My old arca is to bulky for some urban landscapes I have been wanting to do for a while here in warm and sunny London (joke). So whilst replying to another thread I got a wondering, which is best Speed Graphic or MPP??
Ta Andy
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My old arca is to bulky for some urban landscapes I have been wanting to do for a while here in warm and sunny London (joke). So whilst replying to another thread I got a wondering, which is best Speed Graphic or MPP??
Ta Andy
Hi Andy,
The Speed Graphic is quite heavy, unless you need the focal plane shutter, consider the Crown Graphic, it is much lighter. The MPP is a bit heavier than the Crown but if you decide to buy it, check it very carefully, some of them weren't very well made, they were a copy of one of the Linhof press cameras. One of my former companies considered buying MPP and after evaluating the "factory" we dicided negatively.
Lynn
The MPP MicroPress is a wooden-bodied press camera with a focal plane shutter, similar in design to the Speed Graphic, and having used both I'd say the build quality is pretty much the same.
The MPP MicroTechnical series ran from the 1940s to early 1980s and is a metal-bodied technical camera, originally based on the Technika after the second world war but developed steadily until the final Mk8 version. The MPP technical cameras are much heavier than the MicroPress but my Mk8 is smooth in operation and has a far brighter focusing screen than the MicroPress.
There is more information here: http://www.mppusers.com/
Hope this helps,
Matt
How about a Toyo? I have both a Super Graphic and a Toyo 45AX. They are quite similar, but the Toyo has some back movement. OK, sure, I use the Super Graphic the most because the lens can stay mounted.
One point to consider is that speed/crown graphics have the back fixed in horizontal orientation, whereas I think the MPP technicals have a rotating back.
My first large format camera was a Crown Graphic 4x5. I also do urban photos, you can see some shots I took with the Crown Graphic in this set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3616404...7624941511610/
I have now changed to a MPP mk7. In my opinion, the MPP is way ahead of the crude Crown Graphic. Build quality (all metal), rigidity, "action" feels much better. It offers a lot more in terms of movement, geared rise/shift, more easily used swing/tilt, as well as back movements. The rotating back is a major advantage, adding convenience as well as movement combinations, such as using swing for tilt in both landscape and portrait orientation. Bellows draw is a lot longer, although stability is not very good at full extension. Other details I like is that the viewing hood is easily removed, and it has an accessory shoe.
The one thing I miss from my Crown is that my Fujinon NW-125/5.6 lens folded inside.
My opinion is obviously based on handling only one Crown Graphic and one MPP. I have read that the MPP mk7 is supposedly better built than the mk8, but I have never seen a mk8 so I do not know. Everything I have read suggests that the mk7 or mk8 are the ones to get.
I've also heard that the Mk7 is better than the Mk8 as it has a one-piece die-cast body, but the Mk8's body is assembled from several pieces, so not as rigid. The Mk8 also uses smaller lens panels with rounded edges, but previous versions have larger square-edged boards.
Here are a couple of pictures of my Mk8 with a 90mm Super Angulon attached: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/5218116109/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/5218704978/