1947 Speed Graphic - First Shots

Pete Askew

Pete Askew

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Well today was the day! Unfortunately the model escaped to the gym! So improvisation was in order...

The set-up

SpeedGraphic-1.jpg


One shot taken (ISO 100, 1s at f1:4.7 - ie wide open) and processed.

SpeedGraphic-2.jpg


Ilford Delta 100, ID11, 24ºC, 7.5 minutes.

The moment of truth!!

SpeedGraphic-3.jpg


Looking good.

SpeedGraphic-4.jpg


Just need to wait for it to dry now.

The scan will follow shortly!
 
All will be revealed Rob!!

The first image above shows the camera (1947 Speed Graphic 5x4 camera). The next two show the film processor at the end of its cycle and the next image shows the negative still on its holder having been taken out of the processing drum.

And after drying and scanning this is what I got..

SpeedGraphicSofa-2.jpg


So, lessons learned. The screen is very dim and not easy to focus using even though I'd used a loupe. At first I though it screen and the film must be sitting on slightly different planes but on re-checking I may have been a bit off (I was focusing on the top edge of the top hat). And what I got was the seam on the sofa. I think the screen shows a focus point somewhere in between.

SpeedGraphicSofa-3.jpg


The lens is remarkably flat give that is was used wide open and I'd hoped for a bit of focus vignette - not to be though. Not too sure where the bottom edge of the film has disappeared to (you should see the bit that sticks out of the holder as in the top (ie the bottom of the negative) and I suspect that the edge of the focal plane shutter is intruding a touch into the field of view. I'll need to check that.

Here's a version with a titanium tone and vignette.

SpeedGraphicSofa-1.jpg


Luckily the model has just got back and I have 6 more sheets loaded...

:)
 
It takes foties, though!:) Like a Holga!:p (Except the seam's too sharp for a Holga image.) :)

Good stuff, Pete. Thanks for posting.
 
Well it was never going to be a great photo but I played with it a bit more anyway. I should probably have shot it closer in the first place but I was keen to see what the edge sharpness of the lens was like (too sharp for my liking as it happens - I really was hoping it would have strong spherical aberration, damn!). I should also have lit the scene more strongly when focusing so I don't now have to re-check if it was me or mis-alignment of the screen / holder (hopefully the two shots I took earlier will resolve that). I guess I was in too much of a hurry and I only risked one sheet of film. And I had been fighting with the temperature controller on the processor for about 2 hours recalibrating it after having fitted the new filter the other month.

Still, here is a crop and slight reworking of the image. As I said, never going to be great but...

AftertheParty-3.jpg


Tin type simulation with coffee stain and enhanced grain. PS and Nik SilverFX 2.
 
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God damn restore didn't work and I've just lost a lengthy reply :(

Slightly more briefly what did you mean by
"I think the screen shows a focus point somewhere in between"

And why were you hoping for spherical aberration?
For a more "vintage" feel?

Also, do you often find this sort of lens much softer toward the corners then
 
Frustrating eh!

I have just developed two casual portraits from yesterday evening where I know for certain that I was focused on the eyes. So now I will know if the screen is accurate - ie that it is in the same plane as the film when inserted. Sometimes this can drift over time and you need to shim the screen (although I'm not sure if this is possible with a Speed Graphic). So when you look at the magnified section, I thought I had focused on the edge of the top of the hat but the stitching on the sofa is sharpest. Either I cocked up (which is possible as I used too low a level of light I think and hadn't got a feel for the screen at that point), or the screen and the film plane are not the same.

LF lenses are normally highly corrected. However, I had hoped that this lens might not be and have some drop off at the edges (as you say, to give a more vintage feel). But it is pretty damned good although maybe a little low in contrast compared with a modern lens.
 
All will be fine Hamish, all will be fine and the lens on 'your' MPP will be razor sharp. And, as it turns out, the focus of the Speed Graphic is fine. I just needed more light so I could see the texture of the focusing screen (it doesn't have any frame lines).

One of the two portraits now posted.
 
OK, I think I have figured out the focus issue (and the missing edge of the film). Occasionally the screen holder doesn't spring fully home at the top so I suspect that was enough to throw the focus out. Loosened it off and re-tightened the screws and all is now OK it seems. As to the missing edge, the side of one of the grooves has a tiny bit missing and I think film hadn't gone in square. I can now see that the lines of the holder do not align with the edge of the sheet. It's an old holder and I have now market it so I don't use that side.
 
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