he was quite impressed with my Cham.

Michael Gordon: http://www.michael-gordon.com uses the Chamonix as well.

I may be biased since I own the camera but I don't see the advantage of paying $3K for a camera that doesn't give you that much more.

I would upload some pics from my workshop but they are HUGE! over 28MB.

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I will chime in with my $0.02 worth here. I have been really impressed with my "first run" Chamonix 045N-2 (in teak), bought April of this year. It has its faults, but quality of construction of my copy is not one of them. I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I had a "tripod accident" with my Chammy that sent the camera crashing into a metal railing and from there to a concrete sidewalk. I expected bent metal and splinters, but damage was limited to a few "dents" in the wood on the corner of the ground-glass holder. The impact knocked everything (and I do mean everything) a bit akimbo, but the important thing was that the lens board stayed in place, none of the hardware was bent, and none of the joinery failed. I re-zero'ed the camera and continued shooting.

That being said, I would remind any purchaser of a Chamonix, Shen Hao, or similar camera that standards and sources for materials may change between production runs and that a careful inspection of the camera on delivery is important.


Steve

I switched from a monorail to a 4x5 Shen Hao (wood.) I really like it. It does what I need it to do. I went with a wood one because it's so beautiful. It's a piece of art itself. To me, the aesthetics of the camera are very important. I sometimes use it on a wooden Berlebach tripod, but mostly on my Gitzzo 1325 carbon fiber. It looks great on both.


Kent in SD

mfratt said:

What would you folk say about a Graflex camera for someone looking for an all-around field camera which adds the ability to be handheld?

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I'd go for a Super Speed Graphic most definately since they have plenty of movements for "field" stuff & are usually a lot cheaper than a Technika. For pure handheld work, a top RF Crown would be my choice.