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Graflex Century Graphic Camera

Currency:USD Category:Cameras & Photo Start Price:120.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 600.00 USD
Graflex Century Graphic Camera
SOLD
150.00USD+ (33.75) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2015 Apr 17 @ 15:45UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Garfield Century Graphic Camera with Schneider -Kreuznach Xenotar 80mm f2.8 lens and mounted Kalart Range Finder. 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 size



Graphic cameras were made in 21/4x31/4, 31/4x41/4, 4x5, and 5x7" film sizes, either with (Speed) or without a rear focal plane shutter (Century, Crown, and Super). The 4x5 is often recommended as a starter large format camera and many are still in use today. The 3x4s and 5x7s are somewhat rare and collectible, but what about the 2x3s? The 2x3 Crown (leather-covered mahogany) and Century (bakelite plastic), "baby" versions of their larger format brethren deserve more attention than they usually get. Often described as a "press" camera, they are in actuality basic technical cameras.



Having no rear movements, they are limited in altering subject shape or perspective. However, they do have useful front movements: 18mm rise, 7mm shift, 18Þ backward tilt, (swing, with a simple modification) plus 18Þ forward tilt and up to 35mm fall using the dropped front camera bed. These movements are quite adequate for adjusting the plane of focus and correcting converging vertical lines. Plus, they are relatively lightweight (4.4 lbs with lens, handgrip, and rollfilm back). Best of all, they are the least expensive technical cameras available.



The 2x3 Graphics are usually found with a side-mounted Kalart rangefinder that can be adjusted to focus a single lens. It is not the most convenient to use, as one has to focus using the rangefinder and then compose the picture through a separate optical viewfinder having interchangeable masks for different focal lengths. Its virtue lies in being adaptable to a range of focal lengths (slightly wide angle to long-normal and the shorter telephoto lenses). So if you find a camera without its original lens, or choose to substitute a more modern multi-coated lens for that which came with the camera, you are still in business. Directions for adjusting the Kalart rangefinder are on the Graflex.org website.



The lenses usually found on the baby Graphics are the Wollensak Optar four-element Tessar-type or the Graflar or Trioptar triplets. Much better are the Kodak Ektar and Rodenstock, Schneider or Zeiss lenses that were also offered for the Graflex XLRF.

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Date: 1954

FHWAC#: 25830