Help needed, graflex camera for landscape.

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Originally Posted by NicolasArg

Hello,

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still have some questions:
1). It seems like the speed graphics and the pacemakers have almost field camera capabilities, but the speed have a shutter and the pacemakers don't. Does that mean that I can mount any lens I have on the speed shutter and just use it?
2). There are a lot of ads stating something about top and side rangefinders. I'll be focusing on the screen, are they really important?
3). I've read that the Crowns are very WA friendly and allow front tilt if you drop the bed. Does this mean I can't use a 90mm on a Speed or a pacemaker?
4). Can I mount a panoramic back on any of these cameras? (6x12)
5). Based on my current 35mm experience and several weeks with the Toyo, I'll be using a 90mm lens for 90% of my shots and will add a 210 later on for some compact scenes where I do need some additional tilting. What Graflex model is the most adequate for me?

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Have a nice week,
Nicolas.

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Answers

1) For landscape, you'll want a Crown Graphic. The focal plane shutter and larger body of the Speed makes it much heavier (though Speeds are great cameras too for focal plane rangefinder uses, i.e., portraits or street, for example).
2) I use a nearly naked Crown Graphic for landscape work. It has the top rangefinder and internal focusing components removed. This reduces the weight to about 4.5 lbs without a lens. You can easily remove either kind of rangefinder.
3) On a Crown, I use my 65 4.5 Grandagon on the inner track with the bed dropped; it works beautifully. The Crown has room to go wider.
4) A Crown Graphic will take something like a Horseman 612 back, yes.
5) Crown Graphic.

I occasionally use Speed Graphics, Crowns, and Burke & James press cameras. The latter does have a rotating back and uses easy-to-make 4" square lensboards like the older Graphic Anniversary model, but otherwise is less desirable than the Graphics. If one strips a Crown or SG and refinishes the wood, 1/16" plywood makes decent lens boards. You don't need the turned down edges of the original Pacemaker lens boards. A good paint job on the backside should block any transmitted light. A foam rubber or plywood light trap fitted to the back of a flat board works as well as lens boards have for a hundred years or more.

speed graphics and crown graphics are like large 35mm or 120 cameras
no movements to speak of. if your subjects don't require anything but rise
they are great cameras, i have a speed (pacemaker) and use it often. but
if you need movements don't waste your time and money, time or effort,
get a camera that does the thing you need.

That is precisly why I have two 4X5's...the Speed Graphic for handheld work. And a Burke&James Speed Press on a tripod when I want front movements. It has 'em all-rise and fall tilt slide and swivel.:rolleyes:

I use a crown graphic pretty often as a field camera and for traveling. I stripped it down a bit and removed the (side-mount, in this case) range finder and the internal cable release deal. I can fit it quite easily in a small shoulder bag with a couple of film holders if I want to go light. I have a 90mm Ilex Caltar lens that won't close inside the camera, but if you stick with the optar or rapax or whatever lenses (it is hard to keep all the graf names straight), they are all pretty small and will easily fold up in the camera. The only downside with those lenses is if you decide to move to a different body with more movements; the coverage is pretty minimal on the press lenses.