Calumet Camera

[gwatson]

Hi, I have some kind of camera that we found in my father-in-law's house. We want to sell it but we are not sure what it is.

It says Calumet. And it says Copal 0 on it. Other than that we don't know anything about it. We were going to list it on ebay, but we don't know what to list it as. I have no idea what shape it is in. To me it's just some big, black camera. Do any of you have any ideas as to how we find out what to list it as. And how much we should list it as.
Thank you

[Nick_3536]

Camera could be anything.

The Copal #0 is a shutter that likely holds a lens.

Post a mesage with all the writing you can find. Plus descriptions of the camera. Pics of the setup wouldn't hurt either.

[James E Galvin]

Calumet is a large photographic dealer who has made, and put their name on, many cameras over the last half century. They have often not put a model number on them. Big and black doesn't narrow the field much. You might search for "Calumet Camera" on Ebay and try to identify it, and see the going prices. At the back of the camera is a pane of ground glass, the "size" of the camera is the size of that pane, often 4x5 inches, less often 5x7 or 8x10. It is possible that a large camera has a reducing back, an 8x10 might have a 4x5 glass, a pic to us will resolve that. Lenses for such cameras (view camera or large format camera) are made by a manufacturer such as Rodenstock, Schneider, Nikon, Fuji, Kodak and others, and mounted in a shutter made by Compur, Copal, Ilex and others. At the front of the lens, on the outside or inside, should be the lens info: the manufacturer, the lens name, and its focal length and f stop. Include all of this info in your ad, better to show a pic.

[j.e.simmons]

Also measure the ground glass in the back. It should probably measure approximately 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10 (inches). Let us know what that measurement is.
juan

[gwatson]

1029

I need to get batteries for my camera so I found this pic on ebay- it looks like mine. I measured it- 4x5 and it has some kind of pump thingy.

How do I know if it works ok? I don't want to try and sell it and screw somebody.
Thanks for all your help.

[gwatson]

I took the lens cover off and it says 'topcor 5.6/180'. I'm an idiot. I never took the cap off. See...now, I'm not much of a camera person. I thought I would figure it out for my hubby. He is relunctant to give away or sell anything that was his father's. But, I don't want it to just sit here ad collect dust. Somebody could use it.

[walter23]

Unless you can pick out the subtle details (a lot of these look very similar) I'd just list it as a "Calumet monorail 4x5 camera", list all the lens details you can find (e.g. all the writing on the lens, and the shutter - the round thing the lens is stuck in, on the front of the camera), and include good quality photos of the front, back, the points where the front & back connect to the long rail, and the bellows.

The shutter should say either "copal 0" or "copal 1" or something like that, make sure you list that too, and disclose whether or not the lens has scratches and stuff on it. I don't think that lens is particularly valuable (though I could be wrong) so you'll be selling it based on the value of the camera alone and any other accessories.

[gwatson]

Thank you for your help

[GPS]

Why don't you just bring it to a photographer in your town and he will tell you all you need to know...

[Brian Ellis]

You have a camera (Calumet), a lens (Topcor), a shutter (Copal) in which the lens is mounted, and the lens board to which the lens and shutter are affixed. The "1" on the Copal refers to the size of the shutter (there are Copal 0s, 1s, and 3s, 0 being the smallest and 3 being the biggest). The number 180 refers to the focal length of the lens and a 180mm lens would be considered a normal lens for a 4x5 camera. The number 5.6 refers to the maximum size of the lens aperture (5.6 is as wide as most large format lenses go so that's good). Topcor is a lens brand but I don't know anything about them except I think they were relatively inexpensive. As others have said, "Calumet" is refers to Calumet Photographic, which used to contract with third parties to manufacture cameras for it and then Calumet put its name on the camera. I have no idea what model it is. Just refer to it as a "4x5 Calumet metal monorail camera" and that should be fine.

Large format cameras like this aren't very complicated, everything is pretty much out in the open where you can see it. You should be able to just loosen knobs to see what function each controls and whether everything seems to work o.k. (i.e. do things move smoothly, is there any grinding noise, does everything lock down tightly, is there anything else that indicate something isn't right). You obviously should be able to see any dents, dings, scratches, etc.

It's important to be able to tell a prosepective buyer that the bellows doesn't leak light because a new bellows costs about $150 - $200 so that will have a big effect on the price. To determine whether there are any light leaks (assuming you don't plan to use the camera yourself) take the camera in a dark room and remove the back (the part that surrounds the glass). You should be able to see how this is done just by looking at the back, it doesn't require any tools and should be simple to do. Then stretch the bellows out as far as it will go by turning the focusing knob, shine a flashlight into the bellows through the opening where the back was removed and move the flash light all around inside the bellows while you observe the outside the bellows to see if any light is coming through any holes in the bellows. Pay special attention to the corners of the bellows, make sure you aim the flashlight directly at each corner, that's where there often are tiny pin holes. If you do this and don't see any light coming through at any point then you can safely tell a buyer that the bellows doesn't leak light and that should improve the price. Some sellers just say things like "the bellows looks fine" but a knowledgeable buyer won't accept that since pin holes can be so tiny they can't be seen except with the flash light test.

You can search completed sales on ebay using "Calumet" as the search term and probably find other cameras identical to or very much like yours. Read the descriptions the sellers used and adapt them to your camera and lens.

[GPS]

Nobody told you yet about other things - a possibility of a sticking or just a slow shutter, the need to look at the quality of the lens rear element etc. If you want to be an honest seller show the camera to a photographer in your town and he will give you all the necessary notes you need. Otherwise you play with your reputation on Ebay and others trust.

[Vick Vickery]

The camera pictured in your post is a Cambo imported and sold by Calumet; Calumet also made and marketed another style of monorail view camera under their name which looks similar but is actually quite different. If you were able to post a pic of your particular camera it would be easy for folks here to tell which it is...but, if it has a square rail, it is the Cambo, which is a slightly higher priced, though still not an expensive, camera. I shoot a Cambo and have been well pleased with it.

[Brian Ellis]

Nobody told you yet about other things - a possibility of a sticking or just a slow shutter, the need to look at the quality of the lens rear element etc. If you want to be an honest seller show the camera to a photographer in your town and he will give you all the necessary notes you need. Otherwise you play with your reputation on Ebay and others trust.

That's certainly good advice but I think those of us who have tried to help him have assumed that if he knew someone who used a large format camera he wouldn't have posted his question here in the first place. And he can hardly look in the phone book and start calling professionals out of the blue to ask them if they use a large format camera, then if he's lucky enough to find one ask that they take time out of their schedule to examine his camera so he can sell it on ebay. He maintains his reputation on ebay by simply explaining the situation (i.e. camera found in attic, he hasn't used it, he's done the best he could to examine it but can make no guarantees, etc. etc.)

[GPS]

What nonsense are you preaching? Whatever photographer from a photo shop knows enough about LF so that he knows if bellows is leaking or shutter is working. And if you need to check a phone book to know where to find a photographer you must be living with closed eyes. Thinking you have good reputation on Ebay by saying - "I don't know anything about cameras but this one as far as I can say is OK.." then you're asking for troubles.

[Brian Ellis]

What nonsense are you preaching? Whatever photographer from a photo shop knows enough about LF so that he knows if bellows is leaking or shutter is working. And if you need to check a phone book to know where to find a photographer you must be living with closed eyes. Thinking you have good reputation on Ebay by saying - "I don't know anything about cameras but this one as far as I can say is OK.." then you're asking for troubles.

Try reading my message. I didn't suggest he take the camera to a photo shop. In fact I didn't suggest he take the camera anywhere. That was your suggestion, remember?

[GPS]

Try reading my message. I didn't suggest you suggested he take the camera to a photo shop. In fact I didn't suggest you suggested he take the camera anywhere. That wasn't my suggestion, remember?