Calumet CC-402

My first view camera was a Calumet CC-402 either the front geared rise was faulty or I didn’t know what I was doing.

Do you have any experience with this or the 400 or 401 and it’s geared rise?

Thank you

No troubles. Calumet bought this design from Kodak. Good, until the European and Japan stuff came in.
I have a Calumet CC-400 based wide angle camera that I love. I have all sorts of large format stuff, never use it, a crying shame.

The front rise control knob on a CC-400 series camera is a push/pull to lock and unlock.
My first 4x5 was a CC-400.

Maybe this will help.

That brochure/manual says you push and turn the knob to use rise. That seems to suggest the knob might be spring-loaded. The knob on my CC-401 (the long model) isn't spring-loaded, and it turns easily whether pushed in or pulled out. I think it's been through a few owners, and I think one of them must have removed whatever lock there was, and the spring if there was one.


This is still my only 4x5-inch camera. I've only taken it out a couple of times. I'd like to buy myself a Tachihara or something like that, but I really can't justify it.

I used have a cc-402. When I bought it it was missing the screw that holds the dog that interacts with the rise gear, so it could rise and fall but it would not stay where you set it.

It sorta looks like a small single gear tooth that meshes with the rise gear so that when you release the knob it can’t turn anymore.

If you’re missing that piece or the screw that holds it in place, or if the screw is too loose, the rise and fall won’t work.

Pretty much impossible to find either the part or the screw.

The screw is not a standard size which I learned by sorting through my box of nonstandard screws until I very luckily found one that fit.

If your front rise is missing these pieces or if the gears are stripped there’s a good chance you’d be better off returning the camera and finding a copy in better condition because the only way to fix it is to find a donor.

People just beat on those cameras. Many were sold to students, or were part of an academic program, same issue. I used several on the job from about 1985-90 and my predecessors there had beat on those. Yet they always worked- we had a box of spare parts sourced from Calumet just in case. Looks like you have good advice from the previous posts. The 402 was the long-rail version, 22", correct? I don't know where you'd find parts now; Calumet has been gone for a decade. with the prices for used Sinars so low now, maybe it's time to switch systems.