The Last Graflex Camera, the XL

[@randallstewart1224]

My second attempt at assembling a medium, format system was a standard XL, bought used around 1983 with 4 lenses. Graphlex bought many of the best lenses available from Zeiss and Rodenstock to mount on the XL. I think the only Schneider lens was the 47mm Super Angulon, used only in the special wide angle (only) body. Mine were the 58mm Grandagon, 80mm Planar, 180mm and 270mm Rotelars (which are outstanding and cheap if found, because no one has ever heard of them). On paper, the system seems well featured and quite efficient. In reality, it's a disaster. It was the end of road for Graflex. Although mine did not suffer the problem, most cameras suffer focus lug breakage, per the video. To save money, they used an exposed helix mount, much like the old Kodak Medalist cameras, which allows dirt to get into the surfaces where lugs meet focus grooves. The lens barrels were a hard, self-lubricating plastic, and they are driven by a focus ring made of the same material holding three lugs. As the ring turns, the lugs force the barrel to move in or out from the film plane. The problem is that the focus grooves get dirty. Further, the plastic hardened and developed excessive friction. It also became brittle. So, when the user applied additional force to focus, the lugs snapped off the ring. The repair of the lugs requires disassembly of the focus mount, fairly simple, to access the ring on which the lugs are fixed. To repair, you cut a slot in the plastic ring where the broken lug was, then glue into the slot a replacement lug of proper dimension. The tolerances are quite tight, but within the skills of most repairmen, if they have the right material to make a new lug. The idea of replacing a broken lug with a metal screw is an invitation to having the screw chew up the inside of the focus groove on the plastic lens barrel. My situation was a disaster not because of Graflex, but because a prior owner had dismounted the lenses from their barrels to use elsewhere, then remounted them to sell the system package. The problem was that in the interim, he lost the shims installed at the factory to calibrate the lens to film distance when mounted in the camera. This adjusts for normal, tiny variations in the true focal length of each lens, required for all rangefinder cameras, as you are not focusing by viewing through the lens. As a result, my lenses would mount, but they gave tiny focus errors which destroyed image sharpness. To "solve" the problem, some repairman had recut the focus cam in the body to correctly focus the 80mm. This made sure that no other correctly assembled XL lens would ever focus properly on the camera. To resolve my problem, I dismounted all the lenses and had Jim Galvin remount them to fit his wonderful, little 6x9cm monorail view camera. This required his manufacture of an adapter for each lens board to thread in a cable release, as the XL system shutters re not threaded to take a release cable. (The XL used a unique, quick-release connector mounted on the lens barrel.) That's my XL story. My advice if you are drawn to buy an XL is, run for your life. Tip: Of the several options, the most exotic lens offered for the XL was the !00mm 2.8 Zeiss Planar. I looked for years and found a local guy with 2 of them. Unhappily, he had bought them new at list price with a couple of bodies and other XL stuff for a one-off job, and he wanted me to buy the lot for what he paid new. I assume that his widow buried them with him.

[@Olyvia..]

Interestingly enough the anti trust laws have not only gotten laxer, the ones that survived Reagan are usually just not enforced, monopolies are not only perfectly legal nowadays but in some cases even encouraged as long as they keep prices down in the short term

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

I own a Graflex SLR and it is my favorite large format camera I've ever used! taking portraits is so easy and extremely portable . you can pretty much adapt any barrel lens you want and achieve great results. Im glad there is still such a huge active community around them and places to repair them

[@Klpinfl]

The roll film back you have (RH8) is actually a 6x9 format. 8 frames per roll. Great video!

[@aeyb701]

I just subscribed. So much research you’ve done for this video. Very interesting. Learned something new.

[@bernardkealey6449]

Thanks for this; interesting history of the company which I’d not heard before. That’s pretty high praise for their planar lenses indeed.

[@SnowmansApartment]

Your videos are definitely one of my favorites when it comes to old cameras and their history!:) This reminds me a lot of my Polaroid 600SE, but definitely looks much more professional and the lens options are amazing. I always find focusing on rangefinder cameras a lot more pleasant and precise, the parallax correction is an amazing feature and the camera is incredibly beautiful!:)

[@josephawatson]

Wedding Studio I worked for used these mamiya universal and koni-omega 200s. I used the Universal one of the guys who used the graflex it was a solid camera. We used a 6x7 format. the graflex 6x7 backs were used on both the universal and the graflex cameras.

[@themisfits82]

Love your videos! I have a beautiful Wardflex II and Konica III that I really appreciate much more now.The only Graflex I own is the Graflex 22 TLR. A very attractive, but .... limited camera. The Wardflex II like the Beautyflex came with that distinctive metal lens cap you pointed out in your vid. Thanks for ALL the info, both history and use.

[@andyvan5692]

at 9:50 I think the camera you are trying to describe is the mamiya press, and super 23 cameras, similar in design, application, etc. the other one for the smaller lf concept was the baby Linhof technika cameras, which used 120 film, hence the smaller rear standard size, and the lack of usability of these today, as the 6x9 cut film is no longer made by manufacturers, only 4x5 and 8x10 are commercially available, so most of these "23's" are converted to roll film backs only.

[@aeyb701]

Freestyle photo supply last I looked had adox 2.25x3.25” sheet film. They’re a euro name so 6x9 wouldn’t be s stretch.

[@khanscombe619]

Let’s not forget the 1 they all copied, the Linhof Press. Thai offers a similar lens quality in a more field work basic but well built.

[@monochromebluess]

Excellent review. I hope you can get the camera up and running. Is their a “best “ focal length lens you would recommend for it ?

[@manandearth]

Any luck reparing the focus ring? I just got hold of a similar camera with broken focus ring lugs, can't find detailed enough information online for measurements. Was wondering if you could share your experience and some info you managed to fix it.

[@slow.poetry]

Which has better lenses, this one or the Koni Omega?

[@khanscombe619]

So how well do you compare the rangefinder ease of focus on this to the Mamiya Press 23?

[@japanvintagecamera8869]

That depends on the model. The old Press and the XL are more similar than the later Super 23 and Press models. The Mamiya cameras have more reliable focusing.

[@khanscombe619]

@@japanvintagecamera8869 I’m building an early Mamiya Standard Press tan & ivory & silver. I like the color scheme. Is it’s rangefinder any significance less accurate the later universal?

[@SomeUnremarkableGuy]

Why camera companies were obsessed with the flex in the name back in those days? Am I missing on something?

[@like2view]

Well.. the models being discussed above are TLRs These have a mirror (Reflects/reflex). AS do most modern SLRs. The early cameras of this company (Folmer&Schwing) introduced a SLR model the Graflex ; likely in the early 1900s. . These had a mirror (hence Reflex) which needed to release before the focal plane shutter curtain ran. They built these in every size imaginable. I saw a photo of an 8x10 version on a baseball field (sports photography) . The iconic photo of Margaret Bourke-White on the Chrysler Building shooting a 4x5 version. These have a long chimney/hood which allow you to focus the image on the quasi waist level ground glass (TTL). Folmer & Schwing were purchased by Kodak, then later spun off . Graflex (like Mercedes) became the company name, but they also made those press cameras you see in the old films, (think WeeGee) Those models were plate film cameras that uses a lens/shutter/flash. Those that had also incorporated the shutter curtain (like the Graflex) were called "Speed" Graphics" because the focal plane shutter could achieve a 1/1000th of a second.