Get one a generation newer than mine, there's even flash sync on the rear shutter (though good luck finding focal plane bulbs these days).
One more reason to go for a "newer" model would be to have a Graflok back.
hi dan
I didn't realize that.. I still have and use my first LF camera, its a speed graphicI guess I beat the odds ?
Lessee now. OP, you want to shoot LF but find it complicated and are now looking for a simple way. I don't know whether you know this already, but whatever you do will be wrong.
My (non-moderator's) rule of thumb with Dan is that he is always direct, often abrupt, and sometimes rude. But he is always fair, and his advice is often the best you will find in a thread.Sorry. I shut down after the first paragraph.
I'll confirm that your first LF camera won't be your last.
Same as in any other format. "Perfect" is too subjective for any single camera to be the right one for everyone.
FWIW, my first LF camera was almost an accident, a mis-listed KW Patent Etui plate camera with three plate holders that had been locked in a case and the key lost (I presume, since the eBay seller had apparently sawed the lock pin to open it, rather than having the sense to just pick the very simple lock). It was cool, but very limited and limiting in a lot of ways. Yes, I could put large format (9x12 cm) in a coat pocket, but that film size was (even in 2003) somewhat scarce and it took me months even to find a set of film sheaths! Then I had to make equipment to develop the sheet film myself (Mod54 and Stearman Press didn't offer the things then that they do now -- nor J.Lane, whose plates could have started me off without the sheath search).
That model is still a great backpacker's LF option, if you can find plate holders and film sheaths to fit it, BTW.
After using that camera for a few months (less than one box of film), I got some "better" plate cameras, which I still have; they came with a bunch of plate holders, and I acquired more sheaths; given availability of glass plates again, I'll likely keep those -- but 9x12 isn't very practical as a primary camera, so I started looking for the Speed Graphic I'd wanted since grade school. Once I had that, I traded something else for an Aletta (homebuilt wood monorail), decided I like monorail but not the wood construction, and found a cheapish Graphic View in loose parts. I liked that so much I recently bought a Graphic View II (upgraded version) and will soon be selling off the first-gen model and its spares. Unless I start doing large format some distance from a road, this will probably end the quest, for me -- unless I spot a deal I can afford on an 8x10...
not sure, but here are some samples from Reinhold's website: http://www.re-inventedphotoequip.com/Gallery.htmlBut are meniscus lenses capable of a subtler, more mid-fi look as implemented in say a Box Tengor?
What turned you off from wood constructed cameras?
Thanks, that helps: It looks like this type of lens produces Holga-esque results at larger apertures, but can be controlled somewhat by choosing a smaller aperture, so maybe I'll play with that.not sure, but here are some samples from Reinhold's website: http://www.re-inventedphotoequip.com/Gallery.html
he's been making and selling Wollaston Landscape lenses for a handful of years and has a gallery with images in them.
sounds funThanks, that helps: It looks like this type of lens produces Holga-esque results at larger apertures, but can be controlled somewhat by choosing a smaller aperture, so maybe I'll play with that.
The cameras made by the Graflex company are perhaps the best press cameras readily available in America. However, they are not the only ones. I've probably used a Burke & James 4x5 press camera more than Graflex's Speed Graphic or Crown Graphic. B&J went to metal bodies earlier than did Graflex. The B&J had a rotating back, which seems more natural to use than having to rotate the camera body for vertical shots. The B&J, like the pre-Aniversary (1928-1939) and the Aniversary model Speed Graphic (1940-1946) uses 4" square lens boards, very easy to fabricate. It also has better front movements. Another good 4x5 is the well-made all metal Busch Pressman. Like the B&J it has a rotating back. Its lens board is harder to improvise than the 4x5 boards that were nearly standard for many years. Occasionally one sees a Meridian or the British MPP in America. Then there is the Linhof, but aren't we talking about more affordable cameras?
I guess I'd be better to say it was the combination of wood, homebuilt, and monorail design. In the end, it was a little clunky to use (no gear drives on anything), imprecise (once again, no rack and pinion anywhere), had excessive clearances (locked down wasn't really locked down, quite), and the homemade bellows wasn't perfectly opaque (too long with the dark slide out -- waiting for changing light, for instance -- could leave you with a fogged negative).
A well made home shop field camera, from a slightly better design than the Aletta (which was simplified, I presume to increase the number of completed builds by beginning builders) could be a completely different animal.
Overall, it was the Aletta that convinced me both that I wanted a monorail, and that I didn't want another homemade camera unless I could built it myself. The Graphic View convinced me I'd made the right decision, leading to the upgrade to the GVII (main differences are centered swings/tilts and Graflok back).
My first 4x5 camera was a monorail Toyoview 45CX. It's a relatively unwieldy view camera suitable only for use on a tripod, but has a graflok back and offers a robust set of movements which was and still often is my impetus for using large format.
The only other 'real' 4x5 camera I own is a Speed Graphic Pacemaker which offers a very different user experience than a monorail view camera. It is limited to front rise and tilt, but can effectively be used & focused handheld via the built in range- and viewfinders. Add a grafmatic film holder back for even more speed. Speed Graphics also have a focal plane shutter built into the camera, which allows for the use of barrel lenses, e.g. shutterless lenses. I always mount my lenses into a speed graphic board if I'm able, as I can adapt them to both the toyoview and sinar's 8x10 front standard.
Last and not least, pinhole photography is natural starting point for exploring larger formats. Zero Image makes some pretty slick ones, but other models and instructions for making your own are easy to find.
Pinholes will develop over time, use, storage conditions, etc.. there is no “permanent” bellows.Im gonna hone in on the bellows comment. I keep coming across pinholes, rotting bellows etc etc. Was there a point in time where they perfected bellows and no longer had those common problems? Or is it a "hey, the clock is a ticking on any and all bellows" type of deal?
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