It is a work horse.
As for lens boards, get one board and make an adapter for those Linhof style boards you have and the problem is solved.
It is a work horse.
As for lens boards, get one board and make an adapter for those Linhof style boards you have and the problem is solved.
As legend has it, all black C-1s are aluminum. Some green ones are magnesium, some are not. I'm sure Lynn can clarify/correct this. I used to have a green magnesium C-1. Great camera, but a beast to haul around because of the weight. I swapped it out for a Zone VI Ultralight, which comes in at a hair under 10 lbs. I'm not shooting 8x10 anymore, but the C-1 was a great camera while I had it, but I felt it was better suited to the studio because of its design quirks (tailboard, weight).
Hj John and Merg,
I left the company to be VP of Celestron but the "turquoise" color was magnesium. Exactly when the new owners changed the color, I don't know but there is a small chance that a few of the black cameras may have been magnesium.
For you technical types, the secret of machining mag is to "take a big chip". Mag is a relatively soft metal and a highly hardened milling cutter can take a very mooth cut while taking out chips the size of a small grain of rice. We created several hundred of the magnesium cameras before going to aluminum. Mag is 30% lighter than aluminum, aluminum is 30% lighter than steel. That is why we did it this way. We used carefully designed sand castings and didn't need a great deal of machining. Our mgr of manufacturing (Ben Booko) was a genius at sand casting. I think is was 3M which created the coating for machined mag parts so that they wouldn't deteriorate.
With mag, we never reduce it to powder, it is flammable, and explosive. Remember that flash powder is 50% powdered magnesium and 50% potassium nitrate.
Lynn
It is a very nice sturdy camera. There are a few things about it: it has a long rail sticking out in the back, so that when using a short focal length lens, there is a rail sticking into your neck; the tripod base is such that it requires a large tripod plate, ie 4x5 inches, or a metal plate added to be stable; one time when pointing it down and tilting the back, I had a problem with not being able to open the back enough to get the film holder in because of lack of clearance; there are no zero detents for the tilts; the tabs that keep the rail up in a folded position broke off; I had the green magnesium model, but I found it a bit heavy to hike around with.
Jon
my black and white photos of the Mendocino Coast: jonshiu.zenfolio.com
Lynn, hi again--Originally Posted by Lynn Jones
Very interesting. I have often wondered about my C-1. It is black and weighs about 14 lbs. In several places where it is worn, I can see turquoise. Do you suppose that I have one of the few black magnesium C-1 cameras?
Mine is black and Magnesium, I know, it's Krylon and when I stripped it I decided that matching the green was out so it's now black.
Black!!??! You could have painted it candy apple red with flames, and you just did black?? Curt, where's your imagination!
I also have two Calumet 4x5's like the one you were using in the video. Did you take off the two stainless steel locking clips for the rail? I haven't but it takes two fingers to get the locks unhooked and then hope that it doesn't come done on the glasses, I have to keep my head up. I was thinking about using only one. What do you think?
Curt
Curt, I found the rail locks convenient for quick setup when released; at least the one at the rear. Just pinch them between thumb and index finger. Perhaps I am not understanding your question; which one would you remove?
Merg
Okay, it was green and Magnesium before you stripped it, and it is now black and Magnesium. Is that correct?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks