Front tilt on a Graphic

[Greg Gibbons]

I'm pretty sure this is a really dumb question, but I haven't figured it out yet, so...

I've read that you can achieve front forward tilt on a Crown Graphic by dropping the rail and raising the lens, then doing as much back tilt as needed to get what you want.

But when I focus at infinity and then drop the rail, everything goes out of focus, and when I try to dial the focus back, I can't because the bed is tilted and the rails don't align anymore. I fiddled with it for almost an hour (well, most of that was trying to get it back ON the rail:o ).

Any suggestions? I've looked on the graflex site and haven't really found a how-to for complete idiots (me).

[Frank Petronio]

Can't you get it roughly in focus by loosening the front and sliding it into range rather than trying to use the focusing knobs?

Of course it may just be easier to unscrew the lenboard mounting screws, which will detach the bellows from the screws retaining "T" nuts. Then you can disassemble the front standard and reassemble it backwards so you can get front tilt without using the tilt bed. Of course you can't have it both ways so it depends on which focal length lens you need to use.

[Bill_1856]

Once the front door is dropped, then the lens is too far away from the film to focus, so you'll have to unlock the front standard and move it backwards until it is in focus. Then you can fine focus it with the focusing knobs. I recommend that you tilt it all the way backwards until you have your composition, then do the forward lens tilt.

[Lynn Jones]

This goes back 30 or 40 years but on my last 2 Crown Gaphics I got repair men to disassemble and reverse the tilt mechanism so that it tilted forward rather than back. I always liked landscapes and I often needed group photos on staggered steps.

Of course you can always turn the camera upside down but that is doing it the hard way.

Lynn

[speedtrials]

Can't you get it roughly in focus by loosening the front and sliding it into range rather than trying to use the focusing knobs?

Of course it may just be easier to unscrew the lenboard mounting screws, which will detach the bellows from the screws retaining "T" nuts. Then you can disassemble the front standard and reassemble it backwards so you can get front tilt without using the tilt bed. Of course you can't have it both ways so it depends on which focal length lens you need to use.

I wouldn't recommend doing it this way. It is much easier to unscrew the 2 front rise screws on either side of the front standard and then lift up and out the part that holds the lens board (attached to the bellows) from the front standard. Slide the front standard out the front of the bed and then turn it around and slide it back in. The difficultly comes with what to do with the 2 front/rear tilt screws. If you have a Kalart rangefinder, the tilt screw on the rangefinder side will be in the way when you try to put the front standard all the way back in to fold up the camera. I ended up just removing the rangefinder side screw and using only the other screw. Even with a heavy 90mm f4.5 lens, using only the screws on the one side worked fine for me. Maybe if you have a topmounted rangefinder it has a different mechanism that does not get in the way and you can use both screws.

This is easy to do and undo yourself....don't be scared!

[Glenn Thoreson]

Which model is your Speed Graphic? You can't do the front tilt thing with an Anniversary or older model. On the Anniversary models, you can replace the front standard with one off a Pacemaker model to get the front tilt. You have to shift the standard to the side to be able to close the camera, though. Look at your focus rails. If they are hinged two piece rails, you can make it work with all but wide angle lenses that don't focus outside the case. Lenses must focus out on the long rail for it to work. Model ID: Annies use a 4X4 wood lens board and have a fixed standard. Pacemakers use the metal boards with radiused corners and the tilting standard.

[Bill_1856]

Which model is your Speed Graphic? You can't do the front tilt thing with an Anniversary or older model. On the Anniversary models, you can replace the front standard with one off a Pacemaker model to get the front tilt. You have to shift the standard to the side to be able to close the camera, though. Look at your focus rails. If they are hinged two piece rails, you can make it work with all but wide angle lenses that don't focus outside the case. Lenses must focus out on the long rail for it to work. Model ID: Annies use a 4X4 wood lens board and have a fixed standard. Pacemakers use the metal boards with radiused corners and the tilting standard.

I don't think that they made the CROWN Graphic before the Pacemaker series.

[Dan Fromm]

wilhelm, the Crown's full and official name is Pacemaker Crown Graphic.

[Brian Stein]

Lenses must focus out on the long rail for it to work.

Key point.

If you are using a wideangle lens the drop bed & tilt back trick will not work and you have to do the reverse lens standard trick. IIRC from my experiments anything 90mm or under falls into this category.

[speedtrials]

Key point.

If you are using a wideangle lens the drop bed & tilt back trick will not work and you have to do the reverse lens standard trick. IIRC from my experiments anything 90mm or under falls into this category.

90mm lenses sit on the front rail

[Brian Stein]

90mm lenses sit on the front rail

Yes, but when you move them backward after dropping the bed and tilting, IIRC they just dont fit quite right: the front standard 'sled' gets caught up on the hinge point (I'll have to go and fiddle tonight at home!)

[Mick Noordewier]

90mm lenses sit on the front rail

I was all set to dispute this, then I decided to try it out on my Crown, with the following unexpected results:

1. My f6.8 Angulon 90 sits on the back rail. I can't make it focus infinity under any circumstance on the front when dropped.

2. My f8 SA 90 doesn't work at *all* with the dropped rail. I can't balance it on either the back or front rails and focus infinity.

3. I don't need to drop the bed with *either* of these lenses. The bed doesn't show in the image when not dropped.

So my only complaint is with my 75mm. Here there's no good answer with a Crown. The bed has to be dropped, but the lens has to be on the back rail. Unfortunately, even with a reversed standard, there's too little room in the camera body to achieve any satisfactory tilt.

-Mick

[speedtrials]

I was all set to dispute this, then I decided to try it out on my Crown, with the following unexpected results:

1. My f6.8 Angulon 90 sits on the back rail. I can't make it focus infinity under any circumstance on the front when dropped.

2. My f8 SA 90 doesn't work at *all* with the dropped rail. I can't balance it on either the back or front rails and focus infinity.

3. I don't need to drop the bed with *either* of these lenses. The bed doesn't show in the image when not dropped.

So my only complaint is with my 75mm. Here there's no good answer with a Crown. The bed has to be dropped, but the lens has to be on the back rail. Unfortunately, even with a reversed standard, there's too little room in the camera body to achieve any satisfactory tilt.

-Mick

I guess it depends on which 90mm you use....I was using the Nikon f/8 and f/4.5 versions and had them on the front rail at infinity.

[BetterSense]

I have an Angulon 90/6.8 on a pacemaker, and the rails show in the image, and the lens fits infinity on the inner rails. Which is annoying because you can't really use any movements with the standard in the body like that.

[RichSBV]

You guys are missing the trick to front tilt and short lenses...

First thing, bring the standard out on the rail. Doesn't matter where as long as it past the short link section and lock it.

Now, use the focus knob to move the rails out so the short linked section clears the rear, past the hinge in the body. Basically, so the entire rail is flush with the front door section of the body.

Now, drop the bed.
What you have now is a dropped bed with the entire rail outside of the internal rear body section.

Now rough focus the lens by moving the standard on the rail. This depends on the focal length, A short lens will have to be moved to the rear of the rail and if you want to change the tilt, doing it before moving it rearward makes it easier.
Lock the standard as far back as needed.

You can now focus, using the knob and moving rail, with any lens from 75mm up though any of the long lenses. With a 75mm, you have to be careful NOT to move the rail far enough back into the case to let the hinged section move past the door hinge or the standard will fall free towards the body. It's not difficult to get the rails back in the groove but an annoyance...

I think I've explained it right? Sometimes I'm not good at that...

A major note: Make sure you move the rails forward enough to clear the hinge area BEFORE you bring the bed back up the normal position!

[Dan Fromm]

I have an Angulon 90/6.8 on a pacemaker, and the rails show in the image, and the lens fits infinity on the inner rails. Which is annoying because you can't really use any movements with the standard in the body like that.As has been mentioned several times in this thread, drop the bed.

As has not been mentioned in this thread, what limits rise with the front standard on the inner rails is the wire focusing frame in the front standard. It can be removed. For instructions on removing it, visit www.southbristolviews.com and read the relevant manual.

As has been mentioned in this thread, another solution is to get a modern 90 mm lens with a longer flange-to-film distance at infinity than your Angulon.

Finally, if you want a view camera's movements, use a proper view camera, not a Graphic.

[Frank Bunnik]

This is a helpful thread for someone who has just bought a Crown Graphic. The trick described by Speedtrials works excellently, at least on my 135 and 210 mm lenses.