So... what wouldn't I be able to do? I can't afford much more right now, and, since I'll just be learning, do I really need anything more?
Basically- what will I not be able to accomplish image-wise? I've read a few posts and articles, but I thought some other folks might be kind enough to chime in.
Thanks all!
-Dan
It would help if you described why you want one and what you want to do with it. Asking what you cannot do with it is a very broad, open-ended question.
You will be able to shoot handheld with a rangefinder and a focal length that the rangefinder is calibrated to. You will be able to shoot 4x5 film or roll-film with an appropriate back. You will be able to apply very limited movements on the front standard - primarily rise and tilt, but limited shift and I'm not sure if there is front swing on a crown..Originally Posted by one dog dan
You won't be able to make any movements at the rear. You won't be able to make more extreme movements at the front. You won't be able to use lenses that are particularly long or short.
That is about it.
You can shoot hand-held without using the range finder. Just focus with the screen
I've used a 75mm Super Angulon with mine, and regularly use a 90mm and very occasionally a 240mm and I'd be able to use my 65mm as well. So no restrictions with lenses hand held or on a tripod.
However as Jack says the range of movements is very restrictive, no front swing just rise/fall and front tilt, with a little shift and then only in landscape mode.
With the camera on it's side (portrait mode there's no movements at all and with an LF camera that can be quite restricting for landscapes etc..
Having said that my Crown Graphic's been a useful camera for hand held work for the past 3-4 years, but I prefer to use my Wista for tripod work.
The Super Graphic is another alternative and overcomes the Crowns short comings. I'm about to begin using mine this weekend. They can be found for reasonable prices.
Ian
Making the front and back standard parallel to what your are shooting corrects the keystone effect on images with vertical lines. Think of railroad tracks converging in the distance or a building that has the sides leaning, usually, towards the center of the building. This type of correction is how the full range of movements are used with large format cameras.
You need both front and rear movements to correct the image on the film. Digital and roll film cameras with Perspective Control type lenses do not allow for rear movements which limits their correction capabilities when the image is created.
Wiki explanation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_camera#Advantages
Wally Brooks
Everything is Analog!
Any Fool Can Shoot Digital!
Any Coward can shoot a zoom! Use primes and get closer.
I had a Crown Graphic as my first camera (which was something like 8 months ago). I wish I had bought something more flexible, I quickly noticed I wanted more movements.
Any camera will teach you about the downsides of large format, dealing with holders, film/development costs, the numerous ways of ruining a shot etc. A camera with decent movements can teach you more about the advantages. Of course, if you are going to be hand holding the camera a lot (few do), the movements are not much of an advantage...
Dan, I'm just re-starting my LF journey, having tried many years ago and giving up out of frustration. The first and most important thing to know is that this format takes some time to get familiar with. The camera does not work anything like an SLR or P&S. So whatever camera you decide on, be prepared to commit some time and film to the process.
There are two broad schools of thought here. One school says a Crown is perfect because it's simple, nearly unbreakable and cheap. Cheap is good since all the other bits and developing are not cheap, particularly if you plan to scan and digitize. The major advantage to the press camera, as I see it, is there are very few adjustments to worry about to make an acceptable picture. If you look through the image-sharing thread there are oodles of nice pics made with these "simple" LF cameras.
The other schools is this: to learn the craft properly, one needs to understand the movements and use them to effect...and you can't do that if your camera doesn't have them. The different tilts and back adjustments are very important if you'll do landscape work and I think not having them will EVENTUALLY be a handicap. That doesn't mean you couldn't start with a Crown, see if you like it and then find a monorail or field camera.
I bought a Crown and kept it for three days while my field camera was being repaired. Fantastically easy to use compared to the other camera and a helluva lot more durable, but I very quickly realized it's limited for shooting landscapes. I sold it...though now I wish I hadn't because I can see it's ease of use as an asset for shooting portraits and "run and gun" shots where a bunch of movements aren't needed. My hunch is that many members here have a Crown tucked away in addition to their field camera for just this purpose. Different tools for different tasks.
As others have said it depends on what you are shooting. I'd say skip it for architecture and landscapes; perfectly serviceable for portraits. The good news is with today's market you can buy one, test it/see how you like it, and re-sell it at no significant loss. Don't buy the first one you see. There are a lot of beaters out there that will cost you more to repair then to wait for a good one or to get one from a reputable seller like KEH or Midwest.
Welcome and good luck,
Bob
No, what you want to do is to run up your high interest credit card debt and get a wooden field camera like everyone else. Then you can put a $100 silver mylar Gore-tex darkcloth over your head and fiddle outside in a cold photographing receding railroad tracks with front tilt and tall buildings with lots of front rise. You can be just like everyone else and spend half-an-hour jerking ~around~ figuring out which knob to loosen and consulting your Palm Pilot and making notes....
Or you can just go get a Crown Graphic and make pictures fluidly and without pretense.
The peer pressure on these forums is stupid. If the forum told you to go jump in the lake, would you?
Here's my advice:
http://frankpetronio.com/archive/in_...nsumerism.html
Adding to that, once you master the basic aspects of shooting large format, do yourself a treat and buy yourself a $150 to $350 classic metal monorail camera, such a Calumet, Cambo, Toyo, or Sinar. Don't get your panties in a knot worrying about backpacking it or how much it weighs. Instead, take advantage of its nearly unlimited and obvious direct movements on both the front and rear standards in every direction. This will make learning how to use camera movements much easier because you'll be able to see and feel what you're actually doing.
Do this in phases... if you shop correctly, you can buy both a professional Crown Graphic and a metal monorail outfit for a fraction of the price of a hobby camera made from Chinese toothpick wood. Later on you can decide whether you want something more specialized and you easily swap out these camera and break even or even make a small profit.
If going against the grain and ignoring the forum's "group think" disturbs you then you can take comfort in knowing that a million old-school photographers made good livings shooting professional photographs using limited, awkward cameras like Crown Graphics and monorails. Many, if not the majority, of the most famous and artful photographs in history were made with such clumsy, unattractive cameras.
And have a nice chuckle at the expense of the dorks who come onto this forum dying to blow $5000 on some Ebony outfit that "will last forever" and "be the ultimate" only to see them selling it because they were too busy-lazy-dumb to figure out how to use it.
But what do I know? My photos suck.
(Damn, I love these questions....)
Frank's advice about jumping in the lake is good. Jump in the lake, if one is handy, or take a cold shower.
Unless you're very lucky your first LF camera will be the wrong camera for you. This has been true of nearly everyone on this forum. Until you start shooting you won't really know what you want to accomplish or what equipment you'll need. You can theorize forever but doing that won't stop you from buying the wrong camera.
Get what you can afford, use it, and then you'll have a much better sense of what will suit you. One advantage a Graphic that hasn't been mentioned here is that they're easy to sell. Many of us buy gear, use it, and resell what doesn't suit.
Good luck, have fun,
Dan
p.s., I have a couple of 2x3 Graphics and a classy heavy 2x3 Cambo monorail. Ignorant barbarian that I am, I use a Graphic most of the time.
One other thing that I've not seen mentioned is that monorails are backpack-able, if that's what you are going to do with it. No less of an accomplished nature photog than Jack Dykinga used one, an Arca F according to his website, and there are a few other "big name" shooters that use monorails in the field. There's a lot of mysticism about wood field cameras and how they pack up light and made from fine woods. They are lovely (I bought into the hype twice!) but you can make a great photo without all of that.
It's been mentioned at least three times, a good way to approach this is to think of it as a long term rental. Buy something, shoot with it and re-evaluate your needs. I have a one of the fancy-wooden-box cameras and am finding it to be fiddly; things don't really lock into place. When I tire of it, I will resell it and get a monorail and try that...which is exactly where many members here told me to start!!!!
Start thinking about lenses. What focal lengths are you likely to work with, etc. The nice thing about LF is that you can move your lenses with you from camera to camera simply by swapping a lens board. Pick one focal length and learn it inside out before buying a second lens.
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