Graflex as shot by Kodak!

Looks really robust proper British engineering , I have the Kodak model B half plate, acquired some repromaster lenses that where being put in a skip with the repromaster camera they were from, this was about
30 years ago when I worked in a printers that went dig***l , put them away for when I bought a large format camera, finally bought the Kodak model B half plate about two months ago, if I can upload a image of it and the repro lenses the 270mm is on the camera with the 213 f9 next the the camera and the 135mm f8 next to that. Look forward to your next YouTube lnstallment.
 
All looking good!

I have a whole pile of stuff to catch up to in YouTube videos ... the coming of my Graflex Speed Graphic... my first goes with a Grafmatic back ... the arrival of a Pentacon Six to keep my RB67 company on the medium format shelf ... my review of Fomapan 400 5x7 - it may well be a bit mixed!
 
Marley's Ghost said:
All looking good!

I have a whole pile of stuff to catch up to in YouTube videos ... the coming of my Graflex Speed Graphic... my first goes with a Grafmatic back ... the arrival of a Pentacon Six to keep my RB67 company on the medium format shelf ... my review of Fomapan 400 5x7 - it may well be a bit mixed!
Click to expand...
They they are all fantastic cameras , looked at the speed grafic and the rb 67 , the pentacon, ended up with tlr cameras have 2 Rolleiflex standards 622 from 1935 with tessar f 3.5 lens, have just bought a box of foma 100asa with 400asa, not used them yet as trying paper in the halfplate filmholder and a 7x5 holder from the US as could not any correct size holders in the uk, look forward to the vidios.
 
will1727 said:
They they are all fantastic cameras , looked at the speed grafic and the rb 67 , the pentacon, ended up with tlr cameras have 2 Rolleiflex standards 622 from 1935 with tessar f 3.5 lens, have just bought a box of foma 100asa with 400asa, not used them yet as trying paper in the halfplate filmholder and a 7x5 holder from the US as could not any correct size holders in the uk, look forward to the vidios.
Click to expand...
I got all my 5x7 film holders from the US - a big box of the nicely made wood ones for fifty dollars! Yep I was very lucky. Most of them must have originally come from a studio in Chicago ... they still have little gold or black labels with the studio and photographers name ... a nice historical touch.
To my shame I've never shot any flavour of Rolleiflex - having paid my dues as a wedding photographer years ago in my mis-spent youth with Mamiya C33/C330f TLRs and the wide angle and short tele lens pairs. At the studio that used to employ me as a callow youth to shoot the odd wedding they used to call the Mamiyas 'Whispering Bricks'!
 
Yes the US seems to be the only place to get proper size 7x5 and not the ones on e-bay sold as 7x5 but are realy half plate film holders, as far as the tlrs go always liked the Mamiyas always had decent glass in the lens , bought the Rolleiflex as they were cheap and had tesser lens and liked the idea of 91 year old cameras that still work. Worked part time doing weddings in the 80's soon tired of that too stressfull had a Yashica mat and Olympus om1 back then for the weddings , look foward to the 10x8 vidio .
 
Marley's Ghost said:
All looking good!

I have a whole pile of stuff to catch up to in YouTube videos ... the coming of my Graflex Speed Graphic... my first goes with a Grafmatic back ... the arrival of a Pentacon Six to keep my RB67 company on the medium format shelf ... my review of Fomapan 400 5x7 - it may well be a bit mixed!
Click to expand...
What's your youtube channel called?
 
The RAF Ground Camera was a version of the slightly earlier Kodak View Camera Model B. which was sold as a general purpose view camera for studio or field use. There were Police and Clinical half plate versions, with additional accessories.

The Model B was an improvement on the British made 2D, the Specialist an improvement of the RAF Ground Camera (there were 2 versions) with geared movements, and the Specialist II added the metal edges to the camera bed.

Like the Model B the Specialist II, introduced in 1950, was a general purpose camera, also available with accessories for Police and Medical use.

spII.jpg


It's odd that nearly all US made tailboard style cameras, like the 2D, ran metal in wood for focussing. The exception was Ansco who make the following comments in their 1926 catalogue.

1781964467363.png

I have 3 Seneca 7x5 cameras, and the rigidity to the track bed is nowhere even remotely close to my Agfa Ansco 10x8 cameras. I've restored quite a few British filed cameras and the two running brass in wood have issues of wear to the wood.

Ian
 
I have both the metal on wood and one of the metal/metal versions , it is more solid but the aluminium side rails are added as if they were made of wood ie very chunky so an already hefty camera becomes significantly heavier , enough to dissuade portability, a bit frustrating .
 
Have posted an image of my Kodak model B in this thread that is a metal on wood as in the BJP, very strong camera as first time tried it on a tripod the quick release gave way it hit the floor all 16lb of it came away without a scratch. Have put a repromaster f9 270mm lens on a lens board brings the weight up to approx 18 and a half pounds or almost 8.5 kg in the measurment used across the channel.
 
I had a metal lens board that came with lens from the US, some years ago. It fits the Specialist II, was able to use it to make an adapter to use Linhof/Wista lens boards.

When I bought two Seneca 7x5 cameras one was missing a back, I placed a wanted ad on Photrio/APUG and was sent a very cheap parts camera with a back but an incomplete front standard. I started to make the camera front standard to take Linhof/Wista lens boards. It's a City View, the long part of the bed is two parts and allows shift, it's a unique feature, the plan has been to add a 6x17 back.

1781977501971.jpeg

This is my other City View, just needs new bellows, but you can see the shift. For 6x17 with a 75mm lens you could remove the front part.

I picked up 4 half plate backs at a camera fair a few years ago, cheap. A Gandolfi spring back, a Kodak 10x8 to Half plate reducing back, and an unknown spring back, the 4th is book-form . . . . . . .

The Kodak reducing back after modification is used on my Agfa Ansco Commercial View, the unknown back was modified to fit a Seneca, the Gandolfi back I'm not sure. I have a very early Gandolfi half plate camera, maybe I can adapt it to fit.

Ian
 
That is a very neat way to add shift , plus with the rear std focus movement it will work with wider angles.
 
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