graflex 5x7? aldis portrait 12 in f3! info please

[eddie]

hi all,

i have found something i have never heard of or seen before.

it is a graflex style camera. looks like 5x7 but the 5x7 glaflex film holder i have is just a bit too big to fit on the back. the focal plane shutter seems to work. i have some viewing parts but they are separated from the camera and may not be complete.

now for the good part! it had a Aldis portrait anastigmat f3 lens with a soft focus selector. ever hear of this? i will try and shoot this on my 8x10 but i am afraid it is goingto rip off my front standard! it probably weighs 10+ pounds and is about 5 inches across!

any one got any info on this camera lens combo? any idea whatthe value would be?

thanks

eddie

[David A. Goldfarb]

It looks like a Graflex product, but it's a bit different from my 5x7" Press Graflex, and if the back isn't a revolving back (or is it?), then it's not a Home Portrait either. If it works with standard 5x7" filmholders, the back could have been converted.

It looks like it has some front movements. That would be neat.

If you don't get an answer here, someone on the graflex.org forum should know.

[Allen Rumme]

I believe that this is a Home Portrait Graflex, minus the viewing hood.

[Sven Schroder]

Hi

On the lens its a triplet, aldis Series 0 simlar to the cooke, the smaller sizes didn't have the soft focus adjustment. I have the 6" F3 and its sharp and a good speed lens. So without the any softness adjustment it will be sharp. A rival for the cooke portrait series but perhaps rarer but certainly equal in quality and therefore Price.

Hope this helps

Sven

[Leonard Robertson]

I agree with Allen, it is a Home Portrait. One sold on eBay a few days ago for $365, 330208535218. That one was maybe more complete, but a bad bellows and a more common lens. The Home Portrait is one of the more sought after Graflexes by users, mainly due to the revolving back (I believe the only 5X7 Graflex with this feature), so it can be used in the portrait orientation. It also has the front tilt, a large lens board, and long bellows draw. It is also big and heavy, even for a Graflex.

Len Robertson

[Pete Roody]

eddie,

it is a home portrait.

pete

http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/graflexcata/p16.html