Keith twin lens 4X5 with modified Calumet finder

[John Conway]

I really like this camera. For a few weeks now, I've been thinking about how I can make the Calumet finder work on the Keith. I had some extra springs from my Cambo finder/ CC Calumet rig, so i wanted to go with a similar set up, but I wanted to retain the original Keith hood. The only thing I need to do is pick up a few small brass screws to hook the spring ends onto, instead of just hooking them into the holes.

[Joseph Dickerson]

Man...I haven't seen one of those since my first studio gig right out of college.

We used to shoot long roll (70mm) on them. My boss did everything but weddings with them.

Yours is really a nice one, and the modification is ingenious.

JD

[John Conway]

If anyone spots a Keith for sale, let me know. I'd like to have a second camera. They were offered with 250mm lenses. I'd like to get my hand's on one of those. Mine is a 215 model.

[Corran]

Wow, that's a crazy camera.

[John Conway]

Thanks Joe. It's funny you mentioned the 70mm long roll. I actually have the 70mm accessory back. It is a big heavy unit with a plug coming out of it. If you notice, the 4x5 back is a Sinar, which is more useful than the original. This camera is fantastic for portraiture.

[John Conway]

Wow, that's a crazy camera.

Yes, crazy and mysterious. When I found this one it was love at first sight. But there is no information about these cameras anywhere. There was a guy on another forum that had one, but that is all I found. I heard they made a 5x7 model in wood as well.

[sully75]

How's the parralax with that thing?

[photobymike]

Thats crazy but cool... reminds me of a Gowland camera.. Reminds me.....remember when you could order a roll of undeveloped film from him..

[Frank Petronio]

Question I've always had is how do you adjust for the differences in focusing between the lenses? Are the lenses perfectly matched at infinity - but then what about at portrait distances? And is it just a matter of shims or is there a mechanism that can be screwing in or out?

Oh and I want to put it on a Gitzo Traveler with ballhead and drill lightening circles out of the frame for backpacking. Not really, just anticipating the next post haha.

[Mark Sampson]

A couple of guesses about the design, based on my long-ago experience with comparable cameras. 1) it would have been sold with matched focal-length lenses. 2) Parallax could be manually set, it would have been corrected for portrait distances. Infinity probably wasn't a factor, given that these were studio cameras. I took a 70mm twin-lens Camerz on the road back then; it was a real beast, but compact and a refined design compared to this one.