Classic press, view, and large-format SLR cameras

by Ross Alford

Click towards the left edge of the thumbnails to see a normal B&W photo, or click towards the right edge to see a stereo B&W photo. To view the stereo images, look through a red filter with your left eye and a green or blue filter with your right eye.

Crown Graphic 23 thumbGraflex Pacemaker Crown Graphic 2-1/4" X 3-1/4" press camera. This one has the accessory Kalart Synchronized (i.e., coupled) Rangefinder. It has a fairly unusual normal lens, a Schneider Symmar 105/5.6. A nice camera in its day and still a great user for medium format.

 

Super Speed Graphic

Graflex Super Speed Graphic, with Rodenstock Optar lens in Graflex 1000 shutter (the fastest large-format leaf shutter ever made, true top speed is about 1/850 sec). Has both swing and tilt movements of front standard, coupled built in rangefinder with standardized cams (if you can find them). A very nice field camera.

 

RB series B late Late-model (black and chrome hardware) Graflex RB Series B 2-1/4" X 3-1/4" SLR. This one has a coated Kodak Ektar normal lens and is in very nice condition. Also has Ektalite Field Lens, a fresnel lens that makes the image in the finder reasonably bright.

 

Technika IILinhof Technika II 6 X 9 plate camera. made in the 1930s, the earliest model Linhof with the extendable back panel and reasonable front movements. This one has a 120mm Voigtlander Heliar lens, and works quite nicely.

 

Technika III Linhof Technika III 4 X 5. This is the last model of the Technika III, with the convex bed. It has a Schneider varifocal finder, with a mask in place for 6 X 7 images. A beautiful solid camera. The lens in the photo is a 120 mm Angulon, which allows lots of movements while giving a semi-wide-angle field of view.

 

Mamiya univ thumb

Mamiya Universal. The last model in the Mamiya Press series. Interchangable back frame allows using Mamiya roll film holders, Graflok roll film holders (as in the picture) or a Polaroid pack back. The tradeoff is that, unlike earlier Mamiya Press cameras, the back has no movements. This one has the 50/6.3 Sekor wideangle and the auxiliary finder for this lens, as well as the handgrip, which is pretty essential for handheld use.

 

Rokuo-Sha Lily

Rokuo-Sha (Konica) Lily 3-14/" X 4-1/4" plate camera. ca. late 1920s/early 1930s by Rokuo-Sha, the predecessor of Konica. Has Japanese-made Hexar lens, but European-made Compur shutter; apparently no Japanese manufacturer made shutters at this time. Very nicely made camera in near-mint condition.

 

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Crown Graphic 23 3d Crown Graphic 23 BW Graflex RB B 23 3d Graflex RB 23 BW Technika II 3d Technika II BW Technika III 3d Technika III BW Super Graphic 3d Super Graphic BW mamiya univ 3d Mamiya Universal BW Konoca Lily 3d Konica Lily BW