david_brown1

Sally Mann has inspired many of us. While I don't have a suggestion

for 8x10, my favorite "bad" lens for 4x5 was a 90mm Wollensak raptar

enlarging lens. This lens fits your specs: warm, fuzzy around the

edges, and noticable fall off (1-2 stops?) at the corners.

<p>

My experience is that lenses are "worse" near their limits of

coverage, and generally the limits are easier to find and exploit with

shorter lenses. 250mm is probably a good place to start, although you

might want to go down to 210 or even 180. An old, uncoated lens made

for 5x7 or an old enlarging lens might work well for you.

<p>

Beware, however, that old doesn't always equate with bad. I have a

very old 12" Wollensak Velostigmat that performs nearly as well (but

with slightly lower contrast) as my 12" Goerz Dagor. Go figure.

I see no major problems with going the Photo.net route. Shure, there

might be some inconveniences, but as long as the content remains the

same (and that's OUR job) the forum should continue to thrive. An

added attraction of going with Photo.net is that we may broaden our

audience and introduce new people and ideas to the forum.

<p>

Certainly anything is better than letting this forum languish and

die, and I feel Photo.net has the best chance of success.

Kate,

<p>

The lever you're referring to is a latch that holds the cover over the

rollers closed. On newer 545s the cover snaps closed without this

extra latch.

Graphic Views are fine cameras, and were probably among the best from

their era. Their primary limitations are as follows:

<p>

Lack of bellows interchangability

Lack of extension rails

Not as rigid as modern monorails

Smallish (4") lens boards

No rear rise/fall, and limited front rise/fall

Vertical/horizontal back as oposed to true rotating back.

<p>

Even with these limitations, the Graphic View should still perform

well for your purposes. Prices without lens should probably range

from $100 for a Graphic View I (base tilts) in poor but usable shape,

to $250 for a Graphic View II (axis tilts) in good shape. A grafloc

back generally adds about $50 to the price. Check ebay for more

accurate pricing, and keep in mind that on used gear, if you pay a

fair price, you can usually resell it (if you don't like it) at little

or no loss.

I've used the FR tank, and while it isn't the same as the Yankee tank,

in operation they're about the same. It's relatively easy to load,

especially if yours came with the loading guide, and I never had

problems with uneven development. And even after you've moved on to

something else, the FR tank should work fine for clearing Polaroid

type 55 negatives.

Which Polaroid film are you using? Pack film won't give you a full

4x5 image.

Jeffrey,

<p>

Consider yourself lucky. You've found two things that work for you:

your Minolta Autocord and your view camera. I can't imagine it would

cost too much for Steve Grimes to mount an Autocord lens in a modern

shutter and give you the best of both worlds. Good luck.

Great photo ops in my opinion:

<p>

Red Rocks - just north of town

<p>

Death Valley - closer than you might think

<p>

Vegas itself - worthy of critical study

My advice is keep both heads for now, burn some film, and at some

point you'll realize that you prefer one head over another. I

occasionally use a Graphic View on a 3 axis Bogen head similar to the

3047 (I don't recall the model#). It isn't the most stable setup

(there is a lot of room for flex between the tripod and the camera's

rail), but it works.

<p>

An additional bit of advice: if the mounting plate on the Graphic View

has "ping pong paddle rubber" on it, scrape it off. The rubber will

prevent a sound mechanical contact between the mounting plate and the

QR plate on the 3047.

I process B&W prints in a rotary drum, and I've had no problems with a

single fix. As long as you're not reusing the fixer, there's no

logical reason for fixing twice.

I know this doesn't completely answer your question, but with a

bellows draw of twice the focal length, you should get 1:1

reproduction.

<p>

I'm not familiar with your Toyo, and I don't know if you can

interchange bellows and/or rails, but a custom extended lensboard will

help you to focus closer with a long lens.

I enjoy the View Camera, and I find something useful in every issue.

However, I was somewhat disturbed by the inclusion of Fatali's

photographs in the recent issue. View camera loses credibility by

failing to thoroughly vet its contributors. If someone as isolated as

myself knew of Fatali's ethical lapses, Mr. Simmons certainly could

have (and should have) known. It is a small step from this sort of

editorial malfeasance to having advertisers write editorial copy.

<p>

Nonetheless, it isn't too late for Mr. Simmons (and Mr. Fatali) to

make amends. If Mr. Simmons is willing to supply the paper and ink,

I'm certain there are plenty of us who are willing to provide him with

a frank ethical discussion of this issue.

The various press cameras (Crown, Speed, and Super Graphics, B&J

Press, Meridian, et al) are all capable of fine photographs in the

right hands. Nonetheless, these cameras do have limitations that

you need to be aware of.

<p>

Press cameras in general, and the Crown and Speed in particular are

severely limited in movements. While many landscape photographers

rarely use movements, many (perhaps most) frequently use them.

<p>

Another major limitation of these cameras is their small lens boards.

While Graphics can certainly be fitted with some great glass, you'll

be somewhat limited in your selection.

<p>

Bellows extension is another limiting factor. A 90mm lens is about

the shortest you can expect to work on a press camera, While a 300mm

won't focus closer than infinity.

<p>

These are fine cameras, and if you can live with the limitations, they

will serve you well. If you feel the need for more movements,

etc.(and you don't mind the extra weight and bulk of a monorail), I

would suggest that you look at the Graphic View or the Calumet

C400/Kodak Master View.

<p>

Finally, if you are certain a Crown or Speed Graphic is for you, don't

pay extra for a graphlock back unless you are planning to use

graphlock style roll film holders. For more info, check out

www.graflex.org

I have both Fidelity and Lisco holders in 2x3, 4x5, & 8x10, and as far

as I can tell there is no difference between the two brands.

Use pencil on the rough side of the glass; for temporary markings, a

"sharpie" ultra fine point on the smooth side works well.

I've used the Yankee adjustable tank, the FR tank, the Fedco tank, and

the Nikor tank. With all of them I use a rocking motion for

agitation, and I've had equally good results with all of them. The

Nikor tank is capable of inversion as well.

<p>

I've just started using a rotary processor (Uniroller with Unicolor

and Chromega drums) for my 8x10 film, and with the right drums you can

do 4x5 and 5x7 also.

In my personal experience, (based mostly on Tri-X, but also T-Max

100), D-76 and HC 110 are interchangeable. I've also had good results

with HC 110 & HP5, but not with Delta 400.

<p>

Just be advised that any B&W film/developer combination has a learning

curve. If you're just starting out, you might want stick with one

film/developer combination, and put some serious effort into

controlling your variables (change only one at a time).

<p>

P.S. I have found that with my setup (Nikor S.S. tank & cage) T-Max

requires more vigorous aggitation than other emulsions. Good Luck.

This is something I've wondered about myself. It seems that a

polaroid back from a RB67 or Graflex XL would fit, but I don't know

for sure.

I use a rocking motion, for about 10 seconds, once per minute. I've

had excellent results with Tri-X and HC110 dilution B.