Thinking about a 4x5 press camera

[John Wiegerink]

Can the rangefinder on the Busch Pressman/Sears Tower Press be adjusted for different focal length lenses, or are you "stuck" with the 135 mm focal length if you want to use the rangefinder?

You can set the Kalart, which is what I have on mine, to different focal lengths, but you only want to do it one time. I say that because it's really hard to adjust it at all distances after that. So I set mine for 135mm as my standard lens and use the ground glass or guess focus for the 100mm Wide-Field Ektar and 210mm Fuji. I get by just fine this way. Cams are nice, but not so nice when you lose them.

 

[jeheikki]

Hi!
A lot of your choice depends on what is your criteria of weight. Almost all the presscameras are heavy due to their size. I own quite many of the post ww2 era aluminum press cameras that have unusual construction trying to make them lighter but they really are not light. The lightest one I would say is the Rilex presscamera, but it also is not 4x5. I would probably choose from 4x5 cameras one of the Graflex products... most likely the Crown or Speed. There are some obscure cameras that might be better but are either too old to use on a daily basis or too rare to find easily. Have a look at my website and ask questions of any of the ones I have there.
Jani

 

[MultiFormat Shooter]

You can set the Kalart, which is what I have on mine, to different focal lengths, but you only want to do it one time. I say that because it's really hard to adjust it at all distances after that.

Interesting, thanks for the info.!

 

[EdSawyer]

Consider the Meridian 4x5 press cameras - they offer a lot of interesting features (like movements) but are a lot lighter than say a Linhof Technika.

 

[studiocarter]

I like the Anniversary Speed Graphic focal plane shutter because it has 3x the speed settings compared to the Pacemaker focal plane shutter. As the sun goes dimmer behind wispy clouds you can click click click with your thumb to lower the spring tension and slow the rear shutter to compensate for lower light levels. That mechanical marvel is the coolest thing I have ever seen. If you love mechanical cameras, the 1940-1946 version is the Boss!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I resemble this remark. If you are an ox and a moron, traveling with a 4x5 is light and easy. I am a bit ox-like and I am sure that many folks seeing me weighed down thought I was a bit moronic. Hitchhiking thru New Zealand for 3 months, I had a full backpack with camping gear (the first Kelty internal frame pack), with a smaller pack with about 25lb of 4x5 gear strapped to the back of the Kelty. A bit silly-looking. My next trip to NZ, I got a lighter 4x5 and put it all on a bicycle instead of my back!

Have you (OP) thought about film holders and/or other options? Managing one's film can take up some space -- as much as the camera itself.

I'm human. I travel light on train or plane. One backpack, one camera bag. This is it. Or one large camera, computer bag if it is not for entire week.

 

[Rick A]

I carry a B&J Speed Press 4x5, uses 4x4 lens boards and has some movements other than just front rise. It's an all aluminum body, takes a beating. I've stripped all the external finders from it and only use the GG for focus. A 127 Ysarex lives on it, but I also pack a 90, 150, and 210 mm in cases plus all my sundries for shooting in a Jansport day pack. The whole outfit weighs about 20 lbs, not counting my tripod. My wood bodied B&J 5x7 kit with one extra lens and holders weighs about the same.

 

[Vaughn]

I was traveling around Costa Rica for almost a month with my (ex)wife...early 1990s...on buses primarily. I took the 4x5 and tripod, but everything fit into my backpack with nothing hanging off it...miminal non-photo stuff. Tripod inside the pack. Nothing shouting, "PHOTO EQUIPMENT IN HERE!" The tripod I took was a little more than I needed -- a Gitzo series 3, when a series 2 would have been fine. The 4x5 camera and lens only weighed 2.5 pounds.

Alas, 4x5 is my small camera now. Traveling with an 8x10 is a different story altogether! But I have met several people traveling overseas with press cameras -- they all seemed to be having the time of their lives!

 

[Chadinko]

I like the Anniversary Speed Graphic focal plane shutter because it has 3x the speed settings compared to the Pacemaker focal plane shutter. As the sun goes dimmer behind wispy clouds you can click click click with your thumb to lower the spring tension and slow the rear shutter to compensate for lower light levels. That mechanical marvel is the coolest thing I have ever seen. If you love mechanical cameras, the 1940-1946 version is the Boss!

I have two Pacemaker Graphics and they're not heavy but bulky and kind of cumbersome to use quickly. I don't use the focal plane shutter often. I use my 1949 Pacemaker all the time, and the 1960's one stays on the shelf; I don't know why, but I suspect it's because I really like what I get from the Ilex 165mm lens in the #3 shutter and it's the one that is configured to be able to take the Wollensak 15-inch lens. The newer one has a stock 135mm Optar lens on it in a Graphex shutter and is a little too wide angle for most of what I do. The older (pre-1955) bodies will have the rangefinder on the right side of the camera and the release button on the left near the top, and the post-1955 bodies will have the rangefinder and the release button on the top. I need to collect more lenses and shutters for these, and then tweak the configuration to make them interchangeable, because they're really not compatible right now.

I've traveled with it; the most cumbersome thing about them is the film holders take up huge amounts of room in the luggage. I've picked up a couple of Grafmatic 6-shot holders and fortunately they work well, don't jam or scratch the film, and the septums aren't bent, so it takes up a lot less room in the bags.

I don't use roll film on the 4x5s because if I want to shoot 120 with a Graphic I'll use either my 2.25 x 3.25 Century Graphic or my 2.25 x 3.25 Speed Graphic with one of the roll film backs on it. Never saw the point of shooting 120 on a 4x5.

 

[Vaughn]

...
I don't use roll film on the 4x5s because if I want to shoot 120 with a Graphic I'll use either my 2.25 x 3.25 Century Graphic or my 2.25 x 3.25 Speed Graphic with one of the roll film backs on it. Never saw the point of shooting 120 on a 4x5.

While traveling overseas with my 4x5 (PocketView w/ 150mm), it was nice to also carry a rollback for some color work besides the 4x5 B&W. But while just out for the day -- those smaller Graphics must be nice!

Gums, NSW, Australia. 6cmx7cm neg, scanned 8x10 RA4 print

 

[Chadinko]

While traveling overseas with my 4x5 (PocketView w/ 150mm), it was nice to also carry a rollback for some color work besides the 4x5 B&W. But while just out for the day -- those smaller Graphics must be nice!

Gums, NSW, Australia. 6cmx7cm neg, scanned 8x10 RA4 print

Hadn't thought about carrying a rollback for color with the 4x5 since I don't shoot much color -- that's really a nice shot and a good idea. But the smaller Graphics are great. I can easily get the smaller sheet film and I have three rollbacks for them -- all Singer and, oddly, all slightly different aspect ratios. The Century graphic, even though it's a lower-end shutter and lens, gets stupidly sharp images and the Speed Graphic I just had to replace the shutter on and so I'm still not quite sure about the shutter/lens combination. The Century has only a non-optical finder, no rangefinder, so it's less convenient, but the Speed has a rangefinder that works and so it's a fun walkaround camera; just wish it had a body release for the lens shutter instead of just for the focal plane shutter.

The funny thing about my little Speed Graphic is that I have no idea when it was made. It started life with a Graphic springback, but I found a Graflok back for it and swapped them out so I can use the rollbacks. I can't find a serial number anywhere on the body, so I can't pinpoint the year of manufacture.

 

[Vaughn]

I do not do any color these days. When I ran the darkroom for the university, I would often use up the chemistry in the processor before it had a chance to go bad...fun to play with some of my 120 color negatives. The developer only lasted 5 days in the processor and I hated tossing it out (recycled)!

When I got to using larger formats (than 4x5), I started to use the Rolleiflex and 'cord more instead the rollback.

 

[Chadinko]

When I got to using larger formats (than 4x5), I started to use the Rolleiflex and 'cord more instead the rollback.

I don't currently have the capability to do larger formats, so I'm going to see if I can find a rollback or two for my 4x5s at a realistic price. I do have a 5x7 field camera, but it has no lens or shutter or back as far as I can tell -- it was given to me, so I have no idea even what it is, except it's beautiful and needs its case refinished -- and a 5x7 enlarger, but that one I'm sure doesn't work as it's been sitting in my dad's garage since the Peloponnesian Wars. So I won't be shooting anything bigger than 4x5 for a long time, if I ever do.