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Unfortunately, Big Bertha sat disassembled in a crate for over seven years; and now the photos are all missing. Are they buried somewhere in the database?

I use Fantastic to clean off the grunge when a new Speed or Crown comes in; then I follow it up with black shoe polish.

Turnaround was about 4 weeks, since I was in no rush. And no, they did not return the old bellows, since they were in horrible shape: Instead, they attached new bellows to the aluminum bellows end...

The black metal ring, between the front and rear bellows, about 6 inches inside diameter and 4-1/2 inches thick is just a hollow spacer ring with a carrying handle screwed to the top.

Coarse focus...

Doug,

You sound quite jealous.

Why don't you just go off and play with your digital camera...

With my checking account $350 lighter, the two sets of bellows arrived back from Turner Bellows (Rochester, NY); and they did a nice job. New photos to follow...

Also, I've replaced all of the...

I came, I saw, I didn't like.

I didn't like the color tone.

I didn't like the subject matter, either: The reason big prisons are built far out in the hinterlands is so that we can flush these...

Leonard,

The Big Bertha over at Lens & Repro is still there, on the top shelf. They rent it out to use as a movie prop, but will not rent it out to actually use... I asked.

Yes, my Bertha has a...

I've been blogging Bertha's restoration on my website, which has more photos.

Steven,

She's already on the surgery table, partially disassembled for the restoration. Fortunately, the heart of the camera -- The lens -- is in almost perfect shape, just requiring a quick...

The hard part of building a Big Bertha is getting the glass. The 1016mm f/8 lens on mine appears to be from a prewar aerial camera: I say this because the optics are not coated; and because there is...

OK guys, you can click here to see the progress of Big Bertha's restoration.:D

Here are some photos of the brass parts after polishing, and of Bertha disassembled and without her pair of bellows. Note how she has the variable rear extension controlled by the lever, while the...

Bill, I won't start pimping Bertha until she's making money for me at a speedway... Until then, I'm just her john, showering her with love, attention... And money.:rolleyes:

Thursday was The Big Day, driving all the way down to Rodger Digiulio's office in Alexandria VA, from central NJ in the snow, sleet and slush to pick up this monster of a camera... And oh, does it...

There's a very nice electric railway museum halfway between Toronto and Guelph that should be easy to shoot...

And Yes, I too will be lugging around the 57 pound Big Bertha I'm restoring... That...

Here is a snapshot from the other side. Note that she has two sets of bellows, with the set on the left all bunched up into a 1-1/2 inch thick pack. The lens itself moves (extends) another 7 inches,...

I have Graflex 5x4 roll film holder... But I think they quit making 5" film for it not long after it was made in the 1920's or so.

I tried 70mm in a Graflex RH-50; but that's like masturbating...

Yes, but do you have the balls to use wooden film holders?!:D

Yup... And the look on my face is something only another LF shooter would understand, too!:rolleyes:

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

http://www.FoxNewsCritic.com/photos/AS480-caption.jpg

Photo courtesy of Joshua Lynn

Dan,

The lens itself is anchored, and the whole Graflex camera slides back & forth with the focus gearshift lever, i.e. the whole thing sits on a track.

Go to my Big Bertha Page and look at all...

Wilhelm, I guess you never watched the original Candid Camera, with Durwood Kirby & Allen Funt. The camera was never in sight.

This is a fun post, almost touching on trolling in the Large Format Photography Forum:eek:

...But that being said, the Just One More Club during the Truman Administration ratifies her point that...

Dear Dan, there's one bid difference -- The Naturalist hardly ever comes up, while I did indeed snag this Big Bertha.

Indeed, the Naturalist with it's 360mm focal length could be easily mimic'd...

Uh oh... What is a ``Naturalist?"

If you go to Graflex.Org and then dig down, you'll find this reference which basically sais the Graphic Combat camera is the successor to the Ringside Camera.

Bob, where are you located? If you're in NYC or Philly, sign me up... And I'll use your lab, too!

By the way, Do you use a Chromira, Lambda, or Epsilon for your photo output?

Andrew, that's a question I don't know the answer to offhand. As I understand it, these were more for baseball than anything else. They had lenses from about 500mm up to about 1600mm. I guess a 500mm...

By the way, as this thread turns into a mini blog, today I went shopping in the Photo District for a tripod head for Bertha, since I already have a nice 6 foot Eastman video tripod.

B&H was a...

Greg, I have six of these puppies: Would you like one? If so, please contact me off-list.

I also have several ways you can mount it -- Some better than others. My fave is the S.K. Grimes...

Greg, with an f/2.5 lens that covers 5x5, the ground glass is so bright that Stevie Wonder could get it focused indoors.

That being said, the wide open DOF for portraits is just aboiut how much a...

Sam,

Big Bertha is not a view camera: She's specially designed for sporting events, with pre-programmed fast focus "marks" where the photographer quickly moves the gearshift lever to quickly...

I buy, refurbish and sell 4x5 Crown & Speed Graphics (I don't have any listed at this moment, though), and can give you a few tips.

First off, later models came with the 127mm Ektar or 135mm Optar...

NASCAR, baby!

Put this bitch on top of a grandstand at a turn, then shoot down the front straightaway and pit lane...

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/221617-lg.jpg

Great article, and great technique!

Wouldn't it be better to start out with hot veggies, and then add the steam, since, as you say, the shots improved as the food temps went up?

...

I'm with you on this one, wanting to see images: This pissing contest reminds me of movie & music performers talking about politics. As Laura Ingraham put it succinctly to the Barbra Streisands out...

<--- PS: That's one of our chinchillas to the left

Thanks!

And Yes, she probably weighs more than your 12x20... She crosses the scales at about 70 pounds.

The hard part of getting a Big Bertha is finding one: Lens & Repro won't rent theirs out; and Jeff Hirsch has seven of them, including the one in his window at Fotocare.

These are even more rare...

I use Flatiron in NYC when I don't do it myself in my Jobo...