Veteranía gegant / Giant vintage SLR's

IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE

Aquí podeu veure comparada la gran Graflex Auto de 5x7 amb la seva germana "petita" de 4x5. Ambdues son d'abans de la Gran Guerra, i la de 4x5 amés és RB (Revolving Back), pel que pot fer fotos horitzontals i verticals.

Aquesta ha costat de trobar i aconseguir. Un dels cims de la meva col·lecció de càmeres Graflex, en especial les impressionants reflex de gran format: una Graflex Auto 5x7.

Com indica el seu nom, és una càmera de format 5x7 polzades (uns 13x18 cm), però alhora reflex. I té més de cent anys! De fet, aquest model es fabricà entre 1906 i 1923, tot i que aquesta en concret sembla fabricada entre 1911 i 1915, per el model de tapa superior.

Quan la vaig comprar, a algú de Arkport (NY), em va arribar amb l'objectiu separat del cos i del "lens board" i un carregador multiple en força mal estat. El carregador tenia diversos "septums" guerxos que he separat, i he ajustat la tapa, que no tancava be. De fet, de 12 fulls de pel·licula, de moment n'hi puc carregar només 8, però és suficient. L'important és que no hi entra llum. I encara més important es que l'inmens obturador de pla focal funciona de meravella, tenint més de cent anys. Només quedava possar cargols nous al objectiu, així com llimar una mica la placa on va montada, perque encaixés sense problemes. I hop! La càmera funciona i ja he fet fotos de prova i tot!

L'objectiu és força inusual, i potser no era l'original, ja que no sembla apareixer als catalegs. Es tracta d'un Kodak Projection Anastigmat.

M'agrada especialment el fet que es tracta d'una de les Graflex més gran de totes i que per la cronologia i model... segurament era una de les càmeres que Frank Hurley emprà en la expedició antartica de Shackleton. Amb les Graflex de 5x7 que portava (tres!), Hurley va fer les irreals imatges del Endurance atrapat al gel:

fstoppers.com/documentary/frank-hurley-ernest-shackleton-...

Per desgracia, les Graflex eren massa grans i pesades com per poder sobreviure a la perdua del vaixell, i Shackleton ordenà que fossin abandonades... tot i que els negatius (no tots) varen sobreviure.

miquelpellicer.com/2014/08/frank-hurley-shackleton-endura...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4IMNaEUKf0

====================

Here's a size comparison between the large 5x7 Graflex auto (1911-1916) and the slightly smaller 4x5 RB Graflex Auto (1906-1909). But here I've going to talk mostly about the 5x7 camera. For the 4x5 RB Auto, take a look here:

This has been hard to find and get. One of the top gear in my collection of Graflex cameras, especially the stunning large format reflexes: a Graflex Auto 5x7.

As its name suggests, it is a 5x7 inch (about 13x18 cm) format camera, but at the same time a SLR. And it's over a hundred years old! In fact, this model was manufactured between 1906 and 1923, although this one in particular seems to have been manufactured between 1911 and 1915, by the type of top cover in the chimney viewfinder.

When I bought it, from someone in Arkport (NY), it came to me with the lens separate from the body and even the lens board, and had a film sheet magazine in pretty bad condition. The "bag-mag" had several bended septums left that I separated, and I also adjusted it's lid, which did not close well. In fact, out of 12 septums, I can only load 8 at the moment, but that's enough. The important question here is that there are no light leaks. And even more important is that the immense focal plane shutter works wonderfully, being over a hundred years old. All that remained was to put new screws on the lens, as well as file the board a bit, so that it would fit without problems. And behold! The camera works, and I’ve already taken test photos with it.

The lens is quite unusual, and may not have been the original, as it does not appear in catalogs. This is a Kodak Projection Anastigmat. Probably I will change it for a better vintage lens, a Cooke or a Zeiss.

I especially like the fact that this is one of the largest Graflex SLR models, and... it was probably one of the cameras that Frank Hurley used in Shackleton's Antarctic expedition. With the several 5x7 Graflex he was carrying (three!), Hurley made the unreal images of the Endurance trapped in the ice:

fstoppers.com/documentary/frank-hurley-ernest-shackleton-...

Unfortunately, the Graflex were too large and heavy to survive the loss of the ship, and Shackleton ordered them abandoned... although the plates (not all of them) survived.

miquelpellicer.com/2014/08/frank-hurley-shackleton-endura...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4IMNaEUKf0

Taken on: July 5, 2021

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RB Graflex Auto « less

Sets appears in: • L'historia fotogràfica / Historic cameras • Graflex

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Camera: Pentax K-5, f/14.0, 15 sec, 26mm (=39mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Pentax K-5
Aperture:	f/14.0
Exposure Time:	15
Focal Length:	26mm (35mm equivalent: 39mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	K-5 Ver 1.00
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