Crown Graphic + Front Swing Modification

[fiducio]

There are people that used to manufacture these, and the ones I've contacted won't be able to manufacture them again anytime soon. Who else makes these or has them available?

The ones I have seen around have a front swing of 30 degrees, anything is helpful.

 

[domaz]

All you have to do is "reverse the standard" to obtain front swing on a Graphic. Search around and you will find some more specific instructions about it.

 

[fiducio]

Oops, what I meant was for left / right swing, there isn't quite an easy fix for this one, at least that I know of.

 

[matt S]

front swing on Speed/Crown Graphics...

I finally got around to doing this to my speed. I did not give myself too much swing, just enough to make it noticeable.

I figure I have about 30 degrees of total swing now (+- 15 each way)- which works just swell. Call it butchery if you must, but I now have a camera that will get used even more.

Right Swing:

Left Swing:

Matt

 

[matt S]

front swing on speed graphic...

and this is the bit you need to modify, the underside of the front standard.

 

[matt S]

first picture with the swing

I am finally able to shoot portraits with the speed in portrait orientation! Last of my polaroid type 54. Film jammed pulling it out of the holder- and the obvious limitations of my lens and the swing.

Yeah!

Jen- annoyed she has to sit for the millionth time...

 

[photobum]

A press camera is not a field camera and the standard lenses will not cover much swing or tilt. There are certain cameras that have reached a level of design perfection for the job intended. Leica M's, Deardorff's, TLR Rolleiflex, Hasselblads and yes, the Crown Graflex. Outstanding in the world of handheld L/F and perfection at night. For swings, tilts, extension and coverage look to a Linhof.

A lot of good Speed's and Crown's have died an early death from hacksaws and files.

 

[Ian Grant]

A press camera is not a field camera and the standard lenses will not cover much swing or tilt. There are certain cameras that have reached a level of design perfection for the job intended. Leica M's, Deardorff's, TLR Rolleiflex, Hasselblads and yes, the Crown Graflex. Outstanding in the world of handheld L/F and perfection at night. For swings, tilts, extension and coverage look to a Linhof.

A lot of good Speed's and Crown's have died an early death from hacksaws and files.

Depends on the standard lens, my 150mm Tessar would allow swing if I compensate with shift, and there's no issues at all with my 135mm caltar (Symmar0 or 150mm Sironars.

I now have a modified front standard and have about the same degree of swing as matt S, i modified a second front standard so I can keep the original as manufactured.

My Graphics are not my main 5x4 but are for hand held use increasing the functionality is not to be sneered at.

Ian

 

[photobum]

In the middle of the 20th. century the Speed Graphic was king and made many of the world's iconic images. Think, the Hindenburg, Babe Ruth's last appearance at Yankee Stadium and the most famous of all, the flag at Mount Suribachi.

If you want to turn a silk purse into a sow's ear, I'll sneer all I want.

 

[BradS]

oh G-D! Please do not do this...or, if you do...just throw the camera away when you're done with it!

It make me ill to see people butcher these fine cameras....they aren't making 'em anymore folks. Clean 'em up and use 'em but, please don't destroy them.

If you want more movements, get a Tachihara or Shen Hao.

 

[Ian Grant]

A decade into the 21st century people are still making wet plate images, ambrotype prints, home-made emulsions etc, using 19th C cameras, pre-WWWII cameras and lenses yet you don't jump down their throats.

Matt has converted his Graphic front standard, is that turning a silk purse into a pigs ear, the truth is the other way around it's giving him greater functionality, and practical flexibility from a camera that despite being designed & made in the 20th C lacks features that UK and continental equivalents already had in the late 19th C.

Speed & Crown Graphics have become very over priced & over hyped recently to the extent that they can sometimes fetch more than a reasonable field camera, but if someone's lucky to get one for a reasonable price then why not make these changes. Personally I wouldn't make irreversible changes hence converting a spare front standard, but it's extraordinarily simple to do, for a huge gain in usability.

Ian

 

[Ian Grant]

oh G-D! Please do not do this...or, if you do...just throw the camera away when you're done with it!

It make me ill to see people butcher these fine cameras....they aren't making 'em anymore folks. Clean 'em up and use 'em but, please don't destroy them.

If you want more movements, get a Tachihara or Shen Hao.

Brad, I spend a lot of time restoring cameras including Speed & Crown Graphics and focal plane shutters, making & restoring shutter blinds, new bellows ground glass etc..

Unless a camera's an almost total no hope case I prefer to keep intact, in fact I have fully restored two Speed Graphics sold as parts to build one good one for $80 (when a £1 = $2), ther seller neglecting to say one was Pre-anniversary the other a Pacemaker son no interchangeable parts.

What I would urge is that when people convert a front standard they buy a second one first and convert that so the camera can be returned to as original easily.

But we also have to remember many are now in quite poor condition missing view finders, range finders etc and are bought by people with a low budget who might not be able to afford the next step up. This simple conversion at least gives the camera some functional movement over the extremely limiting rise/fall/tilt which is useless in portrait mode.

My Crown Graphic gets far more use than I'd like (here in Turkey) simply because it's so easy to use hand held where tripods are forbidden, and the extra advantage of tilt in portrait mode is going to be a godsend.

Ian

 

[Steve Smith]

I wouldn't hesitate to do such a modification if it meant that the camera would get more use. It's not like they are rare antiques and as Ian states, it's possible to get hold of a replacement to return it back to normal if you ever want to.

I have a Speed Graphic which was in the poor condition which Ian describes. Missing viewfinder, shutter and rangefinder beyond repair and a bellows full of holes. It will eventually be a picture taking machine again but it will not look much like it did when it was new.


Steve.

 

[photobum]

Thank you BradS for understanding.

The Speed has an advantage over the Crown only in it's shutter, allowing pretty much any lens to be used. The Crown has an advantage over the Speed in that it's lighter and has less to go wrong. It also has the projected split beam focusing, allowing it to be focused in a bat cave at midnight. I'm unaware of any UK or continental equivalent that does that. Again, it was designed as a press camera. Not a technical camera. A press is much lighter. These are some of the reasons that I say it has design perfection in it's purpose of news and night news photography.

When you reverse the front standards you put a serious dent in the ease of use with wide angle lenses. That back tilt to the front was designed to equal the bed drop for wide angle use. Some people like using W/A lenses.

Using the bed drop/front standard tilt you can adjust the back to a tilt for the looming effect landscapers like. It's a bit fiddely but that's why they make field cameras.

The "lack of movements" is why the camera is so tough and fast to use. When you start to file away metal to create movements you weaken the camera. If you want to do that fine, it's your camera to butcher up all you like.

It's like taking a model A Ford then lowering, chopping and channeling it. Sure you have a cool looking hot rod but you also killed the value of the car too. I suppose you could take a bandsaw to a Leica M, cut off the back and sides to put on a Nikon 250 exposure back. Hey, why be limited to only 36?

I've seen Crowns that had the top rangefinder cut off, one front standard support reversed with the tilt stop filed off both to give both front and rear tilt and the popular filing to the front plate to allow swing. Why? To make the front weak and loose? OK, now I get it.

 

[Ian Grant]

Very few Graphics had the projected beam focussing, by that time Graphics were losing market in the Press world to smaller formats anyway.

The Graphic top rangefinder was late production, the MPP MicroPress had one first (Although different) and that was a part UK built Speed Graphic to circumvent strict UK Import restrictions in force after WWII. I was alluding to the rotating backs and greater movements of the British cameras used by the Press from the 1890's onwards.

I've seen Crowns that had the top rangefinder cut off, one front standard support reversed with the tilt stop filed off both to give both front and rear tilt and the popular filing to the front plate to allow swing. Why? To make the front weak and loose? OK, now I get it.

I think you're talking cross purposes, filing the front standard has the least impact on weakness etc, and gives a decent benefit, the rest of the modifications I looked at and ruled out instantly, and as you say reversing the front standard isn't that practical, for starters with the side mounted rangefinders the camera won't close as the adjusters foul the piece screwed to the rear trackbed that engages the rangefinder cam. Anyway if desperate the front standard can be swapped around in the field.

Ian

 

[premo]

I use a burke & james speed. It has plenty of front movements.

 

[premo]

Both of my speed graphics and the B & J have focuspot in the range finders. In the old days (mid 50's) you could buy used speeders that didn't have focus spots cheaply. Civilian newspapers couldn't buy new speeders after around march 1942 until 1946. So very few were in use pre-war. After the war the dealers were deluged with pre-aniversery speed graphics without focus spots. As to current prices, supply and demand!

 

[michaelbsc]

I actually bought a front standard from a guy so I could do this and reverse it at will. Haven't had a chance to make the mods yet. But I'm with Steve above. I'm not running museum, and no museum wants my Crown. So let's make it take pictures. I'm sure if they could talk, the one that got used would have the best stories.

 

[Ian Grant]

The grinding to do the conversion is not at all easy, the steel is extremely hard, it really needs an engineering shop who have the right tooling.

Ian