a low budget view camera

[Gordon Coale]

I would like to introduce myself. I'm just getting back into large format after a 25 year hiatus. This is my Burke & James Commercial View. I traded $17.50 worth of film for it. It came with a 10" Elgeet in an Alphax shutter, a 5x7 back, and a loose Graflok back. A graphic artist who reads my blog sent me the lens out of an Agfa Repromaster that they were throwing away. It's a 210mm Schneider G-Claron. Had to pay $10 for postage. I've collected some more barrel lenses and fixed up an old Packard shutter I've had for some time. I started out with a 4x5 back on it but I've wanted to go bigger with 5x7. I had the 5x7 back for it but it was glassless and need a lot of cleaning. My Satin Snow 5x7 ground glass finally arrived and it was worth the wait. He even ground the edges and put a cute little radius on each corner. I cleaned up my 5x7 back and installed the ground glass. I took it outside and focused on my neighborhood. Oh, my! It sure is big. The glass is quite wonderful to focus on.

[Gordon Coale]

One problem I've been having is with the back attachment system. It uses a spring with a slot in it that receives pins in the back. Trying to get the pins in the new back to line up has been a pain. And to remove the back you have to pull the back away from the spring before you can lift it out of the clips on the bottom of the camera. It's been real hard to get it off. This has caused some of the joints in the back to start coming apart. One of the great things about the Burke & James is that it's not a high end camera with all sorts of highly finished expensive wood. It's not a fine Cabernet. It's a cold Pabst Blue Ribbon. I can drill all the holes I want without remorse. I removed the spring and drilled a hole just a little smaller that a 10-24 pan head machine screw. I screwd the machine screw in and then cut it off with my Dremel tool. I bought a pair of Ace Hardware angles, 1/2 inch wide by 3/4 inch. I hacksawed one end off leaving just a short piece. I used the Dremel tool to elongate the hole to make give it some movement. Push the angle in with your thumb and tighten the wing nut. Much easier.

[Gordon Coale]

The next part was not planned for but I will take credit for it. I had envisioned removing the wing nuts and angles to remove the back for rotating. It turns out that I can just loosen the wing nut and rotate the angle. No loose pieces! I wasn't all that smart. When I rotated the back it turned out that the angle needs to be located a little more towards the edge. It still works but it doesn't look good. I located the other side nearer the edge and it works fine. I will probably leave it as is for now but I will have to come back and fill the mislocated hole and redrill it. Then, if I want to keep it this way, I will make some threaded posts a little longer, install them with a little epoxy, and use lock washers. Then fill the unused holes with a little bondo and put on a fresh coat of grey paint. (A Burke & James just isn't a Burke & James unless it's gray with red bellows.) For now, I need to clean up my 5x7 film holders and order some film.

[Capocheny]

Gord,

Looks like a nice repair job... and welcome back to the world of LF photography! :)

You can find 5x7 film at most of the better camera stores... MidWest Photo, Badger Graphics, etc, etc.

FYI... look at the viewcamera.com site and you'll find an article discussing the films available for 5x7! :)

Cheers

[medform-norm]

Hi Gordon,
it sounds like you got a good deal there. And I thought our view cameras were cheap...all under 200 euros, even the newly arrived 8x10.
What I am not seeing is where you've attached one of your designer camera straps to this baby. ;-)
BTW I like your blog. When will we see the first images taken with the B&J on that?

Regards,
Norm

[MJSfoto1956]

I had that same camera back in the 1970s!

It was "primarily" packaged as a copy camera by Burke & James. But notwithstanding, I too on occasion took it out in the field. I even did some portrait work with 8x10 Polaroid. Good luck with it!!!

J Michael Sullivan
MAGNAchrom...

[Brian Ellis]

Hmmm. $17.50 for the camera and $10 postage for a 210 Schneider G Claron lens. I think you've redefined the term "low budget." : - )

[Donald Qualls]

Help! I've fallen (off my chair) and I can't get up!! :eek:

I paid more than that for my last box of 4x5 film...

[Bob Gentile]

"... I paid more than that for my last box of 4x5 film..."
You've got that right! Amazing!

[Gordon Coale]

I checked back and it was actually $17.15 worth of film but I had shipping on top of that which probably doubled it. :) It was more than a stroke of good luck. It was more like a severe blow of good luck. One of the members of the Rangefinder Forum (http://www.rangefinderforum.com) was looking for a good home for it. It needed a little work. And the 210 G-Claron was another severe blow of good luck. What a sweet lens! I acquired a Packard shutter (http://www.electricedge.com/greymatter/archives/00006060.htm) 30 years ago as a curiosity not realizing what a useful thing it might be. I front mounted (http://www.electricedge.com/greymatter/archives/00006070.htm) it. I have three other process lenses (http://www.electricedge.com/gordon.coale/photography/equipment/lft/index.htm) which I need to make lens boards for. I was looking for a 4x5 when this fell into my lap. I had an old Calumet 4x5 which I sold for a sweet little Nagaoka 4x5 in the mid 1970s. I think my Eastman No.2 5x7 came with the Packard shutter in the mid 1970s, too. When the kids came around 1980, the large format gear went. I did shoot some 5x7s and I've been scanning some of those old negatives. I'm looking forward to scanning some new 5x7 negatives! I'm still looking for an inexpensive wide angle 120mm barrel lens that will cover 5x7. They appear infrequently. I just hope one appears when I have the money!

[Jim Galli]

Glad someone has displaced me as lowest bottom feeder. Now take a look at some of the 5" aerial rollfilm that shows up on Ebay from time to time so you can get into the world of 17¢ Panatomic X negs.

[Gordon Coale]

Glad someone has displaced me as lowest bottom feeder. Now take a look at some of the 5" aerial rollfilm that shows up on Ebay from time to time so you can get into the world of 17¢ Panatomic X negs.

Jim -- I'm glad to be of some use here. :) Now, tell me more about this 5" rollfilm. It can be cut up into 4" or 7" lengths? Is it a thinner film stock? Will it work in cut film holders? Enquiring minds want to know.

[Jim Galli]

Jim -- I'm glad to be of some use here. :) Now, tell me more about this 5" rollfilm. It can be cut up into 4" or 7" lengths? Is it a thinner film stock? Will it work in cut film holders? Enquiring minds want to know.

Yep, but 4" cuts into 4X5 holders are a PITA. 7" cuts into 5X7 holders is easy. The film is 4 mil polyester base so thinner than normal by 3 mils I think. It curls into the emulsion so that works for you. The curl holds the film flat at the back of the holder perfectly. I have used aerial plus X and Pan X. The pan x is hard to control because it's super contrasty, but when you get a good situation, lookout! It's gorgeous. Most of my most successful Platinum prints are from these negs. The grain is like Tech Pan which I've heard was developed from this stock. I shoot it at ASA 32. You have to find a good sharp contrasty line to focus with a grain focuser because there simply is NO grain. I have enough in the freezer to last me until 2050 when I'm 98. That should do it.

[Gordon Coale]

I just finished adding to my assortment of budget lenses (see the picture for all of them) with a 90mm Series IIIA EX.W.A. f/12.5 Wollensak. I had read a claim that it covered 5x7 and, with a quick check, it seems to do just that. Exposures will tell the tale but it looks close enough. I do need a BlackJacket focusing cloth with all my dim lenses. The most expensive lens was $94. The least expensive was $0. The average price was just under $45. All are in great shape except for the Kodak which will need a CLA to loosen up the aperture (the glass is good). Currently only the Elgeet and Schneider are mounted so it's time to start cranking out lensboards and adapters for my Packard shutter.

[Gordon Moat]

Isn't that Schneider an enlarger lens? Also, are you planning on shooting any colour films with any of these?

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Gordon Coale]

The ones without shutters are all process lenses. I plan on shooting color and black and white. The process lenses should do just fine with color. The Schneider was pulled out of an Agfa Repromaster used in a graphics department in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

[Ole Tjugen]

Isn't that Schneider an enlarger lens? Also, are you planning on shooting any colour films with any of these?

Several of those lenses (including the Schneider G-Claron) are repro lenses. Most of them (also including the G-Claron) have a long tradition of use as taking lenses, the G-Claron was even sold as such by Schneider.

There should be no problem shooting colour film with these lenses.

[Gordon Moat]

Thanks. Nice set-up.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Jim Ewins]

Congrats Gordon. I love my B&J monorails (4x5 & 8x10) The wood under the gray paint is nice and varnish will do it wonders. I found that I could machine new pins and epoxy them in the backs after realigning the spring clips- works great. The standards are rigid with all the movements I need. The price I paid for these was cheap and acceptable to buyer and seller. Have fun.

[Alan Davenport]

It came with a 10" Elgeet in an Alphax shutter
...and it looks just like my 10" Elgeet. I asked a couple of questions about that lens here some time back, and it sounded like I might have had the only one they'd ever made. :)

[mccartney]

Hello!

I have exactly the same B&J camera! And I am missing the original film holder. Does anybody know if a regular Fidelity 4*5 holder will do the trick?

thanks and kudos for your acquisition!

Cesar Juarez-Vargas :)
Studio Six Photography

[MIke Sherck]

Fidelity holders will work fine; any standard film holder will work great.

[Jim Jones]

One problem I've been having is with the back attachment system. It uses a spring with a slot in it that receives pins in the back. Trying to get the pins in the new back to line up has been a pain. And to remove the back you have to pull the back away from the spring before you can lift it out of the clips on the bottom of the camera. It's been real hard to get it off. . . .

An original 5x7 back, a B&J dividing back, and three home-made backs all work fine on my B&J with the original spring retainers. Locating the pins in home-made backs does require care. However, the original system works too well to justify a change.

[John Cahill]

Is that a Zorki IV on back of your B and J?

[Jim Jones]

Is that a Zorki IV on back of your B and J?

No, one is the original B&J 5x7 back, one is a somewhat crude 4x5 adaption, I made one from particle board with a Graflok 4x5 back, and I made another from plywood with a T-Mount for 35mm cameras.

[Ernest Purdum]

To me, the B&J Commercial View would be an undesirable copy camera precisely because of its nearly full range of movements. For a copy camera, all the movements you might want would be a little rise, fall and shift to help center the image. All the swings and tilts are just opportunities for misalignment.

By the way, vertical copy cameras make outstanding macro cameras.