This looks very badass!

Need some cleaning up but it's going to be my workhorse for cons in the future.

that looks like it was a wonderful find Mel...

V.

Yeah, like I neeeeed another camera. :P

*chuckles...

V.

Q: How many cameras do you need?
A: Just one more.

That answer never changes. It applies to guitars as well.

I try, I try to resist, I really do.

Great acquisition. Congrats.

Splendid camera.

Excelent mongrel camera. The front standard seems awfully far forward, what were you focusing on?

The plushie, Moozie. I was less than 3 feet from the subject. It needs a lot of cleaning and most of the lubricant has hardened and I was working it out. Rather than move the rail stops I just ran out the rail. Since the rf is trashed I’ll probably just remove one set of stops and set the remainder for a middling distance.

Mongrel is right, a poor mans Technica. Too bad they used that solenoid electric shutter release, otherwise it would be a great street camera.

Electric shutter release? What kind of battery did that thing use back in the day?

A 22.5 volt 140mA. That was discontinued long ago. They used a special lens board that had a solenoid built into it that tripped the shutter.

It may, I'm not going to bother. I intend on using it as a field camera on a tripod. With barrel lenses there is no shutter so no need for it. Any other lens I'll use a shutter release cable. I have a very good condition Crown Graphic if I want to hand hold a 4x5.

Sweet! It looks like it would be heavier than the wooden one because of the metal. I suppose it is more compact. Looks like a 70s piece of Tourister luggage. LOL

Yep, 70's camera. With a lens it weighs about 5 lbs, a little more than a modern Canon digital and long lens.

How cool! Definitely awesome on the lesser weight. Just lugging my DSLR gets to be too heavy at times. Ah, the joys of chronic illness. :P

Tell me about it. I can't hold onto anything anymore. Stupid thumbs!

I wanted a super graphic just for the rotating back, but they skyrocket over the price of a normal graphic 4x5

They are coming down, this one was surprisingly affordable, cheaper than a lot of Crowns I've seen.

Out of curiosity, what actual price or price range for something like this?

Depending on condition they are averaging about $250 to $300. I’ve seen usable ones go for about $175.

WOW, that's not too bad, at all! And what techniques can you use with this? It's not that old so I assume it was meant to be used with large format film? If so, can you put a different back on it to make it suitable for old school techniques like wet plate?

4x5 color and black and white film is readily available at B&H and Freestyle photo. The Arista film is not bad and relatively inexpensive as it goes, a 50 sheet box will cost about $1 a sheet these days. I've never tried the Shanghai film you can get on eBay though. "Green" X-ray film can also be used for photography, though scanning the negatives is almost impossible, for me anyway.

You can also cut down black and white paper and make paper negatives. A quick Google or Flickr search for paper negatives will give you an idea of what that's all about.

There is also a company now selling glass plates negatives if you are so inclined.

There are also backs available for 120 film, though a working 6x6 or 6x9 back may run you more than the camera. You can easily convert a Graflex film pack adapter (model 1234) for wet plate.

There are wide range of 4x5 cameras available. One thing to think about - the Super Graphics like this one will only be useful on a tripod anymore. If you are looking at press cameras, many of them only shoot landscape, a few have rotating backs but it's best to check. The Crown and Speed Graphics in particular do not have rotating backs. In all cases you are looking for a camera with a good working back with complete ground glass and a good bellows without any tears or pinholes. Almost any lens with a shutter will be sticky and need to be cleaned.

Monorails may be tempting but are too bulky to use outside of a studio. The cheaper wood field cameras (Ikeda, Iston, Tachihara) can be tweeky and rough. Friends don't let friends buy a Raja at anytime. Never buy an antique unless you see it first hand, too many have bad bellows and a bellows can cost more than than the camera is worth.

Lots of info! Thank you!

A few small damages on the bellows should be easy enough to repair if you have some craft skills, no? All you should need is a thin resilient material and a reversible chemically neutral glue.

The problem is finding a material that's dense enough to block light and thin enough to allow the bellows to flex.

What's the original material? I only know paper bellows, this seems to be synthetic.

Depend on the camera, some are vinyl with a felt backing, leather, plastic sandwiched between layers of material, rubberized cotton...

Sweet find! I hope to pose one of my characters in front of the lens some day.

So beautiful!

Nice! Mine are the smaller 2x3 type, which I use with 120 backs. Can't remember if they're Crown, Speed, or Pacemaker though.

Those little 2x3’s are great folding medium format cameras.

I want!

Yeah, heavy. But I still want one. Maybe a 25mm & a 50mm (approximately) lens.

I had my Dad's (Speed Graphlex by Speed Graphic) and it was stolen during a break in. I don't need rotating rear, or electronic shutter, but would like range finder to work. And the ground glass, with cut graph lines. Brand doesn't matter I do have some cartridges to hold precut film. Would be nice to make up a lens mounting board for the front to hold a modern lens maybe.

A crown graphic with 135 and 90mm lenses would do quite nicely.

Well I'm wanting more of a wide angle, but not fishbowl or distorted. and a 1:1 view. like a 50mm does for an SLR. Like i said, if there can be made some kind of mounting plate for a modern lens, I have some options. But first I need a camera.

For 4x5 film a 90mm lens is approximately equal to 30mm On a 35mm camera and a 135 is about normal. There are still lens boards available for the crowns. I’ve mounted all kinds of lenses on mine, including a “Modern” Schneider 250mm in a copal shutter. Don’t discount those older press lenses. Those 60’s and 70’s optars are some seriously sharp glass.

This is fascinating stuff you've put to work!

For the most part, large format cameras are very simple machines. Kind of like a pencil is a simple machine too.