Wasn’t the Graflex XL the official military camera?
As far as I can find online, Nikon F seems to be the most widely used camera for photojournalists.
humidity would be a real camera-killer down there, so I suppose a rugged, fairly cheap camera system would be a better and more common choice than the m3 (which was also used, it's rugged, but it was also very expensive).
Wasn’t the Graflex XL the official military camera?
I"ve seen stories of photographers "accidentally" losing their XLs out the window so they could switch to a Nikon. The government bought the Graflex on contract -- it was a buy-american thing -- but anyone could see a 35mm camera was vastly superior for combat work.Wasn’t the Graflex XL the official military camera?
Yes, I have read that too. I just got one of those XL's. I have wanted one since about 1970. The promise seems so great, Zeiss lenses on a rugged American-made Graflex body. Apparently they were much disliked by the photographers who were assigned to use them. The idea of using it in a combat situation just seems ludicrous, it is fairly large, unwieldy, only takes a few frames per roll and has no interlocks between the shutter and film advance-- primitive compared to the Nikon F.I"ve seen stories of photographers "accidentally" losing their XLs out the window so they could switch to a Nikon. The government bought the Graflex on contract -- it was a buy-american thing -- but anyone could see a 35mm camera was vastly superior for combat work.
I traded the Spotmatic in for a Nikkormat in 1973. But, last winter I bought a Pentax Spotmatic ESII and and SPII. I love using them!"In 1969-70, I was assigned to a public affairs office in the Navy. While we had a number of Photographer's Mates at Quonset Point NAS, we had some Mamiya C-3's, a couple of Speed Graphics, and some Nikon F's without metered prisms. I often used my own Pentax Spotmatic, since I was familiar with it, and I also had my own Minolta Autocord for medium format. I didn't like the Speed Graphics because they were so big, and the Mamiya's were always checked out by the CPO's."
That makes a lot of sense. The C3 is a great camera to use, and rugged. No wonder they were checked out. By 1970 the Speed Graphic had long been overtaken by the convenience of the TLR. Your Spotmatic with the built in meter and great lenses was a sweet spot at the time and affordable. I had one back then, it was my first "good" camera. A nice one came up on the classifieds recently and I bought it for old times sake. That M42 mount is so versatile. I like using even today!
An excellent perspective.....Thank YouGuys complained about the rangefinder accuracy on XL's, also they were a little slow to use since the film advance and shutter cocking were separate. Early on, I had a chance to switch over to a Rollieflex TLR, and I didn't use XL's all that much. Later the AF settled on Koni-Omegas, which were a big improvement.
AF photogs weren't in on much ground combat, so small cameras weren't such a priority, though guys flew in the back seat of RF-4's and in larger combat aircraft using those XL's. Even Nikon F's can get pretty heavy at 4 or 5 G's.
OTH, the still photographers had it pretty easy compared to the motion picture guys who were toting Arriflex 16 mm movie cameras around, XL's are lightweights in comparison.
Speak for yourself.I am constantly reminded that as technology has advanced, photographers have gotten lazier. Once upon a time, photography was about capturing a moment. There was an art to it. Now we just blow 100 shots and pick the best one in the camera.
It was a generalization. Most new photographers don't understand the fundamentals of photography. Or know the smell of fixer..lol!Speak for yourself.
Much as people around here want it to be true, knowing the smell of fixer is not a prerequisite to being a good photographer.It was a generalization. Most new photographers don't understand the fundamentals of photography. Or know the smell of fixer..lol!
Yeah, you can argue just about anything. How convincing you would be is an entirely different matter.I suppose an argument could be made that better materials have led to lousy art in all fields.
The Spotmatics are still a "sweet spot", I have a yardsale SPF, an SP1000, and an H1a - although I'm pretty heavily committed to Nikons as a system, I'm putting together a basic Pentax outfit because they're so nice to use, my favorite is the 1000."In 1969-70, I was assigned to a public affairs office in the Navy. While we had a number of Photographer's Mates at Quonset Point NAS, we had some Mamiya C-3's, a couple of Speed Graphics, and some Nikon F's without metered prisms. I often used my own Pentax Spotmatic, since I was familiar with it, and I also had my own Minolta Autocord for medium format. I didn't like the Speed Graphics because they were so big, and the Mamiya's were always checked out by the CPO's."
That makes a lot of sense. The C3 is a great camera to use, and rugged. No wonder they were checked out. By 1970 the Speed Graphic had long been overtaken by the convenience of the TLR. Your Spotmatic with the built in meter and great lenses was a sweet spot at the time and affordable. I had one back then, it was my first "good" camera. A nice one came up on the classifieds recently and I bought it for old times sake. That M42 mount is so versatile. I like using even today!
There are 3 or 4 Pentax 35mm i would Love To Own.The Spotmatics are still a "sweet spot", I have a yardsale SPF, an SP1000, and an H1a - although I'm pretty heavily committed to Nikons as a system, I'm putting together a basic Pentax outfit because they're so nice to use, my favorite is the 1000.
I have the Nikons, once my only 35 was an F with lenses, a working outfit at one time. Now, 5 Nikon bodies and a couple more focal lengths, they're cheap, sometimes free. A Kiev/Contax rf outfit, with 2 Kievs and one Contax & lenses from 35 to 135. Then a couple Rolleis, a Standard & an Automat, both free. A 4x5 and an 8x10, which were nowhere near free. All of the preceding get used regularly, some more than others, lately the rfs and the Rolleis getting the most use. The other 35 or so cameras get used when the mood strikes me, 5 or 6 are about to be given to a nearby community college though, all K-mounts.There are 3 or 4 Pentax 35mm i would Love To Own.
But i have a similar Problem/Issue as yourself.....Lots of lens and bodies for Nikon...and Canon, Oly and Minolta.
I am almost 60 and do not give enough play time to the cameras i own now.
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