View camera
I purchased a Graflex Pacemaker Crown Graphic 45 yesterday - a large format “Press” camera w/ ground-glass view back. The purchase was somewhat spontaneous - I went with Adam to check out the remaining equipment of a friend of a friend’s deceased relative, or something like that. I paid a reasonable price consider that I got it with a Polaroid 4x5 Land Film Holder and some film. I need to get ahold of a cut sheet film holder for the camera so that I can use it as I’d like to, though. I’d wanted a medium and/or large format camera for a while, but just couldn’t justify it. I still can’t, but when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it.
It’s really fun - a total change of pace from my Nikon FM3A & D100. I’ve taken 5 B&W Polaroid shots with it so far. The first 3 shots had a pattern of splotches repeated on them. I realized after the third shot that it must be something in the mechanism causing the developer to be unevenly spread. I opened up the holder and found some brown gunk on the rollers. Cleaning those fixed the problem, and the last two Polaroids came out well. I’ll have to scan some in soon.
Anyway, the camera is a lot of fun but it is definitely a more time consuming rig. I hope I get around to really using it as a large format film camera (not Polaroid) when I have more time.
