Crown graphic back modification?

**panchoskywalker** · 2-Sep-2010, 01:33

Do you think it would be possible to modify a crown graphic so it shoot vertical instead of horizontal? I think about unscrewing the back and screwing it again in portrait mode.
What do you think?

**Dan Fromm** · 2-Sep-2010, 01:35

No. The back isn't square and the box isn't square.

The camera has a tripod mounting socket on its side, under the strap. The strap detaches easily. If you want to shoot a Graphic in "portrait" orientation, put it on its side.

**Kevin Crisp** · 2-Sep-2010, 06:53

In case you didn't know it, most of them have a tripod socket under the handle on the left side, so you can mount it on a tripod for a vertical shot. I agree, you can't change just the back since it isn't square.

**sully75** · 2-Sep-2010, 09:27

If you look under my username, you'll find a post I started about changing a speed graphic to portrait orientation. I haven't tried it yet, but I think it's possible, via cutting the body in half, and rotating the back, and then glueing the two rectangles back together (out of sync) then blocking the parts that don't overlap.

However, the only reason I'm interested in doing this is because I'd like to have movements with the focal plane shutter, and this is one of the only ways you can actually do that.

Doing it on a crown would be an absolute waste, in my opinion (that's if it's possible, which I'm not sure it is). There are plenty of cameras with good movements to use that have rotating backs. The cool thing about using a crown is having a coupled viewfinder in a handholdable 4x5, and you can't use movements with the viewfinder anyway.

And yeah, you should find a tripod hole on the left side too.

Happy shooting!

**panchoskywalker** · 2-Sep-2010, 10:08

ok, I'll use the hole on the left, thanks for your answer.

**Frank Petronio** · 2-Sep-2010, 10:26

The side tripod hole is a pain in the ass. You are sometimes better off just tipping the tripod head, provided you have a heavy-duty tripod.

Baring that, I replaced the leather handstrap with a loop of 3/4" Velcro. The advantage is that you can fit it exactly to your hand and it can easily get out of the way of that dang tripod socket, at least easier than LBJ's old belt buckle contraption can.

**Dan Fromm** · 2-Sep-2010, 10:31

I forgot to mention that even if the back can be removed and reattached rotated 90 degrees, that won't do the job. The rear of the bellows is rectangular and integral with the body. For rotating the back to work, the bellows would have to be square.