What is it?
The Site does not to pretend to be a technical source for future owners nor history of the Graflex, Graphic cameras by Folmer Graflex Corporation.
No sweat though, you will find many sources on our link page.
Known also as the "Poor man's Linhof Technica" and nowadays obsolete, we must strongly disagree with this statement.

The strongest point of the SG (Speed Graphic)was and still is its strong focal plane shutter.
Apart from the ability to shoot handheld 4x5 film and chromes we can use barrel lenses.
This is what this site is all about...experimenting with barrel lenses of old age, large apertures and especially a fine bokeh!
The SG was made for commercial lenses and shutter speeds of Max 1/400 so the Focal plane was extra to reach the unbelievable shutterspeed of 1/1000 of a second.
Name us any large format camera that can do this!! This is what makes the SG highly wanted to day!
Using barrel lenses, a focal plane is mandatory if you don't want to work with a lenscap or a black hat that is.

The site will grow day by day...till now we have two projects and the results are fruitful.
There are many more barrel lenses with their own characteristics but we start with the Aero Ektar.
There might be more barrel lenses with their own characteristics like the Taylor & Hobson and Cooke & Sons to name just a few..
Barrel lenses are often overlooked, are cheap and fun to use with a FP shutter that is.
Modern lenses and plasmats have a max aperture of f5.6 where barrel lenses offer larger apertures from f1.8.
Resulting in a bright groundglass and a shallow depth of field, these lenses are shouting for experiments with wide open apertures...
We are on the lookout for a 165/1.8 Ernostar. by Ermanox.

Exerpt
The Ernemann Klapp, but with the monster Ernostar 1.8 lens. They were available as 858/3 for 6.5 x 9cm, the 858/7 for 9 x 12cm, 858/9 for 10 x 15cm and the giant 858/11 for 13 x 18cm. None of these models are common today, production ceasing in 1927, but the larger sizes, especially the 858/9 and 858/11 are extremely rare.

If you have any leads on this lens or special lenses you do favor, don't hesitate to contact us.

Note: For those readers who made the jump to 4x5 recently, we have added many pages with interesting information:

• Formulae
• Exposure metering
• Polaroid backs
• B&W tips and some...

Driebergen-R, Oct 1st 2005

Carte de Visite...

John D. de Vries.

Tempus fugit... temperature has gone up > F98
The site started growing ever since it was published.
Finally as with all projects, there will be light at the end of the tunnel and consequently there will be a finish.
In between a CD-rom was compiled with the Moskva-5, Euromaster, Norwood Director sites embedded.
Copies were sent to photographers and magazines to beta test.

Driebergen-R, July 24th 2006

Driebergen-R, Sept 8th 2006
Writing the last content for a while ???

Content: 195 Html/645 Images/200 Graphics

Today, the end of the tunnel was reached....and I decided the job was done! The core pages that is....
That does not mean it does not be monitored and updated once in a while. The User group is growing and will bring some editing work i.e publishing user images for the gallery etc... Now, I will have more time to concentrate on my own photography for the site. Definitely not the time to sit down and relax...
4 packs of Polaroid type 56 are waiting to be fed on the AE monster :-)
I do hope this site will bring you valuable information and will arouse and inspire you, in the mean time keeping alive what real photography is all about. Receiving many requests and inquiries makes me believe that there is life left for LF photography after all.
Enjoy,