I Joined The Club- Brand 17

spleenrippa · Jun 17, 2010

My brother decided to pass on it, so I gave him to go-ahead to pick it up for me from a shop in the city (Victoria, BC).
Apparently, I'm now a 4x5 shooter!
Or I will be, anyway, when the camera isn't 250km away
Bellows and movements are good from what he says, just needs a lens... Um... How does one go about choosing a LF lens? :rolleyes:
Information on these 'Brand' cameras is scarce. All I've found is that short focal lengths might not work because of the bellows length.
Excited to have finally joined the LF club, but I'm going to need help. Sorry to n00b you guys up!

P.S. Sorry about the photo... My brother just took a quick snap with his BB.

David William White · Jun 17, 2010

Well, 150mm is the 'normal' lens for the 4x5 & easiest to learn the movements with. Get your brother to measure the hole in the lensboard before he ships it. Lenses come mounted to shutters in standard sizes. This one looks like a copal 0, which is 34.7mm in diameter, and the most popular. Copal 1 is 41.8mm.

Then some 4x5 film holders. There are plenty of used available.

Then shoot!

M.A.Longmore · Jun 17, 2010

Very Nice !
A journey of a thousand miles, begins with the first step.

Rick A · Jun 17, 2010

Congrats on starting on an expensive journey. You can say the brand out loud, might even help you get info for it so you can accessorize it (gas pangs). Get ready to start enjoying life at a slower pace.

spleenrippa · Jun 17, 2010

ralnphot said:
Congrats on starting on an expensive journey. You can say the brand out loud, might even help you get info for it so you can accessorize it (gas pangs). Get ready to start enjoying life at a slower pace.

I think (at least) one of us has misunderstood the other... It's not that I'm ashamed of the cameras brand name, the company IS 'Brand,' which- needless to say- makes it hard to look up... Not a very convenient keyword!

Vaughn · Jun 17, 2010

From comments on this forum, the favorite "standard" lens for 4x5 seem to range from 135mm to 210mm -- with some people preferring an even shorter lens (90 to 120mm). I prefer the 150mm, myself, but if you do end up with two or three lenses down the line, then you will want to space them out a bit -- say a 90mm, 150mm and a 210mm. There are several possible combinations (90-135-180 is another). Generally one would not have both a 135mm and a 150mm as they are too close in focal length to be different enough to justify the money -- at least not until GAS really settles into your system.

Welcome to the club!

spleenrippa · Jun 17, 2010

David William White said:
Well, 150mm is the 'normal' lens for the 4x5 & easiest to learn the movements with. Get your brother to measure the hole in the lensboard before he ships it. Lenses come mounted to shutters in standard sizes. This one looks like a copal 0, which is 34.7mm in diameter, and the most popular. Copal 1 is 41.8mm.

Then some 4x5 film holders. There are plenty of used available.

Then shoot!

Thanks so much for the info. I've asked my bro to measure the opening so I can get cracking on lens research.

ac12 · Jun 17, 2010

spleenrippa
I got my first lens (a 150) simply by default.

I first decided on a few 3-lens kits to build towards; 75-150-300, 90-150-300, and 90-180-360. The basic plan was to have each lens be 2x the focal length of the shorter lens. This was so the lenses would not be too close to each other in viewing angle.

Then I started looking for the normal lens, either a 150 or a 180. The 150 came available at the best price and I got it. Which then lines me up for the 90-150-300 kit.

There are many systems that seem to use a 210 as the normal lens.

So in the end the selection of the normal lens will depend on what YOU plan to shoot and which lens kit will best match.

gud luk

domaz · Jun 17, 2010

It has about the same design as a New-Vue camera with dual rails like that. Hint: You can probably get longer rails at the hardware store (Lowes etc..). Measure the diameter of the rails or go to the store with one and look in the metals section. Find an aluminum hollow of the same diameter and you should be able to use it. I suspect your bellows will extend much farther than the length of the current rails.

ronlamarsh · Jun 17, 2010

Lenses

My linhof sports a 150 f4.7 xenar for handheld shots w/sportsfinder but actually much prefer my 180mm computar symetrigon, I have a little used 240mm g-claron and a stunningly sharp 90mm f8 super angulon. Honestly the 180/150 get the majority of use and serve for 90% of my shots but I am learnign to appreciate the 90.

spleenrippa · Jun 17, 2010

Thanks, everyone!
My brother has measured the opening in the included lensboard and he claims it is (exactly) 1.5 inches.. Hmm... Doesn't seem to match any of the sizes listed here. Any ideas?
Another question (sorry, haha). Very few listings for lens/shutters on EvilBay give the required lensboard size. Is there a 'rule of thumb' for determining what you need, or is it a case of hunting down the data for each lens as you go?
LF hurts my head. Maybe I should go out and play with the GS645S that came in the mail earlier

pgomena · Jun 17, 2010

That's a new "brand" to me, but it certainly looks like a sturdy user/starter camera. The 1.5-inch lens size seems a bit odd, but who knows what the previous owner had on there anyway. It computes to a 38.1mm hole, which is somewhere between the current standards. Older shutters and lenses varied in size a great deal more. Fear not, new lensboards can be made, and old lensboards adapted. Good luck and have fun!

Peter Gomena

John Koehrer · Jun 18, 2010

1.5"=38.1mm The hole should be 34.7mm. That presumes no tolerance for error. If the lens you're buying has a flange, that's going to take up 1-1.5mm so you're right in the ballpark.
I've seen some that are more than 1/8" over & were still usable even though the lens would have been slightly off center.

Wade D · Jun 18, 2010

I was looking at ebay listings last night. In the 5x7 & smaller category there is a Brand 17 that was just listed. Not much in the way of description though.

Rick A · Jun 18, 2010

I found a thread about a "Brand 17" 4x5 view camera on LFPF. Seems the camera was made by the Brand Company in Los Angeles Ca., and the 17 refers to the bellows length.

Bruce Watson · Jun 18, 2010

spleenrippa said:
Apparently, I'm now a 4x5 shooter!

Welcome to the club!

You'll find a wealth of information on LF here. Everything from getting started to how to load a film holder to how to focus, and much more. The forum is, dare I say it, about as good as this one. Lots and lots of knowledgeable people who freely answer questions.

Merg Ross · Jun 20, 2010

Bruce Watson said:
Welcome to the club!

You'll find a wealth of information on LF here. Everything from getting started to how to load a film holder to how to focus, and much more. The forum is, dare I say it, about as good as this one. Lots and lots of knowledgeable people who freely answer questions.

Also on that forum, you will find comments from one whose first view camera was a Brand 17. That was in 1954 and, as they say, the rest is history. That camera launched my career as a photographer.

I recall the Brand 17 having all of the movements that my later, more sophisticated and expensive cameras offered. My lenses with the Brand were a 150mm B&L and a 210mm Tessar. I used the latter as my primary lens.

The one thing this camera would not be well suited for is wide angle work. although designed to accommodate WA lenses, the rear standard had to be moved forward for such use. This entailed unscrewing the rear standard and attaching to a central point on the block. The camera has a revolving back which is very handy. I think you have a winner.

Most of the work on my website prior to 1963 was with the Brand 17. The exception would be a few 8x10 camera images.

Have fun with the Brand, I believe that you will.

http:www.mergross.com

LyleB · Jun 20, 2010

Here's thread with some info on this camera:

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00Dgoc

spleenrippa · Jun 20, 2010

Thanks for all the info, everyone. You guys are great!
Also very cool to actually have someone here who used a Brand professionally
Will keep y'all appraised of the lens situation... Still lots of looking and bargain hunting to do...

leighmarrin · Jun 21, 2010

Here's a crummy scan of a tiny Brand-17 ad in the 1949 US Camera Annual. I saw one of these cameras a few years ago in a local store: seemed to be pretty well made. I remember reading somewhere that they are made partly of a magnesium alloy which might BURN quite hot in a fire.

--Leigh in Santa Barbara, Calif.

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I Joined The Club- Brand 17

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