Hello from Oklahoma!

[MMiller]

Hello! My name is Mat Miller, I am a photographer & Videographer in Oklahoma City. Ive used Large format only a handful of times. I owned a Graflex until last year when it was stolen. I was just getting into Large format last summer until my camera was gone. So I am interested in getting into it again but I need a bit of help finding the right type of equipment. I am hoping the community could help me in this. Im excited to see what other discuss here and look forward to being apart of this community.

Thank you, have a wonderful day!

[Brian C. Miller]

Welcome to the forum, Mat! In 30 days, you'll be able to access the For Sale section of the forum. Every once in a while a member sells a Graflex, and usually they are in pretty good shape. There are also other field/press cameras, such as Toyo. (Toyo bought the Graflex stuff when they finally shut down, and they actually supply some parts for Graflex cameras.)

Was your Graflex giving you what you were looking for in a camera, or did you want more movements?

[MMiller]

Actually, I was looking into trying to get a Toyo-Field Camera, I am very interested in those. The Graflex was great but, you nailed it, it seemed a bit limited on movement. But here is the kicker, I am trying to find a camera that I can shoot instant film on, this is a realm I know very little of. I'm not sure if the Toyo's have something like that. I am only familiar with Fuji's FP film. which I used a lot last year. It was great doing portraits with it and giving them to friends. It was very different for what they were used to.

[Brian C. Miller]

The Fujifilm PA-145 and Polaroid 405 backs fit just fine in the Toyo. They both take the FP-100C film, which is in current production from Fujifilm.

The Toyo has swing in the rear, and it has better fine control in the front, but the basic movements are the same. However, there's a couple of tricks you can do with Toyo to get more shift and rise. To get more shift, swing both the back and the front in parallel. For instance, to shift to the right, swing the front and rear to the left. To get more rise, the bed is tilted back on the tripod, and then the rear standard is brought upright, and the front standard is in parallel to it.

(Pardon the cell phone picture, I didn't bring the reducing back for the 8x10 I had with me. Then I would have done 8x10 hand-held...)
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[MMiller]

That is great to hear! Do they usually come without lenses? Most of the places (ebay, B&H) I look at they don't come with a lens. On the standard plate, what type of lenses should I be looking at?

[Brian C. Miller]

Unlike the Graflex, these are field cameras, so there was never any requirement to have them ready to go within several seconds. There aren't any lenses that will fold up inside a Toyo 45AX or 45AII. I understand that the 45CF can accommodate a lens inside it.

If someone is selling the camera as a kit, then it will have a lens with it. They don't come from the manufacturer with a lens, though. Mine came with a Nikkor W 210 from the previous owner, and I've been adding lenses for it through the years. 210mm is a decent focal length for a start, and you may want to consult comaprison charts (http://lensn2shutter.com/focallenthcharts.html). Usually I use a Nikkor W 150. I have a 75mm, but I almost never use it.

Lenses between 135mm to 210mm are abundant and cheap. The big names are Fuji, Nikkor, Rodenstock, and Schneider. There is also Kodak, Wollensak, Docter Optic (http://www.arnecroell.com/docter.pdf), Congo (http://www.cosmonet.org/congo/index_e.html), and some others. There are also telephoto lenses. I have an older Schneider 360mm, and I recently bought a Nikkor telephoto set. You can use a 360mm telephoto on the Toyo, but longer telephoto lengths require an extension back.

All that said, I used my Graflex Super Graphic for years with just the 135mm Wollensak. You need a lens, and then use it well.

[MMiller]

Brian you have been aHUGE help to me today, Thank you so much! Ill keep this updated when I decide on a few things.

Cheers!

[Leszek Vogt]

Welcome to the LF forum, Matt.

Les

[Alan Gales]

I've been to Tulsa once. People in Oklahoma are real friendly. It's also an interesting state to shoot large format with your varied terrain. Welcome to the forum, Matt!

Alan

[jcc]

Hello! My name is Mat Miller, I am a photographer & Videographer in Oklahoma City. Ive used Large format only a handful of times. I owned a Graflex until last year when it was stolen. I was just getting into Large format last summer until my camera was gone. So I am interested in getting into it again but I need a bit of help finding the right type of equipment. I am hoping the community could help me in this. Im excited to see what other discuss here and look forward to being apart of this community.

Thank you, have a wonderful day!

There are a few LF shooters in OKC that I know of. Glad it's grown at least by one more!

[John Kasaian]

Welcome aboard!