Just bought a Graflex - newbie questions

[Jodi]

Hello all,

I've lurked on this board for the better part of a year now, trying to get the guts to jump in. Tonight I did it. I bought a Graflex Pacemaker Crown Graphic 4x5 on ebay tonight that comes with a Schneider Xenar 135mm f.4.7 lens. I don't have the first clue how to use this thing, but am determined to learn. I know that the main recs for newbie books on here is the Stroebel and Simmons' book; my question is, will these be appropriate for my Graflex? I understand that it's not officially a view camera, but I'm hoping that it will help me get my feet wet. Will these books help me to use this camera? Or do y'all have another recomendation for books, websites, etc...

BTW, the kind of photography I'm looking to do is landscape, with some action shots of my one year old thrown in. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

[Juergen Sattler]

I would start with Steve Simmons book - it absolutely applies to your Crown Graphic as well - true you have limited movements on that camera, but some movements nevertheless. There are some other items you will need,like film holders, a loupe for focusing on the groundglass, a darkcloth, a tripod and a cable release. Welocme to the great and confusing world of Large Format Photography.

[John Kasaian]

Welcome to LF! In addition to Steve Simmons' book, check out www.graflex.org --- a treasury of graflex info.

[Ernest Purdum]

www.graflex.org is a website devoted to cameras produced by Graflex. I'm sure you can find some useful information there, Doijng a search for "Graflex" will probably find some more information for you.

Regarding books, if you live near a large library, that might be a good place to start, particularly regarding the Stroebel book which is rather large,expensive and some find difficult reading. Some other books are Shaman "The View Camera"and Stone "A User's Guide to the View Camera". A long out of print book "Graphic Graflex Photography" contains information specific to your camera and is often available on eBay or from www.abebooks.com, very likely from other sources as well.

I hope you will have many years of enjoyment of large format photography.

[Jodi]

Thanks for your welcome, Juergen. I will definitely buy the Simmons book, then. I appreciate your help. I forgot to mention that along with the auction, I will get two film holders. I probably need a few more, huh? I think the tripod I have now will support the Crown Graphic - I'll have to find out for sure when it arrives. If not, then I'll be back on ebay, to the utter despair of my husband.

[Jodi]

John, thank you for the book rec and the link. It was the Graflex site and this site's review of the Crown Speed Graphic that ultimately helped me to decided to go with the Pacemaker that was for auction. I'm not sure, but I think I saw that they have a forum. I need to go check that out. Thanks!

[Jodi]

Ernest, thanks for the library tip. Unfortunately, the library in our area is sorely lacking in photography instructional books. I have to rely on amazon or abebooks (one of my favs). I wasn't aware of the "Graphic Graflex Photography" book. That sounds like a must-have for me. Awesome tip-thanks!

[Frank Petronio]

Some of these books are overkill as you won't be using many movements with a Crown. The Jim Stone book is a good basic all arounder which might be more appropriate for starting out, while still being useful later on.

[steve simmons]

Welcome to large format photography.

Here is some reading that might help

http://www.viewcamera.com/archives.html

There are several articles here you might find interesting.

In addition to the Stone book and mine I frequently recommend Large Format Nature Photography by Jack Dykinga. Yes, some of these books my be a little much as you get started but you may very well grow into them and into a different camera at some point.

steve simmons

www.viewcamera.com

[Jodi]

Frank, you are right, that's why I would like to get just a few books to start out and not get too overwhelmed. I didn't know about the Jim Stone book, but found it on amazon. Thanks for your rec.

[Frank Petronio]

Since you have a one-year old, a fun non-technical but very inspiring book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789301032/sr=8-2/qid=1147062444/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-0454650-2705460?%5Fencoding=UTF8) is "Camera Ready: How to Shoot Your Kids" by Arthur Elgort. I like the title.

[Jodi]

Steve, thanks for replying. I definitely need to spend some quality time at your magazine's archives, I appreciate you offering up the link to me. The Dykinga book looks very interesting and will go near the top of my list. Thanks!

[Leonard Robertson]

If you haven't already found an online instruction book, go here: http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info.html Near the bottom of the page are several Graphic booklets. The "Pacemaker Guidebook" looks like the one for your camera.

[Capocheny]

Jodi,

In addition to Ernest's excellent recommendation of Larry Stone's book... I'd also suggest you take the time to look for Jack Dykinga's book entitled, "Large Format Nature Photography."

I recommend the book because he has actual photographs of the "end result" from the various movements employed on the camera to take the picture. At times, he also removes the bellows from the camera to demonstrate the camera configuration. IMHO, it's a GREAT book to learn from! [And, it's very affordable... you can buy it brand-spanking-new for about $25.00. :) Gotta love that! :)]

[BTW, the Larry Stone book has one picture that clearly demonstrates how planes of focus work... it's one of the best I've ever seen!]

Lastly, the Stroebel book (although very complete) is absolutely the LAST book I'd try to read if I were just starting out... it is definitely NOT the easiest book to read!

Anyway, welcome to the world of large format photography. Come what may... be sure you have fun with it! :)

Cheers

[Ron Marshall]

Jodi, welcome to large format. The negative, by Ansel Adams, has lots of info about film and filters and processing.

I second the book by Dykinga, and View Camera magazine has lots of helpful info.

[Nitish Kanabar]

Welcome to Large Format Jodi.

The Crown Graphic is an excellent choice for a starter camera. I too started out with a graflex and they are simply wonderful cameras. The very first book you'll want is the user's manual. This can be found here: http://www.southbristolviews.com/

The next thing you'd want is to get comfortable loading the film-holders. Paul Butzi's website provides excellent instructions to do just that - see http://www.butzi.net/articles/filmload.htm. (thanks Paul!)

Then you'd want to develop a process for taking photographs - see the step-by-step instructions on this very site http://www.largeformatphotography.info/how-to-operate.html

These will take care of the bare essentials required for you to start taking photographs with your *new* camera. The other book recommendations will help you develop techniques to advance your photography.

Also, before you start, you'd want to clean your camera as many of these have not been used in many years. Here is an older post about this subject: http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/504066.html#576993

Good luck with your new adventure.

[Christopher Nisperos]

Jodi,

Your Crown Graphic is a great choice for a start in large format photography. IMHO, it's one of the best all-round cameras ever made, even allowing you to shoot roll-film, handheld.

As for a good book, I'll second Ernest Purdum's suggestion for "Graphic Graflex Photography". With a little digging, you can find one on the web, and the effort will be worthwhile.

Lastly, try Craig Camera (http://www.craigcamera.com/ib_defg.htm). They have over 80,000 instruction manuals (and copies) in stock. They're very likely to have what you need for your Crown Graphic.

Have fun with your new tool/toy !

[steve simmons]

The book User's Guide to the View Camera was written by Jim Stone. I am not aware of a book on large format written by Larry Stone.

steve simmons

[Don Wallace]

You can do a quick and painless mod to a Crown Graphic that will allow for front tilt, one of the most useful movements. Email me if you are interested.

[Bill_1856]

The book you want to get started with is "Graphic Graflex Photography," by Morgan and Morgan, from the 1950s. CHEAP on ebay.

[steve simmons]

View Camera has done several articls on modifying these cameras to make them more user friendly.

If you are in striking distance of the Chicago area View Camera is doing a trade show for large format in Rockford, IL. There is no entry charge and you do not need to register ahead of time. The show is at the Best Western Clocktower Resort in Rockford. There is good bus service from the Chicago airport (O'Hare). There will be many people to talk to and you will make a lot of new large format friends. The hotel's phone is 815-398-6000.

Here are a few more thoughts about books.

Adams' The Negative is a good one but get the newer (thicker version). The older 60s version is good a a collector's piece but very obtuse to most mortals.

Leslie Stroebal has a book View Camera Technique that may make a good longterm reference but I do not feel it is a good beginner's book.

Get a Polaroid back and some Type 54 film. This is a good black and white film (EI 100), and will give you a chance to practice.

Find a good workshop to go to. It is a great way to make new friends and get some intensive experience. Jim Stone frequently does a workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center near Snowmass, CO, Gordon Hutchings does a workshop at the Maine Photo Workshops, UC Santa Cruz sometimes does on through their extension program.

steve simmons

[Frank Petronio]

A nice way to speed up learning is to get a Polaroid 545 or 545i holder (~$100 on eBay) and a pack of Type 52 or 54 4x5 Polaroid film ($70). By the time you finish the 20 sheets of Polaroid you'll have a handle on large format photography. You can also get preloaded Kodak Readyload or Fujo Quickload film, which will work in the Polaroid holder, saving you the expense and hassle of loading film holders (although the preloaded stuff isn't as widely available or in all the emulsions you may want to use.)

Depending on your learning style, you might do better spending money on film than books, since all of the core info is online for free and the assorted geezers here will fall all over themselves to help you, especially if you ask nicely.

Don't even worry about movements for your first shots. Just shoot and get started.

[steve simmons]

The suggsted books and magazines have a lot of example photos that are worth thousands of words of posts so I think they do help the learning process. The trade show contacts and a workshop will also help speed up the learning process and provide real live people to relate to.

steve simmons

[Jodi]

Wow, y'all! Thank you so much for your wonderful advice. I can't wait to get this camera now and start shooting. You guys are the best!

Leonard, the link you provided is superb. I will probably track down a proper manual someday, but until that time I think it's awesome that I can just look up the instructions on this website. Thank you, thank you!

Henry, thank you for your kind welcome. I appreciate the explination of why the Dykinga book is so useful; I'll now know what to look for when first skimming through that book. Thanks.

Hi Ron, The Negative is one of the few photography books our library has and I've checked it out, but haven't gotten the courage to open it yet! Thanks for your recommendations.

Nitish, thank you for your links. I think it's wonderful that so many people out there are offering scans of these old manuals for free - this will really help me out. I am aware of Paul Butzi's site (like I said, I've been lurking for a while), but I hadn't taken the time to really peruse his instructions page. This is sooo cool! I'm a very visual learner and so his pictorial instructions will be extremely helpful. I wouldn't have thought twice about cleaning my camera; thanks for the tip and link to the post about doing so.

Christopher, I appreciate your seconding of the Graphic Graflex Photography book. This definitely sounds like something that I should have. Thanks as well for the link to craigcamera - you weren't kidding about how many manuals they have!

Don, while I appreciate your offer of modifying my camera, I think I really need to just figure out the basics before I start tweaking with it. I will keep your offer in mind, though, and will be in contact with you if/when I feel I am up to the challenge. Thanks, though!

Bill, thanks for the ebay tip. I'm off to go bid right now!

Hi Steve, I would love to attend the trade show but I am in North Florida - very far away from many of the LF shows and workshops. I believe that there is a shooters club in Jacksonville, or perhaps it's Orlando...not sure. I am aware of only one LF photographer in my immediate area. I do plan to contact him and pick his brain, but I'd like to be a bit more knowledgeable before I do so, you know?
Thanks for the tip about the poloroid back and film. I'm going to get on that, asap.
And thanks as well for your help in choosing a book. I am aware that the Stroebel book is dense, I think I'll wait a while before purchasing that one. I'm not sure which version of the Adams book I checked out. I'm glad you mentioned that the 60's edition is a tough read. I won't worry so much now if I can't understand most of it!

Frank, thanks for all of your great info about film. You are correct that there is oodles of information about LF out on the web and this site is one of the best ones available, thanks to all of you. I'm not going to try and collect every book out there, which would only confuse me more, but I think with a few well written books to reference, and these wonderful websites, I will have plenty to info to chew on for quite a while. I truly appreciate all of your advice.

[Glenn Thoreson]

I usually get yelled at for saying this, but here goes anyhoo - don't get caught up in too much technical stuff right off the bat. Trying to absorb everything at once will just confuse you and convince you that you need to know more, which leads to further confusion, etc. That means you're not actually using the thing. The best thing you can do is is read a little and shoot a lot. Then repeat. Remember, it's just like any other camera, just bigger. It has a lens, a place for the film and a box to keep the dark in. It's a wonderful camera and I wish you good light and most of all, have fun. (From an old goat who is reduced to 14 Speed and Crown Graphics)

[Capocheny]

Steve,

You're absolutely right... the name should have been Jim Stone rather than Larry! :)

Must be getting old and forgetful!

Glenn,

I have to agree with your words of wisdom... it's sooooo easy to get caught up in all the technical stuff and forget about using the camera in the first place! :)

Cheers

[Bill_1856]

Jodi, I just checked ebay, and the "Graphic-Graflex Photography" on auction is a 1948 edition. It MAY not cover the Crown Graphics. I'd wait until there's one from 1954 or later to buy it.

[Donald Qualls]

Jodi, I just checked ebay, and the "Graphic-Graflex Photography" on auction is a 1948 edition. It MAY not cover the Crown Graphics. I'd wait until there's one from 1954 or later to buy it.



That edition most likely won't cover the Crown -- the Pacemaker models, which were the ones that introduced the Crown (like a Speed but without the focal plane shutter) were introduced in 1948, so unless that version was held for their introduction, it likely doesn't include the new features. Any version after 1951 should also cover the Graflok back operation and features, so would be preferred (since the majority of Pacemaker models sold had the newer, more versatile back).



As the slightly younger goat who recently reduced Glenn's stock of Speeds, I can tell you the Graflok isn't necessary to making good use of a Graphic; it's really only significantly helpful for the Graflex roll film adapters that won't slide under the ground glass panel of the older Graphic back. And I can attest that everything in the world about large format theory is very much secondary to getting out and using the camera. Also, don't be afraid to hand-hold the Crown; I've been hand holding my Speed with excellent results, even with shutter speeds as low as 1/100. Load up some ISO 400 film and go shoot stuff -- focus with the RF (once you get it adjusted for your lens -- if the camera came with a lens, the RF might well already be correctly set), or get the hang of focusing on the ground glass without a tripod; mount a cable release so you don't get your knuckles in the shot trying to use the release on the shutter, and burn some film.



If you're like me, you'll scratch the living daylights out of your first few processing batches anyway, learning to process in trays (I almost instantly started having too much film for the 2-sheet capacity of my homemade processing tubes); may as well get past that stage on images made in learning to use the camera, instead of being afraid of scratches on images you think will be perfect if they only survive processing... :)

[Glenn Thoreson]

The 1948 Graflex book should cover the camera. I think it's the 7th edition. My book covers them as "new models".