Pacemaker Speed Graphic

Pacemaker Speed Graphic, Top Rangefinder Model

The Pacemaker Speed Graphic was manufactured 1947-1970. Post-war improvements to the Anniversary Graphic were coated lens, lenses in shutters, body release, and folding infinity stops.

The Pacemaker Speed Graphic is identical to the Pacemaker Crown Graphic, but has a focal plane shutter, which provides access to barrel-mounted (shutterless) lenses, and offers the ability to track a moving object and give a noticeable ``lean'' effect. It reduces access to wide-angle lenses because of the clearance necessary for the shutter.

Original Pacemaker Speed Graphic, showing Front TiltThe Pacemaker series cameras have rangefinders as standard features. In 1947-1955 models (left), the rangefinder is mounted on the side, and is usually a Kalart, but occasionally a Hugo Meyer. For the Kalart models, an internal adjustment synchronises with almost any lens. For 4x5" models only a model change in 1955 (top of page) replaced the Kalart rangefinder with an integral Graflex rangefinder, mounted on the top on 4x5" Graphics. The later Top Rangefinder version of the Pacemaker takes interchangable cams.

Most Pacemakers have the Graflok back, where the focusing panel is both spring loaded and removable. The body release is switchable, and works both front and rear shutters. The front standard has tilt back, shift and rise. The bed drops.

The Speed Graphic has sufficient extension to focus the 15" (380mm) Tele-Optar to about 6-8 feet, sufficient for portraiture. The extension limit is not in bellows draw, but rather the limit imposed by the thickness of the chassis. The Speed Graphic is relatively thick: it will not focus a 47mm lens to infinity, though it can focus a 65mm to infinity. The Crown Graphic can accomodate shorter lenses because it lacks the rear-curtain shutter. There were recessed lensboard the earlier Anniversary models, but apparently none for the Pacemaker.

The Pacemaker Speed Graphic has the following controls:

The lens standard can tilt up to 20 degrees, and can shift up about 19 mm. The carriage also can shift from side to side about 8 mm in either direction, but cannot (but see below).

The rail bed normally opens square with the camera body, but you can "drop" the bed below perpendicular by an angle of 20 degrees. Because the lens standard can tilt up the same angle as the tilt down of the dropped bed, the lens can be brought back to parallel with the film plane, and the shift up is just enough to raise the lens back to the central axis of the camera for a 100 mm lens or less, hence any wide angle lens (shorter than 100 mm) can be put back to front and center when the bed is dropped to get it out of the field of view.

The use of the tilt and shift doesn't stop just with accomodating wide-angle lenses. Bed-drop, tilt up, and shift can be combined in clever ways to use the Pacemaker like a view camera:

Bellows Extension

(Note that 3x4" cameras are not as desirable as 4x5 or 2x3, due to the lack of film.)
Pacemaker 23 Speed Graphic Pacemaker 34 Speed Graphic Pacemaker 45 Speed Graphic
8-3/4" 12-3/8" 12-3/4"