I'm totally new to LF so please excuse my newbie questions.
Does this fit on a Manfrotto tripod or do I need a special adapter?
Also, do you need a special light meter for the exposure compensation (bellows extension)?
Cheers!
Guy
The camera needs the combination rail clamp/tripod head, which is in the pictures. (Graphic Views are useless without that part, unless you fabricate something.)
The bottom of that tripod head/clamp has orange nubby rubber (usually at least somewhat cracked and worn) and a 1/4 inch female tripod fitting. So, to use it, you mount the Graflex head/clamp on top of your own tripod head. It is a bit "gangly" looking, but it works. Or, since the Graflex head/clamp has it's own pan and tilt, I guess you could mount it in place of your tripod head if you have a lighter-duty tripod that uses a 1/4 inch fitting to mount the head.
This is a Graphic View (I), which was the only model with it's exact styling. It's a very beautiful camera IMHO. Smooth, uncluttered styling, base tilts, and a spring back. The GV II models look similar in basic styling, and the models share rails. But the II's have a longer rail, and have axis tilts instead of base tilts, which required a cosmetic redesign of the carrier frames as well. They are still very beautiful, though a bit more "boxy" looking. The II's have a few variations as well, but the differences can be nonexistent if the cameras have been modified some time in the past 60 years. Originally, the early model of the GV II had a spring back, with a Graflok back as on option, while the later model had a Graflok back as the standard. But modifications were common.
An early spring-back Graphic View II was my first view camera, and second camera. It was given to me by my first photography instructor. I was stupid and sold it for a few hundred bucks when I got my SINAR. I had been drooling over a SINAR even since I started shooing view cameras. I didn't like the fact that the GV didn't have a Graflok back, and I figured I would never use it again. I regret selling it, especially since the photo instructor is no longer with us. I hope to replace it some day with a Graflok back model. They are very solid and easy to use cameras, within their limits. They are similar in philosophy (cheap, simple, light) and general feel to the old metal Calumet monorails, but better in quality (and cosmetic appearance). I backpacked with mine many times, and though it could definitely be pulled off, the SINAR F is much easier to do that with.
