Show Us Your Camera

This is probably a question best for @Ian Grant but if anyone else knows, I'd be interest to get educated.

Are any of the accessories, backs, lensboards, et al interchangeable between MPP cameras and the Graflex Speed/Crown press cameras?
 
MPP MkIII-VII Micro Technical lens boards are identical to pre and Anniversary 5x4 SpeedGraphics.

The MPP MicroPress is essentially a Pacemaker Speed Graphic in disguise. The body, trackbed, front standard and shutter were made by Graflex, threads are UK not US.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
MPP MkIII-VII Micro Technical lens boards are identical to pre and Anniversary 5x4 SpeedGraphics.

The MPP MicroPress is essentially a Pacemaker Speed Graphic in disguise. The body, trackbed, front standard and shutter were made by Graflex, threads are UK not US.

Ian
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I'm interested because, if I heard you correctly in the past, you've intimated that the MPPs are superior in some respects (construction, movements, ???). I've never seen one in the wild but am contemplating looking for one. I have plenty of lens and back kit for the Crown Graphic I already own so would like to reuse as much as possible.
 
The MPP Micro Technical cameras have way more movements compared to Pacemaker Graphics, and earlier Speed Graphics. However Crown & Speed Graphic Pacemaker lens boards etc are quite different.

You'd find aLinhof Technika a more practical proposition , in the US MPPs will be quite rare as they were not exported to the US.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
The MPP Micro Technical cameras have way more movements compared to Pacemaker Graphics, and earlier Speed Graphics. However Crown & Speed Graphic Pacemaker lens boards etc are quite different.

You'd find aLinhof Technika a more practical proposition , in the US MPPs will be quite rare as they were not exported to the US.

Ian
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Good to know. For the moment, all photo purchases are now on hold, as I just succumbed to buying a Leica M body for the first time ever (I've had a Barnak Leica for years). The cash drawer is now tragically empty ...
 
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Nas said:
Part of this design reminds of the Rittreck View cameras.
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The Rittreck is I think a year or so later than the Toyo, not quite as well designed, and made, but still very nice. The very early Toyo Half Plate field cameras took book-form half plate film holders, the next half plate back was still non standard, later ones are International standard. I'll make my own 7x5 hack in the Spring, and then a 6x17 roll film back.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
MPP MkIII-VII Micro Technical lens boards are identical to pre and Anniversary 5x4 SpeedGraphics.

The MPP MicroPress is essentially a Pacemaker Speed Graphic in disguise. The body, trackbed, front standard and shutter were made by Graflex, threads are UK not US.

Ian
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Just curious here, guessing the threaded fasteners are B.A., right?

David
 
David Lindquist said:
Just curious here, guessing the threaded fasteners are B.A., right?

David
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I'm not sure, as I didn't measure them. The MicroPress prototypes were a completely different camera with a Wray self capping shutter, metal body. etc, based on the MicroTechnical MkIII. The MicroTechical camera were themselves based on the WWII Linhof Technika cameras,

In the late 1940s there were severe import restrictions on luxury goods here in the UK. You needed a special licence to Import a camera or lenses. The UK government gave companies access to German Technology, Taylor, Taylor, & Hobson and an engineering company Reid & Sigrist made Reid cameras with T,T,&H lenses, based on the Leica, AGI made the Agiflex based on the Reflex Korrelle, and Mocro Precision Products were set up to make Rolleicord copies, the Microcord, and the Linhof copy MicroTechnicals.

The British armed forces had been using Speed Graphics, but switched to MicroTechnical cameras as soon as they were released. The import restrictions on parts were not so severe so it appears part assembled cameras were imported from Graflex and finished in the UK, as the MicrPress.

Ian
 
Here's my Sinar Norma with 90mm f5.6 Schneider and wista 6x9 roll film back
 

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Back in 2018/19 I bought two MPP MkIII MicroTechnical cameras for £70, one was just parts,. This one had badly worn covering so I removed the back and front standard, leaving the bellows attached to them. Then soaked the casing etc to remove the covering. I also cleaned the track bed.

When dry I re-covered the body, I had found a rear focus screen hood at a camera fair and used the same leatherette. I then lubricated the focus track bed, then reassembled the camera,

1710091613780.jpeg

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
View attachment 4583

View attachment 4584

Back in 2018/19 I bought two MPP MkIII MicroTechnical cameras for £70, one was just parts,. This one had badly worn covering so I removed the back and front standard, leaving the bellows attached to them. Then soaked the casing etc to remove the covering. I also cleaned the track bed.

When dry I re-covered the body, I had found a rear focus screen hood at a camera fair and used the same leatherette. I then lubricated the focus track bed, then reassembled the camera,

View attachment 4585

Ian
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That made me smile. I have more than once applied a good scrub (though never a soak) to an old camera.
 
I normally shoot 5x4 with a Wisner Technical field camera with the usual assortment of lenses. Some years ago, I acquired a quite well used Crown Graphic as a more portable option when I don't need/want the weight and girth of a the full Wisner kit. 5x4 Graphics were long ago my entre' into large format, so I had some idea of what I was getting into.

This camera appears to have been an old workhorse studio shooter, insofar as it had a metal studio logo badge nailed into the top of it. I gave it a good scrubbing (though not at @Ian Grant levels), cleaned and lubricated the rack and pinion, disassembled and cleaned the ground glass assembly, and put a light coat of wax on the camera exterior.

Then, I ran the slightest bit of naphtha into the gear train of the 127mm f/4.7 Ektar that came with it. Well ... sort of. It's my Franken-Ektar as I took the front element from this lens and the back from another as the back element was a bit dodgy. After the naptha treatment, the shutter speeds were pretty much spot on.

This morphed into "I need more lenses" and today I also have a 65mm f/5.6 Super Angulon, and an 8 1/2" f/6.3 Commercial Ektar mounted in Graflex boards. More recently, I added a new lens board and a 207mm f/7.7 Ektar (pictured here) to it, and a brand new aftermarket strap. Both the 8 1/2" and 207mm lenses underwent CLA last summer so they're good for many years to come.

This camera has richly fulfilled my expectation of being a lighter, faster to use 5x4 than my field camera. So much so, I keep contemplating reversing the front standard to get easy front tilt which is all I really miss from the field camera. This has the effect of losing rangefinder calibration, but I pretty much never use that anway.

Here's something recent:

https://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Gallery/Silver/media/large/20230525-1-14-Firmly_Planted.jpg
 

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cariadus said:
A Norma on a short rail with bag bellows makes a great field camera.

View attachment 4587
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Your short rail 4x5" Norma reminds me of my years ago transport solution with Plaubel Profia 4x5", on a short rail but with standard bellows.
With around 4,5 Kg for the camera only, and with typically accessoiries and lenses all became too heavy.
Do you know the weight of your system, please?
 
Reginald S. said:
Your short rail 4x5" Norma reminds me of my years ago transport solution with Plaubel Profia 4x5", on a short rail but with standard bellows.
With around 4,5 Kg for the camera only, and with typically accessoiries and lenses all became too heavy.
Do you know the weight of your system, please?
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Sorry, delayed reaction...
The Norma on a 6" rail with bag bellows is 3.4kg.
 
6KzdilL.jpg


8x10 Norma

:)
 
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