Graflex.org

[mowbray]

hi there,

i am about to buy a 4x5 crown graphic via ebay and will be doing LF for the verry first time. aswell i never had any kind of graphic in my hands so far so plz excuse if i ask silly questions...

i'd like to have a crown because of the lighter weight and would love to have a nice portrait lense (like 210mm).
first: does it make sense to buy a crown and the lens seperatly or should i rather look for a crown with a 210mm?
when buying the lens speratly: how do i adjust the kalart rangefinder? i didn't quite understand this part...how do i adjust the framing/where to get a format masking...etc??
if buying the lens seperatly: is mounting it to the lensboard and the camera a straight forward thing that i can do myself?
i'm looking to buy a crown with the serial number 898337 which is according to the seller a later model-is that so?

is there a difference between a crown graphic and a crown graphic special?
is a
Fuji Fujinon L 1:5,6, 210 mm
f. 4,5-90, T, B, 1-1/400 s,
Bildkreis: 240 mm,
Copal 1 (41 mm)
a lens that will go with the crown? didnt see this lens in the lens list provided in this forum.

i intend to do portraits with the crown- do you get reasonable results with a 135mm lens?

again, sorry if i'm askig stupid things...but any help is highly apreciatetd!

cheers
m

[glennfromwy]

I'll try to answer some of your questions. I would forget about the rangefinder. If you're going to do portrait work, just focus on the ground glass. You'll get much better results. The 210 Fujinon will work fine on the Crown and is an excellent lens. The only issue may be with interfering with closing the camera. If so, just remove it until it's needed. You can mount the lens/shutter yourself. It straight forward. Getting lensboards where you are could be a problem, though. I always give this warning to new users of these cameras: Be sure the focus rail is racked all the way back, and the front standard all the way back before you close the camera. You can break the short rail guides in the camera, and/or the rail hinges, if you don't close it properly. Trust me, you do not want to break these. If resistance is felt when closing, leave the standard unlocked. The only thing special about the Crown Graphic Special is that it was sold with a Schneider Xenar lens.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"