Hunting a Speed Graphic.

Marley's Ghost

Marley's Ghost

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Well as part of a project I will be shooting towards a RPS distinction I want to shoot hand held portraits on the street ... and I think the tool I need is a Graflex Speed Graphic as I will want to use a barrel lens. But my goodness it's a minefield trying to find one ... no chance of getting one in the UK ... pretty much all the ones on the dreaded flea bay in the US are 'sold as seen' and while I don't mind a little work ... I don't really fancy having to try and rebuild a curtain shutter. It's also a bit off putting when you see obviously smaller format Speed Graphics being advertised erroneously as 4x5!
Anyone got any good advice?
 
Chris Killip took some amazing hand held 5 x 4 portraits. Does anyone have any idea what camera he used?
 
Alan Clark said:
Chris Killip took some amazing hand held 5 x 4 portraits. Does anyone have any idea what camera he used?
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I believe it was a Linhof something or other for some. Not sure if that's all he used. I visited his retrospective at the Photographers Gallery a few years ago and sadly I was disappointed at how many shots were slightly soft compared to how I had been used to seeing them in printed books. There were some real stunners though and they stood out among the out of focus ones.
 
Marley's Ghost said:
Well as part of a project I will be shooting towards a RPS distinction I want to shoot hand held portraits on the street ... and I think the tool I need is a Graflex Speed Graphic as I will want to use a barrel lens. But my goodness it's a minefield trying to find one ... no chance of getting one in the UK ... pretty much all the ones on the dreaded flea bay in the US are 'sold as seen' and while I don't mind a little work ... I don't really fancy having to try and rebuild a curtain shutter. It's also a bit off putting when you see obviously smaller format Speed Graphics being advertised erroneously as 4x5!
Anyone got any good advice?
Click to expand...
Have a look for an MPP. I've got one and it's pretty much a Speed Graphic clone but the rangefinder is easier to use because it's on the top. Even my Speed Graphic lens boards fit. They made various models but the one I have has the curtain shutter in the back.

Example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40614608...549&gbraid=0AAAAADtppYfzAmE3x0EcINiLHIz7bzKRp
 
The local option is an mpp micro press , it’s the same camera as a speed graphic .
There are many later micro press has the international spring back for flexibility- roll film holders .
I have watched them for a while and the Micro-press tend to be in reasonable condition, they will have been expensive and looked after when new then put away.
Despite that mine only fires on 2 speeds and needs a tune up , curtains do dry out but seem to soldier on somehow.

I was very impressed when I got the mpp and a decent crown graphics tend recently they are very nicely made and the crown is significantly lighter.

Look on eBay at sold listings , I think the last went for 120 , I picked one up for 150
You just have to be a bit patient , I have not managed to get to grips with the mpp users club since they went online , first joined 25 years ago , I think they may have resources .
The speed graphics are frequently f3’d.
Thats my slang for professionally worn out much like the state of the worn out F3’s .

Crown graphics tend to be in better condition for some reason .

From online photos looks like Chris Killip used a Linhof - grip and obviously in lens shutters.
 
I wish I could help but I'm curious because what use is a rangefinder 4x5 if the lenses aren't cammed?

I know they have focal plane shutters, but there are also Sinar auto shutters, so is it more about the clam shell design being more compact?
Or is it possible to self cam any lens to these old 4x5 rangefinders?
 
Well we all replied at the same time
Things to watch out for.
The track bed and links to the door mounted bed can be damaged by not having the front standard racked back into the body before closing - I think mpp can be stronger in that area.
Important to have the original proper fresnel and screen intact they are durable and very bright but I believe setup in a specific way.
Earlier speeds are reputed to have more reliable shutters but nothing is guaranteed- they are older but simpler .
The rangefinders can have missing parts and wrong cams and it’s very difficult to asses without getting hands on one. You would have to make a cam for a non matched lens - not impossible
They are made of wood alloy and leatherette wood seems really strong but the alloy can corrode if they have been badly stored.
 
That one is vastly over priced - search the completed ones and there were much more interesting - price and included items sales.
Also the one for sale has no viewing hood and the side bracket is missing
The hood is essential so is the bracket
Completed items search will show the frequency of sale - it’s a couple a month.
 
Most of a MicroPress was made by Graflex, the body, shutter, focus rail, front standard, etc. The back, door/focus bed and rangefinder were made by MPP. After WWII there were severe import restrictions, you needed a special licence to import a camera or lens. But parts/spares could be imported, the MicroPress was a way to get around restrictions.

I have a couple of Speed Graphics, pre-Anniversary & Pacemaker. I only really use them with barrel lenses.

They used to be cheap, I bought two for $70 listed as enough parts to rebuild one good camera, on arrival one was the pre-Anniversary, the other a Pacemaker, no common parts. I rebuilt the pre-Anniversary first, it had been modified from new as a wide angle camera.

The rangefinder is set for a lens around 90mm

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The Pacemaker had damaged inner guides. I managed to get some from the US.

1770547600714.png

20 years later Speed Graphics are becoming expensive, just keep looking.

Ian
 
MartyNL said:
I wish I could help but I'm curious because what use is a rangefinder 4x5 if the lenses aren't cammed?

I know they have focal plane shutters, but there are also Sinar auto shutters, so is it more about the clam shell design being more compact?
Or is it possible to self cam any lens to these old 4x5 rangefinders?
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It's not the lens that's cammed , it's the bed of the camera that the range finder is connected too .
Depending on what focal length lens is fitted , the stop is fitted to the rails in a different place .
When you set the camera up , the lens is placed in it's infinity position on the bed .
The cam on the bed is set for that lens.



The advantage of the focal plane shutter is that any barrel lens can be mounted and it's a compact , self contained unit .
I got one for that reason .
My first large format being the Crown Graphic .
 
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Neil t3 said:
It's not the lens that's cammed , it's the bed of the camera that the range finder is connected too .
Depending on what lens is fitted , the stop is fitted to the rails in a different place .

The advantage of the focal plane shutter is that any barrel lens can be mounted and it's a compact , self contained unit .
I got one for that reason .
My first large format being the Crown Graphic .
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Gotcha! Thanks for the explanation, Neil.
 
Not all Pacemaker Speed Graphics can take inter-changeable cams, only the later ones with a top mounted rangefinder. When not in use the cam can be held by a clip on the rear of the lens board if another cam & lens are being used. With side mounted rangefinders an arm couples from the rangefinder to the rear of the focus rail, these differ in terms of length and curve depending on the FL used as standard.

I never use the rangefinders, I find it so quick to focus & compose on the GG, set the shutter, stop down, add the DDS, final framing with the wire frame finder, I guess 10 seconds.

Also, the wire frame finder moves relative to any rise or tilt, (& swing with my Super Graphic), and with different focal length lenses.

It helps to have a Fresnel screen, some Pacemaker Speed & Crown Graphics come with one fitted, in this case it's under the GG screen, the focus frames were milled to fit them. If the camera has no Fresnel then it has to be fitted on the outside, otherwise focus will be out of register.

For hand held work you definitely need the focus hood.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
I never use the rangefinders, I find it so quick to focus & compose on the GG, set the shutter, stop down, add the DDS, final framing with the wire frame finder, I guess 10 seconds.
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For this kind of MO, I've often been intrigued by the Studio Mentor 5x7 camera.
 
MartyNL said:
For this kind of MO, I've often been intrigued by the Studio Mentor 5x7 camera.
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Had to look those up ...
They look like real brutes! Surely not hand held????? I mean I have two 5x7 cameras ... my 2D being the lightest and if you tried to use one of those hand held you'd be in line for a hernia support, especially with a lens with a big maximum aperture.
 
MartyNL said:
For this kind of MO, I've often been intrigued by the Studio Mentor 5x7 camera.
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I have a 9x12 Mentor, it's not high on my restoration list as I have a lot of LF SLRs.

The downside of LF SLR cameras is the mirror restricts the use of shorter focal length lenses. An exception is the Kershaw Soho Reflex, the whole mirror box moves, so the mirror moves backwards as the mirror moves upwards, allowing clearance for sorter lenses. I have a half plate version which I'm hoping to be able to use with modern 7x5 DDS.

Ian
 
A while back I too had this problem. I eventually got my Speed Graphic from the US. Shortly after this an MPP press turned up in a local shop! I got my Aero Ektar off Dave Shrimpton as he had two of them at the time. You're welcome to borrow mine for a while.
 
I have a Linhof standard 13x18 or 5x7 , Thats a technika without the back movements has revolving back from the 40’s uses metal film sheath things .
You could hand hold it but tend to start trembling after about 3 seconds , it’s got a flip up viewfinder.

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jhotopf said:
A while back I too had this problem. I eventually got my Speed Graphic from the US. Shortly after this an MPP press turned up in a local shop! I got my Aero Ektar off Dave Shrimpton as he had two of them at the time. You're welcome to borrow mine for a while.
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That's interesting. Where abouts are you :)
 
There are definitely LF bargains to be had. Patience, careful observation of listings, often very honest listings put buyers off, but the fix is simple at almost no cost.

Wanted adverts can work well. I was after a Graflok back for a Pacemaker Crown Graphic, it came with a complete Speed Graphic which had a shutter that didn't work. Took about an hour and the Focal Plane shutter worked perfectly, and still does. Better still, it was a swap, so no money changed hands, I got rid of something I didn't have a use for.

When after something specific, check Forum sales and eBay regularly, at least every 2=3 days.

Ian
 
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