mick_ridout

You might consider a B&J 4 X 5 press camera. It has all the features of the Graphics except focal plane shutter and it has lots of movements that the Graphics haven't got. These cameras are all aluminum and are quite rugged. They also have a revolving back and about a fourteen inch bellows that will accomodate a pretty long lens.

If you want to stick with the Speed Graphic, for ease of use I would get a Pacemaker. It has enhanced movements over the earlier models such as front tilt and shift and the focal plane shutter controls were much simplified. It also has a shutter trip built into the side of the body that switches from tripping the focal plane shutter to a link cable that will trip a front shutter. Even though it is wood, it too is pretty rugged. I have gotten them at shows for as little as $20, and for one that was ready to use with lens as little as $50. You might have to look a while, but you can find a good deal and the pacemaker is a little cheaper than the later models, particularly if the pacemaker is the pre-top rangfinder model. They seem to be in demand now.

Typically, I believe that most telephotos for any format size is a magnification of about 1.5 or 1.6. In other words about half again or 50% more magnification. Half again more than 12 inches is 18 inches. Therefore an 18 inch tele would probably focus at about 12 inches. Of course these are infinity focus figures, as all lens measurments are listed as the focal length at infinity focus.

There is a guy in Marin County, just across the bridge north of San Fransisco who sells shutter and bellows material. I cannot think of his name, but I think I originally saw it in Shutterbug. He also sold a book on bellows making. As I remember it is rather expensive, like $30 or so. Maybe someone else will read this and remember his name.