new to large photography - lenses for crown graphic

[leicaphotos]

which lenses are available for the crown graphic? I'm mostly a nikon/leica/rollei guy and have bought a crown graphic --- i am considering the possibilities of wide angle and standard lengths --- or should i just use the lens that's on it and go?

what are lens boards, how do they apply to the crown graphic?

are there lenses i should absolutely consider?

[ic-racer]

Crown is like a Speed without the focal plane shutter. Info here: http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/

[Tim Meisburger]

I would use the lens that is on it to start. It is likely to be either 127mm or 135mm, which is a normal lens on 4x5 (about like a 50 on 35mm).

A lens board is a board on which the lens is mounted. Instead of mounting a lens directly to the camera, you mount it on a board and then mount the board on the camera. A Crown uses Graflex boards that are about 3 5/8" square and made of thin aluminum with a lip round the edge as a light trap. I've made then out of plywood without the lip and they work, but since you have to cut the wood as thin as the metal they are not too strong (I bevel the plywood to a sharp edge). You can buy lensboards on ebay but you need the right hole diameter for your lens, or the capacity to cut a new hole in thein sheet metal.

A crown can use any lens that will fit on a lensboard and is not too long or too short for the bellows, but some lenses will not fold up inside the camera. A big petzval, with a three inch diameter, will be too big to fit on the little Graflex lensboards. I am not sure, but I doubt a modern 90mm would fold up inside the camera, but old ones work fine. I have a modern Fuji 135mm that folds up fine in the camera.

Bellows extension is the limiting factor in length of lens you can use, with 240 probably the practical limit. For wide angle 90mm is probably the practical limit.

All in all you can do a lot with a Crown. I have two, and just modified (hacked) the old one for swings and tilts, so I could have a knockabout camera for hard trips in remote areas.

[leicaphotos]

I would use the lens that is on it to start. It is likely to be either 127mm or 135mm, which is a normal lens on 4x5 (about like a 50 on 35mm).

A lens board is a board on which the lens is mounted. Instead of mounting a lens directly to the camera, you mount it on a board and then mount the board on the camera. A Crown uses Graflex boards that are about 3 5/8" square and made of thin aluminum with a lip round the edge as a light trap. I've made then out of plywood without the lip and they work, but since you have to cut the wood as thin as the metal they are not too strong (I bevel the plywood to a sharp edge). You can buy lensboards on ebay but you need the right hole diameter for your lens, or the capacity to cut a new hole in thein sheet metal.

A crown can use any lens that will fit on a lensboard and is not too long or too short for the bellows, but some lenses will not fold up inside the camera. A big petzval, with a three inch diameter, will be too big to fit on the little Graflex lensboards. I am not sure, but I doubt a modern 90mm would fold up inside the camera, but old ones work fine. I have a modern Fuji 135mm that folds up fine in the camera.

Bellows extension is the limiting factor in length of lens you can use, with 240 probably the practical limit. For wide angle 90mm is probably the practical limit.

All in all you can do a lot with a Crown. I have two, and just modified (hacked) the old one for swings and tilts, so I could have a knockabout camera for hard trips in remote areas.

thanks ---- it has the optar 135 --- waiting on it to get back from repair / cla --- then will have to fool with film backs, flash and such ---- a whole learning experience here- -- so... different from the nikons/leicas/rolleiflex kits i use .... i don't even know which films i'll start out with ---- i may just take a weekend and go around the ms delta with it as my main camera as it's a short hop from here in memphis... i know i can burn through lots of film with the leicas / nikons --- but just have to get this ready so i can travel, change film easily- -- thinking about a rollfilm back and the polaroid back loaded with the fuji instant.... don't have a case and it certainly won't fit in my backpack....

kinda exciting....

[Tim Meisburger]

Sure it will fit in a backpack, no problem. You will not burn through film with this. Its much more about "making" a photograph rather than "taking" one. If you are shooting black and white take a yellow or orange filter and as long as the camera is not pointing down you can just hang it on the lens.

Have fun!

[leicaphotos]

Sure it will fit in a backpack, no problem. You will not burn through film with this. Its much more about "making" a photograph rather than "taking" one. If you are shooting black and white take a yellow or orange filter and as long as the camera is not pointing down you can just hang it on the lens.

Have fun!

well, i'll have to figure out a workflow for processing / printing / displaying ==== still not sure which films to use- -- probably going to stick with some good bw, the fuji instant, and really punchy color

i had no plans to buy the camera, was buying a nikon lens from a guy who had all kinds of surplus gear he had acquired via uncle sam... i looked at some of the mamiya 645's and a koni-omega kit ---- but something compelled me to go the crown graphic route........

[Tim Meisburger]

Yes, it is compelling. To start I would go with Ilford FP4 or similar. Don't worry to much about color to begin. Development of B&W is easy and very forgiving.

[Alan Gales]

I own a Crown Graphic. Besides the 135mm that came with the camera I added a Caltar ll-E 210mm f6.8 lens in a modern Copal shutter. This lens is a rebadged Rodenstock Geronar and sells quite cheap in either version. A couple times I have seen them sell for less than $100.00 on Ebay. An added bonus is that the lens will fold up inside the camera just like my Schneider 135mm that came with the camera.

[Dan Fromm]

OP, you're used to lenses for 35 mm cameras. 35 mm cameras have proprietary lens mounts and their lens barrels incorporate the focusing mechanism. That's what you're used to. When thinking of LF cameras, step away from the Leica/Nikon/Rollei mindset.

LF cameras aren't like that at all. LF lenses don't contain the focusing mechanism, that's part of the camera. Bellows and the track or rail the standard(s) ride on. In the case of a Graphic, the front standard moves on a track.

To expand on points that Tim raised, lenses for LF cameras are typically in shutter and are mounted on lens boards. Speed Graphics and a few other cameras with focal plane shutters built-in are slight exceptions to the rule, but they can use lenses in shutter as well as lenses in barrel. "in barrel" means with no leaf shutter. Boards are often camera-specific, lenses aren't.

What limits the focal lengths that an LF camera can use is its minimum and maximum flange-to-film distances. If a lens' flange-to-film distance is less than the camera's minimum, then the lens can't be focused to infinity on the camera. If the lens' flange-to-film distance is greater than the camera's maximum, then the lens can't be focused at any distance on the camera.

Your 4x5 Crown Graphic's minimum and maximum flange-to-film distances are, respectively, 52.4 mm and ~ 305 mm. The longest lens commonly used on a 4x5 Crown is a 15"/5.6 Wollensak Telephoto badged Tele-Raptar if Wollensak sold it and Tele-Optar if Graflex sold it. Any lens in shutter that can be attached to your camera and that it can focus can be used on it.

Go to www.graflex.org and read the FAQs. And read this site's FAQs too, they're on the LF Home Page.