5x7 Technika cams?

[Oren Grad]

Sorry if this has been answered already - did a scan of the archives and couldn't find anything. Is it still possible to get lenses cammed for a 5x7 Technika? If so, would it be Marflex, or at this point does one need to find an independent shop that will do it?

[John Z.]

I have been through the same dilemma with my 5x7; the only answer was to have Richard Ritter custom make a cam for the lens I had. I was not able to find any other solution; Marflex at this time does not make cams. Richard Ritter has his own web site under www.lg4mat.net.

[Oren Grad]

Thanks. Richard has done several projects for me already - I'll follow up with him for further info.

[CXC]

So you guys actually focus all 500 pounds of a 5x7 Tech held in your hands? That must be quite a feat...

[Oren Grad]

CXC, there's no way I'd ever be able to hand-hold a 5x7 Technika - can't even manage a 4x5. But there are situations in which it's useful to be able to focus a tripod-mounted camera with the film already in place and make the exposure immediately, instead of having to fumble with darkcloth and film holder.

[John Z.]

It is very hard to hand hold, because it is heavy, but it can be done for short periods. I like to balance it on one knee, and pick it up briefly to take a shot. Too bad they do not make a lighter version; it is the only way to take hand-held 5x7 pictures that I have found.
I have a Gowland 5x7, but the true image size is really about 4x6, and while it is light, it is also very bulky, with a long viewing hood on top. The old Graflex 5x7 cameras are both bulky and heavy, and shoot horizontal only. Usually the shutters are not too accurate either; so the Linhof it is, weight and all!

[CXC]

John, I can imagine shooting it hand held, what I can't picture is focussing it hand held, with only two hands...

[Ole Tjugen]

The 5x7" Technika is no more difficult to use hand held than the 4x5".

The 300mm f:4.5 was not cammed, so I used the GG to focus. Frame and focus, the aim along one corner of the body (I had left my finder behind). Then lower camera, close shutter and stop down, insert film holder, remove dark slide, cock shutter, lift, aim and fire.

Nothing to it! :)

http://www.bruraholo.no/bilder/minime.jpg

[Oren Grad]

"Ole Tjugen" is the name of a primal god of Norse mythology, who lives in Jotunheimr, land of the giants, and strides the realm bearing a loaded 5x7 Technika, the Official Point-and-Shoot of Mythical Norse Giants. From time to time he makes a fleeting appearance in the principality of APUG or the kingdom of Tuan, leaving the natives speechless at his feats of strength...

[David A. Goldfarb]

I find the 5x7" Press Graflex bulky, but quite well balanced and not terribly heavy to handhold. The mirror thud (it's not quite a slap) is a challenge, but contrary to expectations, old LF focal plane shutters are usually quite accurate, particularly if it's an older one with fixed width slits. Mine has a tripod socket for verticals, but it's awkward to use it that way, and handheld verticals are just impractical.

[Oren Grad]

David, just how heavy is your Graflex? That's certainly another option for focus-with-film-loaded in 5x7 or larger; the only others I've been able to think of so far are the 5x7 Speed Graphic (when equipped with RF) and the mega-TLRs like the Gowlandflex.

[Mark Sampson]

Somewhere in the literature is a quote from Alfred Stieglitz about the 5x7 Graflex, and how marvelous it was to have a camera that could actually be hand-held.

[Ole Tjugen]

It seems I forgot to mention the importance of working FAST when focusing and framing, as well as letting the arms rest between steps. After holding the camera for ten seconds my arms started shaking too much to focus, and I had to be even faster when shooting. But the negative was sharp, even at 1/50 second - the fastest speed on a Compound #5...

I'm no god, merely stubborn :)

[David A. Goldfarb]

The 5x7" Press Graflex is about 12 lbs (with a film holder, a little more with a bag mag for film, and even more with a bag mag for plates), but you don't hold it up to your eye with a grip on one side of the camera, so it's not that difficult to hold. The camera rests against your body at waist level with your arms extended, left hand toward the front with thumb on the shutter release, right hand opposite with the thumb on the focus knob. The controls are all on the right side, so you can cradle the camera in your left arm between shots and replace the darkslide and change holders, reset the mirror and cock the shutter with your right hand. Mine doesn't have strap lugs, but I've seen cameras that have had strap lugs added, if you want a strap to take the weight off your arms occasionally. It looks clumsy, but is actually a lot more ergonomic than it seems.

[Oren Grad]

Thanks... Sounds like, at least so far as transport weight is concerned, the Graflex should be pretty close to the 5x7 Technika.

Interesting points about handling. I've been fiddling with a quarter-plate Graflex, and indeed am finding it to be less klutzy than I imagined it would be. The design and location of the shutter release helps a lot - in some ways it's actually easier to manage than a Hassy with WLF. But a 5x7 would still be tripod-only for me.

[John Z.]

A question for David on the 5x7 Press Graflex; how do you focus the camera; does it have a rangefinder? Also, what is the longest bellows extension on that type of Press camera? Thanks for you reply.

[Oren Grad]

John, unlike the Graphic cameras (Speed, Crown, etc.), which are essentially simplified technical view cameras which were usually supplied with an auxiliary rangefinder device, the Graflex cameras are basically SLRs with huge waist-level viewfinders. You focus on the ground glass screen; the image is blacked out during the exposure as the mirror flips out of the way and the light goes through to the film instead.

[Oren Grad]

Also, bellows extension on the Graflexes is generally quite limited compared to what you'd expect to find on a view camera, although there were special long-bellows versions of the 4x5 and I think the 3.25x4.25 Graflexes that allowed for at least slightly longer focal lengths. As an example, the flange-to-film distance on a 3.25x4.25 RB Series B Graflex that I have in hand as I'm writing this maxes out at around 210mm.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, the 5x7" Press Graflex is an SLR like the Series B and Super D cameras. The top shutter speed is 1/1500 sec. with the focal plane shutter (were there any films that could take advantage of that circa 1915?).

The stock lens is a B&L 6x8" Tessar, which is on the order of 240mm. I have a faster 210/3.5 Xenar, which doesn't focus to infinity, but is perfect for indoor shooting. The 6x8 Tessar uses the same flange as my 12" Gold Dot Dagor and 19" Apo-Artar, but there is not enough bellows for the 19" lens. I suspect the longest usable non-tele lens would be about 14".