Simple box, with 4x5 film, and hi rez lens

[djb85]

I tried large format photography a couple of times, and was overwhelmed by the weight, number of little objects one had to keep organized,and so forth. I would go back to my Hasselblad 500c/m which I had used for 20 years. But I am retiring, have more time. I have an idea for a project that needs bigger, higher rez prints than I can get from my DSLR, which I finally resorted to. I want to print 40X50, or perhaps going back to seeing in the Hasselblad square 50x50.

I need a very simple, relatively light-weight box with a 4x5 lens holder on one-end and a high-quality lens on the other. Some possibility for tilt and perhaps a few other simple adjustments would be good. I assume I want a Crown Graphic or something like that, but would be willing to hear all suggestions.

What do you think?

Thanks, Don

[Frank Petronio]

It really depends on the length of the lenses you want to use, but there is absolutely no reason why a forty-year old $200 Crown Graphic won't make just as sharp a photo as a $4000+ Ebony or Arca, so long as you use the same quality of lenses.

[robert fallis]

I think the crown graphic is the answer to your problem, and the lens boards are easily availabe, so you can fit what lens you want, The kodak lens that come with the camera are some of the best kodak ever made, this is the link to the graphix home sight http://www.graflex.org/

bob

[Kuzano]

With the exception of rear movements (and you can work around a couple of those) the Super/Super Speed Graphic (last one made before the camera was sold to Toyo) offers a very complete range of front movements. Side Shift, Tilt, Rise and Swing. The front drops another 15 degrees (?) for fall, which can be one of the work arounds for rear tilt.

I did once, and will never again, pay extra for the Super Speed fast shutter (1/1000) and was made painfully aware how much of a problem child it was. I would never again buy that shutter, which by the way never really shot much over 1/500th.

But the Super/Super Speed bodies are one of the lowest priced, well built 4X5's with a good range of movements. The are all metal, and often found with good bellows. The rangefinder is very nice, but needs a cam for each lens, which are difficult to find. I don't use the rangefinder, and the camera meets all the needs I have, plus being able to drop kick it to the shooting location.

[Robbie Shymanski]

The Crown is a champ. It is just your box with a place to put your lens. If you're going from a Hasselblad you won't miss the lack of movements. Parts are cheap. And it allows for wide-angle lenses, like a 90 or 120 SW, without having to deal with the focal plane shutter. But don't discount that decent monorails like Toyo, Horseman, and Cambo can be picked up for almost nothing. A few months back I picked up a Toyo 45G for $200 from keh.com. Couldn't be happier.

[jetcode]

I tried large format photography a couple of times, and was overwhelmed by the weight, number of little objects one had to keep organized,and so forth. I would go back to my Hasselblad 500c/m which I had used for 20 years. But I am retiring, have more time. I have an idea for a project that needs bigger, higher rez prints than I can get from my DSLR, which I finally resorted to. I want to print 40X50, or perhaps going back to seeing in the Hasselblad square 50x50.

I need a very simple, relatively light-weight box with a 4x5 lens holder on one-end and a high-quality lens on the other. Some possibility for tilt and perhaps a few other simple adjustments would be good. I assume I want a Crown Graphic or something like that, but would be willing to hear all suggestions.

What do you think?

Thanks, Don

To keep it simple I would use a plain jane 4x5 field camera with adequate movements and a fuji or kodak quick or ready load back. Buy one lens or one wide and one long.

[Ernest Purdum]

Unless your project will take you extensively into the field, I'd suggest an inexpensive monorail as your first LF. It, and a good book, will teach you all the benefits of LF work. The Crown Graphics don't allow for the "some possibility of tilt and perhaps a few other simple adjustments" that you mention.

Make sure your lens has enough coverage to enable use of your movements.

[Ole Tjugen]

I just discovered that one copy of the LFinfo book with shipping to Norway costs the same as I paid for the complete equipment I used to take one of the pictures in that book...

1946 Anniversary Speed Graphic, 1932 Zeiss Doppel-Amatar in barrel, and one film holder. :)

[Roger Krueger]

How simple do you need? How badly do you need tilt?

There are a bunch of seriously simple 4x5's out there, with limited movements and helical focusing.

The Fotoman series comes in a number of formats, supports most modern lenses, is in current production, and is relatively inexpensive. But it offers no movements whatsoever.

The Cambo Wide DS offers rear shift, only supports a handful on lenses factory installed in helicals/lensboards, is in current production, and seems rather expensive for what it is.

The older non-DS Cambo Wide system is out of production, and is getting hard to find lenses for (again, they need to be factory-mounted in helicals and on a special board). Significantly cheaper than the DS. Can only shift on one axis, whereas the DS allows you to go , say, up and to the left. Earliest model lensboards (black board instead of blue) have no shift.

But what I really want apparently doesn't exist: Helical scale focus and back tilts (but no other movements). This is exactly the configuration of my Mamiya Super 23, but that's only 6x9. And an inabilty to focus most lenses past infinity makes the tilt less useful than it could be.

[cjbroadbent]

Best of all. http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/main.SW45.html
Because: No folding, instant set-up, lens stays on in the bag, rigid front end - always square on. Short rack - short bellows and no sag.
Mine has a SuperSymmar 100 and the whole thing fits in a brief-case. I'm still using readyload film which is less of a PIA than a rollfilm back. The rigid front makes for real happiness.

[IanG]

Don, I use a Crown Graphic, but they do have major limitations with movements so aren't ideal as a main 5x4 camera.

Ian

[cjbroadbent]

Or again, you could make your own. It takes a day - but you do need an old spring back. See http://web.mac.com/cjbroadbent/Site/fivebyseven.html
If you want focus, see http://www.fotomancamera.com/accessories_list.asp