Intrepid 4x5 Field Camera

The Intrepid 4x5 is one of the newest and least expensive large format field cameras.  It is made of wood, metal and some plastic and weighs in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces without a lens.  This is twice as much as my Nikon D7000 digital camera body, which weighs 1 pound, 7 ounces.  It is less than half as much as my Super Cambo monorail camera (9 pounds, 6 ounces).

Compared to monorail studio cameras, field cameras are lighter but have to give up some of the movements.  They have more movements than press cameras, which were intended to be hand held.  The Intrepid 4x5 has 42mm of rise (up movement from zero) and 30mm of fall (down) on the front standard (the part that holds the lens).  Front shift is 30mm left or right from center.  Front tilt is 45 degrees up or down.  Front swing is 45 degrees left or right.  The rear standard (the part that holds the focusing ground glass and the film holder) has 30 degrees of tilt up or down.  Limits to the flexibility of the bellows can constrain you from using all of the range of a movement.  Additionally, the back can be rotated 90 degrees to put the picture in either portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) orientation.

The Intrepid can use 75mm (3") to 300mm (12") lenses.  A lens on a 4x5 camera has roughly the same field of view as a lens one-third that size on a 35mm or full frame digital camera, so a 75mm is like a wide angle 24mm lens and a 300mm is like a short telephoto 105mm lens.  A 75mm or 90mm lens focused at infinity needs a lens board (the part that attaches the lens to the camera) that has at least a 15mm recess.  Intrepid lens boards are 96mm wide by 99mm high, the same as a Linhof Technika lens board, a common size for 4x5 cameras.  If you buy a lens already on a Linhof lens board you probably won't need to get a new lens board.  Large format lenses are not currently produced; however, second hand lenses and some old stock are readily available.  A typical set of lenses might include a 90mm wide angle, a 150mm normal lens and a 210mm long lens.

The camera folds for storage or transport.  To set it up you loosen the large round knobs on the sides and raise the back standard to 90 degrees.  The front standard is attached to the base board by a threaded knob.  There are four threaded holes about 35mm apart on the base board to take the front standard.  You select one according to the amount of bellows draw needed (minimum extension is 75mm and maximum extension is 300mm).  Initially you want to zero the front standard using the marks on the camera.  The lens board fits on the front.

The 4x5 dimension is the nominal size of the film.  The picture is actually 3-7/8" by 4-7/8" (98mm x 124mm).

Picture taking with a large format camera is slow and methodical.  Film has to be loaded 2 sheets to a film holder in total darkness.  The camera has to be supported by a sturdy tripod.  The camera has to be focused and the picture composed by looking at a ground glass with the shutter open and the aperture wide open.  Perspective and depth of field can be controlled by the camera movements.  The shutter needs to be closed, the shutter speed and aperture set, the dark slide pulled out and the exposure made.  Then the dark slide is replaced, the film holder taken out, and the film taken to the lab to be developed.   

Intrepid cameras are made in Hove, England, UK.  https://intrepidcamera.co.uk/

 

A Speed-O-Copy for the Argus 21

The Speed-O-Copy was a copying accessory made by D. (David) Paul Shull (1883-1953), Los Angeles, California. Mr. Shull was an instructor in the Los Angeles public schools for 30 years, and an inventor. The Speed-O-Copy addressed the problem of focusing and framing a close-up photograph with a rangefinder camera. Unlike a single lens reflex camera (or most digital cameras) a rangefinder camera does not show the photographer what the camera sees through the taking lens. To do macro photography you ideally needed to get a camera's eye view. The Speed-O-Copy did this by putting a ground glass focusing screen at the same distance from the lens as the film plane of the camera. The Speed-O-Copy required a camera with a removable lens. The camera body would be attached to the camera plate and the camera lens to the lens plate. You would swing the focusing screen into position, focus the lens, swing away the focusing screen and move the camera into the correct position. Versions were made for the screw mount Leica, bayonet mount Zeiss Ikon Contax, etc. The version I have was made for the Argus 21 Markfinder camera.
 

The Speed-O-Copy acted as an approximately 8mm extension tube. With the Markfinder lens set at infinity the working distance to the subject was about 14 inches. With the lens set at 3 ft. the working distance was about 9-5/16 inches. Extension tubes and auxiliary lenses to change the working distance and magnification were sold separately. An adapter was available to use the Speed-O-Copy with a microscope. Camera supports also were sold.

Before the advent of office copiers, documents were commonly photographed to make copies to keep as permanent records.

Set up for focusing.

Set up for taking a picture.

Patent Drawing for the Speed-O-Copy

 

Mil-o Diaphragm Dial for the Argus C-3

This diaphragm dial differs a little from the Tiffen dial shown in December, 2023 (http://fourelementsinthreegroups.blogspot.com/2023/12/tiffen-quick-reading-diaphragm-control.html).  Like the Tiffen dial, it slips over the pins on the Argus diaphragm dial and provides a side reading scale for the aperture.  It needs to be held in place by a Mil-o 19 mm screw-in to Series V filter adapter or else it will simply fall off.  The filter adapter holds a Series V drop-in filter that is held in place using either an insert ring or a lens hood.  The adapter should not be screwed all the way tight against the diaphragm dial, or else it will pinch the dial against the face of the lens and the dial won't turn.  Like the Tiffen dial, you need to put an aperture index mark on the lens.The benefit of the diaphragm dial is you can read the aperture with a Series V filter or lens hood attached.  The disadvantage is that the aperture scale moves around as the lens is focused.  I got this dial in a box with a Series V adapter and a lens hood.  The finish is bright chrome with engraved markings.

Mil-o was a trade name of Mr. Miller Outcalt (1912-2004), Hollywood, California, who sold photographic accessories.  At one time Mr. Outcalt distributed the Asahiflex single lens reflex camera made by Asahi Optical in the days before the Pentax, and the Yashica twin lens reflex camera.  Another of his trade names was "Kalt", which appears to be still in use for some photographic supplies.