Any things to look out for when buying 4x5 Graflex crown/speed graphic?

NDP_2010 · Apr 18, 2012

I am looking to start shooting LF by buying a graflex graphic camera. They seem sort of portable which is good for me as I would plan to take it in a backpack to places.
Looking on the internet the prices seem to be around $250-400, however alot of sellers seem not to be photographically orientated and thus the functionality of the camera is somewhat questionable. I was wondering if anyone here had experience with these cameras, and if there was any common faults or areas that became damaged that may not be so obvious.
Also, alot of people sell the camera without film holders, I was wondering how difficult is it to get hold of film holders for this camera, and is there anything to keep in mind when looking for film holders.
Any other wise words would be appreciated.

thanks.

reciprocity · Apr 18, 2012

NDP_2010 said:
I was wondering how difficult is it to get hold of film holders for this camera, and is there anything to keep in mind when looking for film holders.

If you get a graflex camera with a graflock back the film holders are no issue to get hold of, i think the same is true of the Graphic back but with the graflex back it is harder to get film holders for.

:confused: not sure if what i said is all correct and may only apply to the speed graphic theres more info here;
http://graflex.org/
and here
http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/

Ian Grant · Apr 18, 2012

DDS/film holders are standard so it makes no difference if it's a spring back or a Graflok back, the advantage of a Graflok back is you can use any 5x4 fot roll fim holders.

The main things to watch for are that bellows are OK, the focus bed is smooth and not damaged at the casing, this area is where you need to check.

It's possible to rebuild vene basket cases if you have too as there's plenty of parts available online.

Ian

reciprocity · Apr 18, 2012

Ian Grant said:
The main things to watch for are that bellows are OK, the focus bed is smooth and not damaged at the casing, this area is where you need to check.
Ian

I would also add that if your looking at a speed graphic the Focal Plane Shutter should be in good condition, if its not you can always remove it, but its a nice experimental thing to have.

Terry Christian · Apr 18, 2012

If you want to shoot handheld, make sure the rangefinder is in working order. My Crown Graphic's rangefinder cable broke soon after getting it, but that's no matter to me because I use on a tripod as a view camera anyway.

The 4x5 film holders are standard and easy to find. KEH has them, and folks offer them on sale often here on APUG.

Ian Grant · Apr 18, 2012

Terry Christian said:
If you want to shoot handheld, make sure the rangefinder is in working order. My Crown Graphic's rangefinder cable broke soon after getting it, but that's no matter to me because I use on a tripod as a view camera anyway.

The 4x5 film holders are standard and easy to find. KEH has them, and folks offer them on sale often here on APUG.

Rangefinders are often in poor condition, they can be restored usually by adding new beam-splitter mirrors. Actually I use my Graphics hand-held and never use the rangefinders on my Crown or Super Graphic,I prefer to compose & focus on the screen then use the wire finders.

Ian

johnielvis · Apr 18, 2012

boy---yeah--they're old cameras---best to get one you can check out first in person--craigslist--try craigslist...I got a couple off craigs, but that's in chicago--big city lots of people...

anyways--I've never bought one that was good to go--they always needed some kind of cleaning (at the least) and tweaking (of rangefinders, infinity stops....)...just buy one that you can return and you WILL learn all about graflex repair--it is a necessity if that's what you want to own---otherwise you will pay through the nose to have others do simple fixes and tweaks....and have to WAIT...I'd bit the bullet--a couple hundred ain't gonna kill you---get it and start the adventure--

graywolf · Apr 18, 2012

What to look out for?

1. Bellows condition, the Pacemaker series Graphics had about the best synthetic bellows ever put on a camera, good for 50 years or so, but most of them are now past that 50 years.

2. Rangefinder, if important to you. Mostly the silvered mirror has gone the way of the dodo. I was lucky to come up with new old stock Kalart guts in military packaging (intended to survive a nuclear war) to replace mine with.

3. Most of them have been screwdrivered by someone who had no idea what they were doing. Expect anything that can be put together wrong or adjusted wrong to have been put together wrong or adjusted wrong. If you are not something of an expert there probably will be problems sorting things out.

4. The shutter will need cleaning.

5. The focal plane shutter on Speeds will be bad (90% certaincy).

Film holders: any Graphic or International 4x5 or 9x12 film holder will fit. Most of the ones that will not fit are old wood ones.

There is a lot of info on graflex.org & my press camera website http://www.graywolfphoto.com/presscameras/index.html

I love hand held flashbulb photography with my Crown.

NDP_2010 · Apr 19, 2012

thanks for the great info. Will keep an eye out for these.

Paul Howell · Apr 19, 2012

Unless you need to shoot at 1000th of a second or want to shoot barrel lens, you can lighten your load and weight by getting a Crown, top rangfinder with a grafelock back.

Sirius Glass · Apr 19, 2012

PDH said:
Unless you need to shoot at 1000th of a second or want to shoot barrel lens, you can lighten your load and weight by getting a Crown, top rangfinder with a grafelock back.

Or you want oval tires
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

graywolf · Apr 21, 2012

Sirius Glass said:
Or you want oval tires
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

It pretty much takes a 5x7 or larger focal plane shutter to get that effect. Most of the auto racing photos of that era were like that. It was not a technique of one photographer. A 5x7 Graflex SLR or a 5x7 Speed Graphic and fairly slow film is all it takes. Such photos were so common back in the early days of auto racing that the egg shaped wheels and tilted radiators became the cartoon symbol for speed. I have wanted an old 5x7 Speed Graphic for decades, but the couple of times I came across one I was broke.

Old-N-Feeble · Apr 21, 2012

Actually, it has to do with the speed of the subject vs. the speed setting of the shutter. Has anyone seen curved shafts of golf clubs during a swing? I remember reading some nonsense posted by someone with no knowledge of how FP shutters work... something like, "This golfer's swing is so fast that he warps the shaft of his clubs"... or similar such silly verbiage.

graywolf · Apr 22, 2012

No, it has to do with the speed of the subject, and how long it takes the slit of the focal plane shutter to move across the film, and the direction the slit moves.

In those old car photos the cars were moving something like 50-60mph, the shutter was moving down , and took about a second to move across that 5 inches of film.

Yes, you actually get the effect with any focal plane shutter, but modern cameras move the slit a lot faster and the distance is a lot shorter with smaller formats. Hence the need for an old large format focal plane shutter camera.

Scott Ryan · May 7, 2012

NDP_2010 said:
I am looking to start shooting LF by buying a graflex graphic camera. They seem sort of portable which is good for me as I would plan to take it in a backpack to places.
Looking on the internet the prices seem to be around $250-400, however alot of sellers seem not to be photographically orientated and thus the functionality of the camera is somewhat questionable. I was wondering if anyone here had experience with these cameras, and if there was any common faults or areas that became damaged that may not be so obvious.
Also, alot of people sell the camera without film holders, I was wondering how difficult is it to get hold of film holders for this camera, and is there anything to keep in mind when looking for film holders.
Any other wise words would be appreciated.

thanks.

I don't have that much of experience with these cameras but you will need to consider some points before buying one..

Make sure that range finder is in the proper condition as these parts are likely to get damaged
Do not expose them to water as these are vulnerable

k_jupiter · May 9, 2012

Check the focus rails for cracks. Common problem only fixable by replacement.. and they are getting rare.

tim in san jose

Steve Smith · May 9, 2012

Make sure it is actually 4x5. I have seen quite a few threads where people have accidently bought 3x4 cameras thinking they were 4x5.

Steve.

Any things to look out for when buying 4x5 Graflex crown/speed graphic?

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