Graflex Super Speed Graphic

[vnmunhoz]

i see this thread has changed its course already hahah.. no worries, thanks for all the advice.

I think im gonna go with the super graphic and just hunt down a lens that can reach 1/1000th shutter speed. i figure thats my best bet since its really hard finding a super speed graphic and its the super graphic same camera just cheaper.

thanks again!

[Don Dudenbostel]

I used a super speed for a year and a half back in the mid 70's. The government agency I worked for used 4x5 for basically everything and I had a super speed assigned to me. We shot flash bulbs too. Does that say anything about the department I worked for? I had the shutter self destruct a few times and swapped it for a WWII olive green Speed and never had any more problems.

[Jack Dahlgren]

i see this thread has changed its course already hahah.. no worries, thanks for all the advice.

I think im gonna go with the super graphic and just hunt down a lens that can reach 1/1000th shutter speed. i figure thats my best bet since its really hard finding a super speed graphic and its the super graphic same camera just cheaper.

thanks again!

Finding a lens mounted in a shutter with speeds of 1/1000 is going to be harder than finding a super speed graphic. Copal 0 goes to 1/500, Copal 1 goes to 1/400. Generally the larger the shutter the slower the maximum speed. The reason that the speed graphic is called "speed" is because the focal plane shutter allowed for speeds higher than any in lens shutter.

There may be some esoteric shutter somewhere which goes to 1/1000, but it is likely fragile or already broken and outside your price range.

[vnmunhoz]

How different is the Speed Graphic from the Super Graphic?

I know the super is smaller and lighter, and that was a selling point for me since i do a lot of location shooting, but is the difference that great?

Also, for high speed flash sync, is it better to have a focal plane shutter like the speed or would the super work fine?

thanks guys!

[Dan Fromm]

The significant difference is that the Pacemaker Graphics (Crown, Speed) have linked bed rails. There's a link that connects the outer rails (on the inside of the front door) to the inner rails (in the box). This makes focusing with a wide angle lens that sits on the inner rails very easy. Focusing a lens on the Super's inner rails requires unlocking the front standard, sliding it, ...

There are other differences that others will see as significant. The Super has a rotating back, Pacemakers don't but have a second tripod socket on the side, under the strap. Pacemakers are made of wood, the Super of aluminum. The Speed has a focal plane shutter, Crown and Super don't. Older Pacemakers have only the Kalart finder, newer ones have an RF on top as does the Super.

Go to www.graflex.org and read the FAQs.

The Speed Graphic's FPS is completely useless with electronic flash. Read what I wrote about how to work out the shutter speed needed for use with flash. Remember, in general, flash will be brighter than ambient. If your flash isn't as bright as ambient, you're cooked.

[Robert Hughes]

Could you elaborate on that? I've heard about that more than one time, but never seen anything substatiating it. I want to learn more but can't find anything. Do you know the name of the missions or any people names I could google?

H. E. Edgerton invented the electronic flash for photography.

"During World War II, Edgerton was commissioned to develop a superpowered flash for aerial photography. Edgerton's system allowed airplanes to do nocturnal reconnaissance, including otherwise impossible documentation of Axis troop movements under cover of darkness in the weeks preceding D-Day (1944). "

More information from MIT Library.

[Vick Vickery]

Don't hesitate to grab that Super Speed Graphic...its a wonderful metal-bodied press camera with as many front movements as you'll ever see built into a press camera. Its weakness is the shutter on its standard 135mm lens and you'll end up curing that weakness by replacing that lens with a standard 135mm Ektar or Optar in a conventional shutter with speeds to 1/400 or 1/500 after the original 1/1000 shutter craps out on you as it has done to the majority of us Super Speed users. I regularly use lenses from 90mm to 240mm on mine and am very happy with its versitility. While it won't beat my Cambo in movements and total perspective control, it does as well as many field cameras and is fairly light and handy.

[vnmunhoz]

Thanks guys for all the advice!
dan thanks for clarifying some differences, I think the super will suit my needs better.

jack thanks for the insight on 1/1000th shutters, I hope I get a graphic 1000 shutter in good conditions and just do my own maintenance on it, Ive heard from some that the issue most photographers had with it is that they didnt bother to clean and lube it, and without that they do have a very short life span.

vick, im glad to hear see stand up for the super speed! my only concern is its very hard to find, and Ive only found one super speed for $550 whereas Ive got a super graphic on reserve for only $300, both in excellent conditions. Im still undecided if the graphic 1000 shutter is worth the cost of the camera, specially since i dont know if its in pristine perfect conditions.

[Vick Vickery]

Since the Super is the same camera as the Super Speed except without the breakage-prone shutter, I wouldn't hesitate to go with the Super since you've found no Super Speeds around, especially with the difference in price...that shutter is surely not worth $250 extra!

[jp]

http://edgerton-digital-collections....e-photography#

A better summary of aerial flash photography as described. What film speed did they use in aerial photography then?

If it was 100, then the flash had a GN of 2500! (f2.5 aero lens at 1000')