PDA

View Full Version : Newton New-Vue VC2



John Dorio
14-Sep-1998, 09:41
I ran into one of these cameras in a used camera shop this weekend for $254 in e xcellent condition. Is this a good camera and what is its track record ? It was made in 1947 from a Los Angelos company and the camera is a 4x5 view camera made of aluminum, steel and brass. Does the cast aluminum base tend to break after m uch use ?

doc
25-Sep-1998, 23:43
I have a new-view, and I have a sister camera called a speed-view: same company, same general construction except back is fixed. I like them, but they are the only 4x5s I've had. I had to build a new bellows for the new-vue because I only have a 5 inch lens, a visit to a car appolstry shop and a bottle of contact cement took care of that. They seem pretty rugged. I have a Bogen 3221, and everything seems solid. My New-vue came with two steel rods for extending the bellows, and I've used it extended - works well for me. I found the new-vue in a small used shop, paid $129 for it. The speed-vue at a camera show for $46, with lens in shutter. If anyone else has any experince with these, or knows how to use them more effectively I'd like to hear about it. Good Luck

doc
28-Sep-1998, 23:27
As far as the New-vue, I don't know what grade of aluminum it's made of though I assume a pretty high grade because it's cast. Rails are tube steel, a magnet told me so, as are the tubes for lens board. I've confidence in the base. Given a New-vue and a Wisner bump into each other, as folk wisdom has it: if the New-vue bumps into the Wisner or the Wisner bumps into the New-vue, either way it's bad news for the Wisner. This model of mine has a revolving back; the back swings and tilts, but it doesnot rise or fall. Bellows, collapsed, measure 4 inches from back to front.

I have a five inch lens, Paragon. So at infinity focus I found myself limited on the movements, and I made a bag bellows. However, I'm new to this business, and a elder statesman of the photography business told me that after focusing at infinity to run the lens 1/3 of the way back out before stopping down and shooting. (Does anyone know if this is so?) And if I followed his advice then I would have movements. Max extenstion of bellows, with the extension rails on, is about 350mm, I think.

I don't see any reason not to use any lens that works, Componon or whatever. I wonder what kind of shutter your lens is screwed into, and I also wonder if the rear element of the lens is foreward of the shutter, and if this creates any pincushioning or barreling effects. Not that any of this effects would stop me from using the lens if they did occur. I'm just wondering because I know where an old Kodak 135mm enlarging lens is. Is the front element of this lens of yours perfectly flat? I think the possiblities for doing some interesting photo to neg. copy work would be great.

Anyway, what I know about LF photography could be put in a very thin article.

With regards to contact printing from the 4x5, my luck hasn't been all that great. Sometimes it seems to work, and sometimes it doesn't. I would like to know if there is optimal paper for this. You always hear that contact prints are suposed to be better than enlarged prints; however, my experience doesn't bare that out. I'm not ready to give up on the technique though. I'd be interested in a few recipes for good 4x5 contact prints.

Focal legth and LFs, it's beyound me. The New-vue seems just too compressed at infinity with my 5"/127mm. So, I don't know if this camera was designed with or for a 7" or what. The 5" lens came with the Speed-vue I have; this camera doesn't have that middle piece which the large focusing screw of the New-vue has. The Speed-vue therefore can collapse more. Then the max exstension of the Speed-vue is 10" which places the 5" at 1:1. So, I infer the S-V is designed with the 5" in mind as range is effectively from 5" to 10". But I don't know what the larger New-vue was setup for, maybe 6"???

The bellows on both my cameras was of the same material. I think that it's an early naugahide(I dont know if that spelling is right). I found pretty good match at the local auto-appolstry shop. I bought some to make a bag bellows from, but still at 5" I'm into the rear stops, period. The bellows on the Speed-vue made a little noise when I got it, but I worked Armoral into them; they are light-tight, and it works fine. Man at the appolstry shop said naugahide was light- tight, and you can seam it easy with contact cemement. That's what I know about bellows. Vacum them out. Extend your bellows to max. Remove the rotating back; just remove or back off the upper and lower thumb screws. Take the back off, and vacum it out. I can't believe how much dust and dirt I removed from the folds of the bellows. Don't overlook this area. My New-vue has seen exstensive service somewhere, and structure is good as new.

Good luck

John Yeo
23-Nov-2000, 02:07
I got mine for $40 in the local photo store. The space for the model on the label is blank, so I am not sure what kind it is.I have a 203 optar on it, and with the front standard all the way out, and the focus about a third out, it will do infinity. I wish I had extention rails. Mine has full movements, but they are pretty clumsy, and hard to lock. The knobs just aren't large enough and are hard to grip. The stiff bellows add to the problem of locking the movements. It's a good camera, McBrooms lists it at $140 i think, so $250 is outrageous.