Any Gowlandflex 4x5 TLR Owners Here?

Sean · Mar 8, 2007

I decided a month ago to downsize to 4x5 for a while. Mainly I want to do more street work for the time being -and produce more work in general with less cost. I also want to put some serious work towards having a show. I then stumbled onto a minty Gowlandflex 4x5 TLR on ebay. Before this I was investigating Graflex 4x5's. The 4x5 TLR looked so awesome I quickly forgot about the graflex! I could see myself easily grabbing 4x5 street shots downtown by only having to look down into the finder of the Gowlandflex. I think this will be far more low key than a 4x5 kit/darkcloth setup on a busy sidewalk. I know the camera is not small, but compared to 8x10 it will be a breeze. I did some research and found the last one sold on ebay for nearly twice what the current seller's buynow was. I managed to get the camera and it will arrive this Sunday (my Mother is coming to NZ for a 3 week visit and is bringing it with her). It would be nice to hear from other owners out there. Also being new to 4x5 I have a 6 compartment slosher tray and info on that would be great -such as amount of chem required in the 11x14 tray, agitation methods, etc. Here is a pic of my new baby..

Colin Graham · Mar 8, 2007

Sweet! I always wondered what you do for lenses with these things. Do you have to double the taking lens with an identical viewing lens? I love sloshers trays, I made one with 3 compartments for 5x12 that fits in a 12x16 tray- for that I use 1.5 liters of solution- I've used as little as one liter with good results but don't feel as comfortable with that. I just agitate normally but I've head of others having success with minimal & semi-stand.

PHOTOTONE · Mar 8, 2007

The viewing lens would be barrel mounted, and could even be without iris.
But, in general you would have to have 2 identical lenses and that could be expensive if they are not included.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 8, 2007

The viewing lens just needs to be of the same focal length, but it's nice to have a matched set, if you can. They're neat cameras.

naturephoto1 · Mar 8, 2007

Peter Gowland designed and used these big 4 X 5 TLRs for much of his Glamour Photography. They are classic cameras and are supposed to be quite good from my understanding. Enjoy the camera. You say you want to use this for Sreet Photography? I am not sure that that will be easy with such a large and relatively heavy TLR.

Rich

Guillaume Zuili · Mar 8, 2007

I'm pretty sure people on the street will notice you with that TLR...
Very interested to see the results, it's a lovely camera.
G.

papagene · Mar 8, 2007

I can just picture Sean trying to be discreet on the street with that thing.
But I can also imagine Sean having a blast using it!

gene

Vaughn · Mar 8, 2007

Congrata, Sean!

I have a 4x5 Gowland Pocketview...Peter does good work. In fact I used the pocketview when I toured NZ on a pushbike for 5 months or so 20 years ago (how the time flies!).

As far as the slosher tray goes -- that should be pretty straight forward. Fill it up with water -- slosh it...if the water spills out, you got too much water in it. If the opposite goes dry when you lift a side up, you don't have enough water in it. (I guess you could just fill it up and aggitate wildly until no more water spills out -- what's left is the amount you want). A litre of D-76 can process 16 sheets of 4x5, so figure out how many negs you can do with a fill (add about 15% to the dev time for the second batch to compensate for the used developer). When you get it right, measure how much water is in the tray. I am sure there is a "proper" way to aggitate the tray -- but I would just be random about which side one lifts next.

Vaughn · Mar 8, 2007

papagene said:
I can just picture Sean trying to be discreet on the street with that thing.
But I can also imagine Sean having a blast using it!
gene

99.9% of the people on the street will not even know it is a camera!

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 8, 2007

They aren't that heavy. It's a very efficient design.

JosBurke · Mar 8, 2007

As far as street photography it may be a tad bulky but do-able--I saw that listing---is that the one with two separate lens panels-a 180 set and a 135 set IIRC? I have the early wooden frame version myself--a pair of 210 mm lenses--perfect for portraits but being I broke a spring in the back (rotating of course) I'm currently not using it---very clever deign and parralax correction too !!
I personally do not care for the viewing hoods==I have two diff. hoods but the tall version like yours should be great-- I tend to simply remove the hood and have low ambient light from the picture taking position (nice descript huh !!) and its easy to focus that way--my Linhof 2 piece reflex viewer will fit (roughly) and is a better choice for me over the hood but no hood is still best in practical use !! Your's appears to be the later all metal (I assume) construction version !!

Sean · Mar 8, 2007

JosBurke said:
is that the one with two separate lens panels-a 180 set and a 135 set IIRC?

No, mine just has one set of lenses, there is a 6x7 version with a few sets of lenses on ebay at the moment

Rolleiflexible · Mar 9, 2007

Rats. I wondered who stole that camera out from under me. :-/

Have fun with it. I corresponded once with Peter. He's 90 now and still building cameras. If you've not done so yet, write to him -- he's a good spirit and will write back and answer any questions you might have.

Peter De Smidt · Mar 9, 2007

I had a Keith camera twin lens 4x5 for awhile. It was a really nice camera. Peter Gowland is very friendly. You might want to contact him and chat.

John Z. · Mar 10, 2007

I have a Gowlandflex also; Peter once told me that ideally you want to have two identical lenses, or there is a chance that the lenses may not be the exact same focal lengths; apparently even two lenses marked the same by two different manufacturers may differ slightly.
A question for JosBurke; how do you attach the Linhof viewer to your camera?

JosBurke · Mar 10, 2007

A question for JosBurke; how do you attach the Linhof viewer to your camera?
I don't attach it--it just happens to fit very snugly into the top section of the camera !!
as for the 6x7 version on ebay--I'm gonna make a wild assumption and presume that the one on ebay at this point with the two lenses is likely a 4x5 camera with a roll film back attached--it would be pointless for Peter Gowland to make a 6x7 version--if interested I'd suggest either asking the seller a few questions OR ask Peter directly--as stated it is likely a 4x5 camera !!

Sean · Mar 10, 2007

The Eagle Has Landed!

A quick digisnap of the Gowlandflex next to my Yahica44:

This is a really well made camera and far lighter than I imagined. The viewing hood is rubber and has a sharp magnification element inside it. The parallax correction is very nifty. I'll be doing some test shots tomorrow to make sure everything is in good order.

mgb74 · Mar 10, 2007

Sanders McNew said:
Rats. I wondered who stole that camera out from under me. :-/

Have fun with it. I corresponded once with Peter. He's 90 now and still building cameras. If you've not done so yet, write to him -- he's a good spirit and will write back and answer any questions you might have.

Many years ago I was interesting in his 4x5 aerial camera and gave him a call. I too found him very helpful and willing to share ideas.

John Koehrer · Mar 10, 2007

Low key?

Sean · Mar 10, 2007

There is one thing I am trying to figure out and that is what kind of bag to carry it in! :confused:

Vaughn · Mar 10, 2007

Sean said:
There is one thing I am trying to figure out and that is what kind of bag to carry it in! :confused:

My first thought would be to use one of those baby-carriers that strap the kid in front of you. But then I have learned not to always go with my first thought...

Vaughn

Sean · Mar 10, 2007

Well it's pretty light weight so a cart would be overkill. I have Kevin Saitta sending me a modified belt/hip bag to hold my 6 4x5 holders. For the camera I think some sort of shoulder bag slightly larger than the camera that opens up for easy access. Maybe Kev will have to make one for me as well if I can't find anything suitable..

fschifano · Mar 11, 2007

I can't comment on the camera except to say that it looks like a really neat toy. I get the occasional stare from folks when I'm out with my Crown Graphic, but then it is a more familiar design.

For processing your sheet film, you might want to have a look at this: http://philbard.com/panel.html. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks effective and efficient. It is certainly easy enough and cheap enough to cobble one together.

P C Headland · Mar 12, 2007

Looks like one of those cameras is for hobbits.....

Congratulations on snagging that beast. You'll have to bring it down Wellington way some time! Look forward to seeing some results.

Steve Smith · Mar 12, 2007

fschifano said:
For processing your sheet film, you might want to have a look at this: http://philbard.com/panel.html. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks effective and efficient. It is certainly easy enough and cheap enough to cobble one together.

This looks like a good idea. It is basically the same as the film holding pins in the Pateson Orbital processor but without the solution holding tray and lid.

If I were to make one, I would add some kind of handle at each end so I could move it around without putting my hands in the developer.

Steve.

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