My camera gear lust truly knows no boundaries. But in my defense, ever since I first got into large format photography, neither my Horseman L45 monorail camera (since sold) nor my Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic quite seemed to completely scratch my large format itch. The Horseman is (well, was) quite simply too big and too heavy for serious field work (it’s not what monorails were even designed for), and the Graphic, as much as I love it, doesn’t provide enough view camera movements to be considered much of a contender for serious large format work — where perspective control, and depth-of-field control, through the use of those movements are central to the art form. Quite literally the only camera in existence that combines all the use cases of a monorail camera and a press camera into a single package is the Linhof Master Technika, or Master Technika Classic (more on that distinction later), and it’s the reason I’d wanted one for years. I never thought I’d have the opportunity, but it presented itself, and I think I have pretty well found my photographic capstone, not just for my large format endeavors, but for my film camera collection as a whole.
Continue reading…Large Format
5 Stupid Things You Can Do to a Linhof Master Technika (and How Not to Do Them)
The venerable Linhof Master Technika is a highly respected, highly regarded camera that represents a significant investment for its owners. It seems clear that they were designed and intended for professionals who don’t generally need to be protected from themselves. They are also extraordinarily poorly documented by Linhof, with owner’s manuals that, quite bluntly, contain misinformation and what I might call “errors of omission” — stuff important enough that it should have been mentioned, but wasn’t. That all might have worked fine if we still lived in a time when you bought your film camera from a local dealer, with real human beings there who could demonstrate and explain what (and what not) to do, why, and how. But we don’t live in such a time, and so the buyer of a Linhof Master Technika (or prior Technika models) is left to their own devices, free to screw things up with impunity, then blame the camera and its design. Some of that blame might be justified, but if you’re new to the Technika, let me — as someone who’s made multiple, expensive mistakes — explain how you can (and should) avoid them.
Continue reading…Review: Graflex Pacemaker 23 Speed Graphic Medium Format Camera
My fondness for the iconic Graflex Graphic cameras was no doubt in evidence as I reviewed the Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic back in 2020, and my fondness for the Graflex brand has only expanded since, as I discovered the quirky but quite usable Graflex Graphic 35 rangefinder cameras for 135 film and restored a few of them on my workbench. But while the Pacemaker 45 scratched the 4×5 large format itch, I continued to be intrigued by its smaller sibling, often referred to as the “baby” Graflex, baby Graphic, or “23” Graphic. The 23 is a reference to the cameras’ use of 2¼ x 3¼ inch sheet film (2×3, nominally), and they’re everything the larger Graphic cameras are — just presented in a petite (and adorable) little package that has charmed me to the core.
Continue reading…Tips for View Camera Newbies
While I’ve truly only just started my large format journey, it feels like I’ve made so many fundamental mistakes that it seems the perfect time to begin documenting all of them in the form of written tips before I forgot all the stumbles I’ve made. It’s my hope that if you’re new to view cameras, you’ll benefit from the effort.
Continue reading…Review: Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic Large Format Camera
There are a great many cameras that could arguably be considered “iconic.” Ones that come to my mind right off are the Hasselblad 500 series (also known as the V-System) across its many models. The Rolleiflex TLRs. Certain Leicas. And then there’s the Graflex Graphic cameras, which have appeared often enough in movies from the 1940s and 1950s (and more modern movies and TV shows set in those decades) that it’s practically an amusing stereotype at this point.
Continue reading…When Your Camera Gear Reveals Its Story
To me, one of the more fascinating aspects of using old film cameras is that it feels like I’m actively touching history. I’ve written about this before regarding my Rolleiflex Automat MX, which was made in 1951 — making it the oldest camera currently in my collection. But when I received a pack of four 4×5 film holders from an eBay seller recently, I was brought into a similar type of reflection, and it all started with two words hand-written on the bottom of the holder: Graveraet Tatler.
Continue reading…The 4×5 Journey Begins
It had been my intention to explore large format photography in 2020, but it all started happening faster than I expected. First, the perfect Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic materialized out of nowhere. Then I started meeting people on Instagram who encouraged me to just jump-in. Next thing you know, I’m getting what I needed to do just that. Now I understand why people the people who shoot it are so passionate about it.
Continue reading…Calibrating a Kalart Rangefinder (Yes, You Can DIY)
I recently acquired a Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic camera from National Camera Exchange in Minnesota (see my Vendor Directory for a link). The camera is in really outstanding physical condition (look for a review soon), but it does (or did) have a couple of unsurprising issues.
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