- Joined
- Dec 21, 2010
- Messages
- 658
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Burke and James 4x5 field camera (labeled "View Camera") with folding standard, beautiful red bellows, gridlined ground glass, and custom bored Copal 1 wooden lens board (rear-recessed hole bored by S.K. Grimes).
Although it lacks the precision of a modern monorail, this camera has more movements than most of the field cameras that are out there -- at least 3 inches of rise and fall; about 3 inches shift on front and rear standards; as much front and rear swing as the bellows can stand; at least 45 degrees of tilt, front and rear.
Of course you can also use this as a studio or a portrait camera as well, which is what it was originally designed for.
Bellows and perfect (they may not be original to the camera): light tight, no cracks, holes, or wrinkles. Fully extended, there's about 13 inches of draw (fine for a 250mm lens or smaller).
Removable back; sturdy, tight dark cloth clips.
Metal rails with easy to use focus lock; focus is smooth (I cleaned and lubed the rails with sewing machine oil when I got the camera).
There are three minor issues with this camera: 1) the leather strap for the top had decayed, and I removed it (easy to make a new one from a leather belt); 2) the 1/4" tripod thread was slightly recessed and wouldn't work with my cheap Slik tripod, so I added a 1/4" bushing to the bottom (about 2 inches in front of the original tripod socket), but I did a lousy job, and this bushing is slightly off center (an issue if you have spirit levels on your tripod; I solved this by using a portable level that I could lay on the body of the camera); 3) to make focusing easier, I removed the folding tack paper for the groundglass hood -- doesn't affect operation so long as you use a dark cloth (which I do).
Camera weighs between 4 and 5 pounds; folded, it's 11.5" high, 9.5" wide (including focusing knobs), and about 6" deep. Perfect for backpacking, which is how I used it, trekking around Brooklyn and Manhattan. I'm selling it because I have three other large format cameras and a tiny apartment --
$150 or best offer through PayPal; PM me if you have questions.
Although it lacks the precision of a modern monorail, this camera has more movements than most of the field cameras that are out there -- at least 3 inches of rise and fall; about 3 inches shift on front and rear standards; as much front and rear swing as the bellows can stand; at least 45 degrees of tilt, front and rear.
Of course you can also use this as a studio or a portrait camera as well, which is what it was originally designed for.
Bellows and perfect (they may not be original to the camera): light tight, no cracks, holes, or wrinkles. Fully extended, there's about 13 inches of draw (fine for a 250mm lens or smaller).
Removable back; sturdy, tight dark cloth clips.
Metal rails with easy to use focus lock; focus is smooth (I cleaned and lubed the rails with sewing machine oil when I got the camera).
There are three minor issues with this camera: 1) the leather strap for the top had decayed, and I removed it (easy to make a new one from a leather belt); 2) the 1/4" tripod thread was slightly recessed and wouldn't work with my cheap Slik tripod, so I added a 1/4" bushing to the bottom (about 2 inches in front of the original tripod socket), but I did a lousy job, and this bushing is slightly off center (an issue if you have spirit levels on your tripod; I solved this by using a portable level that I could lay on the body of the camera); 3) to make focusing easier, I removed the folding tack paper for the groundglass hood -- doesn't affect operation so long as you use a dark cloth (which I do).
Camera weighs between 4 and 5 pounds; folded, it's 11.5" high, 9.5" wide (including focusing knobs), and about 6" deep. Perfect for backpacking, which is how I used it, trekking around Brooklyn and Manhattan. I'm selling it because I have three other large format cameras and a tiny apartment --
$150 or best offer through PayPal; PM me if you have questions.
