Big Bertha's new john says Hello!

[Dan Schwartz]

Hi gang!

Some of you know me as Discpad from over at Graflex dot Org... I refurbish Speed & Crown Graphics (I have seven of them), turning the Speeds into the David Burnett Combo (http://users.snip.net/~joe/AeroEktar/default.htm).

Earllier this week, I put a deposit on a Big Bertha (http://users.snip.net/~joe/BigBertha/default.htm) with a 40 inch f/8 lens. Since Bertha is a woman, and I have to pump some money into her for a boob job, err a new pair of bellows... Does that make me a john?:rolleyes:

Cheers!
Dan in Sayreville, New Jersey
PS: Visit my Home Page (http://users.snip.net/~joe/default.htm) for a Really Good Laugh:D

[Walter Calahan]

David tells me he gets 0.0004% of every one of your conversions. True? Grin.

Congratulations on the Big Bertha. I'm working on putting a 24" on my Graflex. It will be a two tripod rig.

http://www.walterpcalahan.com/Cheers/Musings/D3802089-B5EA-4C53-B036-4741BFD94960.html

[Greg Lockrey]

Hey Dan, we talked at P.net on a couple occasions. You'll fit in here real fine. :D

(I still need some software for my ProPallatte 7000).:)

[Frank Petronio]

I love you

[Greg Lockrey]

See...:D :D :D

[Terence McDonagh]

Welcome. And I'm jealous of the BB. I've toyed with getting one, but living in Hoboken 5th floor walk-up and without a car kind of negates the thrill.

[Dan Schwartz]

The hard part of getting a Big Bertha is finding one: Lens & Repro won't rent theirs out; and Jeff Hirsch has seven of them, including the one in his window at Fotocare.

These are even more rare than Circut panorama cameras.


Welcome. And I'm jealous of the BB. I've toyed with getting one, but living in Hoboken 5th floor walk-up and without a car kind of negates the thrill.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

LOL....that thing looks like it weights more than my 12x20.... :)

Anyhow, welcome to the forum.

[Dan Schwartz]

<--- PS: That's one of our chinchillas to the left

Thanks!

And Yes, she probably weighs more than your 12x20... She crosses the scales at about 70 pounds.


LOL....that thing looks like it weights more than my 12x20.... :)

Anyhow, welcome to the forum.

[Terence McDonagh]

She doesn't look like the other Big Berthas I've seen. She looks a bit more kit-bashed. not that I'm still not jealous . . .

[Andrew O'Neill]

WHAT are you going to do with that monster anyway??

[Dan Schwartz]

NASCAR, baby!

Put this bitch on top of a grandstand at a turn, then shoot down the front straightaway and pit lane...

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/221617-lg.jpg


WHAT are you going to do with that monster anyway??

[Henry Ambrose]

Great home page, Dan!
And what a camera.
Welcome

[SamReeves]

LOL! I love it. View camera and NASCAR!!! :D

Welcome. :)

[Greg Lockrey]

Dan, what are the advantages of the 178mm f/2.5 Aero-Ektar lens on a Speed Graphic other than the obvious f/2.5 aperture? I have a Speed that needs a new lens since I'm using them on an Ebony.;)

[Glenn Thoreson]

Cool! I specialize in Speed and Crown Graphics, too. Buying, fixing, using and occasionally selling. Just for my own enjoyment. I've thinned out a bit. I think I'm down to about 10 or so, now.
Time to start looking for more? :D

[Dan Schwartz]

Sam,

Big Bertha is not a view camera: She's specially designed for sporting events, with pre-programmed fast focus "marks" where the photographer quickly moves the gearshift lever to quickly refocus the camera.

http://www.foxnewscritic.com/BigBertha/Bertha001.jpg

By the way, you should see the looks I get when I pull out my Horizon 202 swing-lens panorama camera, which is what took the photo above (at Martinsville Speedway during an NCTS (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) race). As you can see from the photo, that vista is perfect for a Big Bertha catching wrecks as they crunch together going into Turn 1 (or the T1-T2 complex, as the Europeans would call it). It's also perfect to catch the chaos in the narrow pit lane, and also the victory burnouts near the start-finish (S/F) line.


LOL! I love it. View camera and NASCAR!!! :D

Welcome. :)

[Dan Schwartz]

Greg, with an f/2.5 lens that covers 5x5, the ground glass is so bright that Stevie Wonder could get it focused indoors.

That being said, the wide open DOF for portraits is just aboiut how much a person's chest moves when he breathes! :D


Dan, what are the advantages of the 178mm f/2.5 Aero-Ektar lens on a Speed Graphic other than the obvious f/2.5 aperture? I have a Speed that needs a new lens since I'm using them on an Ebony.;)

[Greg Lockrey]

Greg, with an f/2.5 lens that covers 5x5, the ground glass is so bright that Stevie Wonder could get it focused indoors.

That being said, the wide open DOF for portraits is just aboiut how much a person's chest moves when he breathes! :D

:D :D :D you're way too PC.

That's what I was thinking. I was also wondering if that lens had any other "special look" beside that. I keep seeing it mentioned by camera cobblers from time to time.

[Dan Schwartz]

Greg, I have six of these puppies: Would you like one? If so, please contact me off-list.

I also have several ways you can mount it -- Some better than others. My fave is the S.K. Grimes method... At $200 per. That's what I use; and I have two more in production up there. Also, see my David Burnett Combo (http://users.snip.net/~joe/AeroEktar/default.htm) page.

[Dan Schwartz]

By the way, as this thread turns into a mini blog, today I went shopping in the Photo District for a tripod head for Bertha, since I already have a nice 6 foot Eastman video tripod.

B&H was a total bust, as they didn't even have any heads for a Speed Graphic... And downstairs in the video department they wanted to sell me a $7000 video head... Yes, that's a 7 followed by 3 zeroes.

Then, it was over to FotoCare where Bertha's cousin is sitting in the window. There, at least they had a couple items heavy enough to hold her. One was the Gitzo 1570 (barely capable), and the other was a geared head that was just the ticket... At $800.

So, off to eBay, where I grabbed this Majestic tripod & geared head (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270199319302) for $150; so if it works, great; and if not, at least I can still use it for my Speed Graphics...

[Andrew O'Neill]

Too cool! Dan, is that the same type of camera that a sports photographer used many years ago to capture boxing matches?

[Glenn Thoreson]

Most boxing and wrestling matches were photographed from ringside. Graflex made a camera for that, too. Oddly enough, it was called the ringside camera. It was made for fast focusing and close work. Look it up on graflex.org

[David A. Goldfarb]

B&H has a Davis and Sanford head for large cameras that's not absurdly expensive--

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/169289-REG/Davis_Sanford_V2_V2_Vernier_Head.html

Right now, they're in the middle of a big renovation, so there's a lot of stock that isn't on display. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, it looked like about 1/3 of their floor space was blocked off.

The Majestic head is great for big cameras and should work. Get it with the big plate if you can for Bertha. I had one for a few years that I used on my studio stand with my 8x10" Sinar P. I also had a Gitzo G1570M, which was more practical in the field, but not as solid as the Majestic.

The Arca-Swiss B2, if you can find one, is even more solid than a Majestic. I bought one second hand for around $400 and sold the Majestic and the Gitzo. I don't think they are making it anymore, which is unfortunate, because it's a great head combining the strength of a large ball head (rated 150 lbs), the control of a pan-tilt head by using two nested balls rather than one, and the smooth panning of a fluid head. Maybe they'll offer a redesign along the lines of the their other new tripod heads. Anytime you want to bring Bertha into Manhattan for a night on the town, you're welcome to try it out.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Too cool! Dan, is that the same type of camera that a sports photographer used many years ago to capture boxing matches?

Baseball games. You could set the focus stops for home plate and first base and always be ready to catch the action.

[Dan Schwartz]

Andrew, that's a question I don't know the answer to offhand. As I understand it, these were more for baseball than anything else. They had lenses from about 500mm up to about 1600mm. I guess a 500mm f/4 or f/5.6 would be quite useable indoors.

I'll be using mine with the 1000mm f/8 for daytime oval track auto racing.


Too cool! Dan, is that the same type of camera that a sports photographer used many years ago to capture boxing matches?

[SamReeves]

"Big Bertha" is definitely cooler than a woodfield Dan! Looks like a rocket launcher from a distance I bet. :D

[Dan Schwartz]

If you go to Graflex.Org and then dig down, you'll find this reference (http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/largeformat/2003q1/014534.html) which basically sais the Graphic Combat camera is the successor to the Ringside Camera.


Most boxing and wrestling matches were photographed from ringside. Graflex made a camera for that, too. Oddly enough, it was called the ringside camera. It was made for fast focusing and close work. Look it up on graflex.org

[Neal Shields]

Congratulations. I am glad it is you and not me. If they came up regularly, I would probably have one but they become available so infrequently that I am usually not flush at the same time.

I consider them the holy grail of Graflex collecting. (That or the Naturalist.)

I can't imagine how many famious sports photos were taken with a Big Bertha.

The last one I saw on Ebay was out of a photographer's estate in San Antonio.

Neal

[Dan Schwartz]

Uh oh... What is a ``Naturalist?"


Congratulations. I am glad it is you and not me. If they came up regularly, I would probably have one but they become available so infrequently that I am usually not flush at the same time.

I consider them the holy grail of Graflex collecting. (That or the Naturalist.)

I can't imagine how many famious sports photos were taken with a Big Bertha.

The last one I saw on Ebay was out of a photographer's estate in San Antonio.

Neal

[Dan Fromm]

Dan,

See http://66.49.230.119/booklets/photographic_ads_vol_1_31-61.pdf , its down near the bottom.

Neater than the homebrew dicke Berta you bought. The design studies I did for a 2x3 kleine Berta were more like it than yours. Not to say that yours won't do the job, though.

How to make something like the Naturalist that will focus a longer lens should be obvious.

[Dan Schwartz]

Dear Dan, there's one bid difference -- The Naturalist hardly ever comes up, while I did indeed snag this Big Bertha.

Indeed, the Naturalist with it's 360mm focal length could be easily mimic'd with a Speed Graphic (perhaps with an extended lensboard, the opposite of a recessed lensboard), depending on whether the lens is a telephoto design or not, i.e. the back focus distance is almost the entire, or about half, the focal lens length.




See http://66.49.230.119/booklets/photographic_ads_vol_1_31-61.pdf , its down near the bottom.

Neater than the homebrew dicke Berta you bought. The design studies I did for a 2x3 kleine Berta were more like it than yours. Not to say that yours won't do the job, though.

How to make something like the Naturalist that will focus a longer lens should be obvious.

[Dan Fromm]

Dan, you raised an interesting point. When you can, please tell us more about how your dicke Berta's lens is supported and what moves to focus.

I ask because when I was designing I found fairly quickly that I didn't want to hang a heavy lens far out in front of the front standard on an extension board or tube. Also that I didn't want to have a front standard far behind the lens; done that way, if the lens is long enough vignetting is a problem. That's one of the reasons why I'm moving so slowly on the Mk II tandem; there's no way a 600 will cover 2x3 with the present arrangement. My tandem has two front standards, the rear one is limiting with lenses much longer than my longest.

Incidentally, the ad's text says that the Naturalist "will accomodate lenses from 12 1/4 to 26 inches." 26" isn't in your territory, but its closer to it than 14" is.

I've always thought of Bertas as monorails with a mirror box and focal plane shutter at the rear. The purest expression of this idea is probably the Arca Swiss Reflex; AFAIK it was made in 6x9 and 4x5. I haven't checked, but there may have been a similar Mentor Reflex. The Arca Swiss isn't what your application wants, its highest shutter speed is too slow.

[Dan Schwartz]

Dan,

The lens itself is anchored, and the whole Graflex camera slides back & forth with the focus gearshift lever, i.e. the whole thing sits on a track.

Go to my Big Bertha Page (http://users.snip.net/~joe/BigBertha/default.htm) and look at all six photos, and it will become clearer.


Dan, you raised an interesting point. When you can, please tell us more about how your dicke Berta's lens is supported and what moves to focus.

I ask because when I was designing I found fairly quickly that I didn't want to hang a heavy lens far out in front of the front standard on an extension board or tube. Also that I didn't want to have a front standard far behind the lens; done that way, if the lens is long enough vignetting is a problem. That's one of the reasons why I'm moving so slowly on the Mk II tandem; there's no way a 600 will cover 2x3 with the present arrangement. My tandem has two front standards, the rear one is limiting with lenses much longer than my longest.

Incidentally, the ad's text says that the Naturalist "will accomodate lenses from 12 1/4 to 26 inches." 26" isn't in your territory, but its closer to it than 14" is.

[Dan Schwartz]

Here is a snapshot from the other side. Note that she has two sets of bellows, with the set on the left all bunched up into a 1-1/2 inch thick pack. The lens itself moves (extends) another 7 inches, with an anchorpoing halfway in between... This is something the previous owner didn't notice. All you need to do is pull the thumbscrews and the lens slides outwards along the base.

EDIT: I added a photo showing Bertha with her lens and front bellows off and the front standard extended all the way.

[Bill_1856]

Are you sure that you're Bertha's John, and not her Pimp?

[Dan Schwartz]

Bill, I won't start pimping Bertha until she's making money for me at a speedway... Until then, I'm just her john, showering her with love, attention... And money.:rolleyes:

[Dan Schwartz]

OK guys, you can click here (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?p=311117) to see the progress of Big Bertha's restoration.:D

[Dan Schwartz]

Unfortunately, Big Bertha sat disassembled in a crate for over seven years; and now the photos are all missing. Are they buried somewhere in the database?


OK guys, you can click here (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?p=311117) to see the progress of Big Bertha's restoration.:D

[Mark Sawyer]

I've noticed many of the old threads are missing photos uploaded to this site. I'd guess they are deleted after a few years. Too bad, because so many of us search the old threads for information...

[IanG]

I've noticed many of the old threads are missing photos uploaded to this site. I'd guess they are deleted after a few years. Too bad, because so many of us search the old threads for information...

That's because many images are hot linked, i.e. hosted elsewhere on image hosting sites and people clean their accounts every so often or even close them. It's something common to all Forums and isn't the Forum itself deleting images.

It's not just images though it's links to deleted web pages and there's no way around it.

Ian

[Jim Noel]

This reminds me of my high school days in the early 40's. Three of us each owned a 4x5 Graflex and were always experimenting. At one point we used heavy mailing tubes to build a lens of about 60" FL. This we rested on a tripod in front of one of our Graflex cameras which was of course on its own tripod.. we learned we could only use the rig on very calm nights,and it was better if it was cool. Our best images were of just the cupola of the Tennessee State Capital approximately 2-3 miles from our hilltop location.
I suspect that if three teenagers tried something similar today they would be questioned by authorities who would suspect them of being up to no good. What have we done to our young people with all our paranoia?