I have a chance to buy a 4X5 Super Speed Graphic but am wondering if these are particularly desirable/useable. It comes woth a 4x5 2 sided film carrier, Polaroid 500 film carrier and 1 Graphic film pac carrier.
Any advice is welcome.
Dave

The film pack adapter is useless, the 500 Polaroid back is nearly so. (It can be used, but with care, while a 545 back is cheap to buy.

Super Graphic has one large benefit over a Pacemaker Crown--- It has a rotating back.

It has one big drawback-- because it doesn't have movable rails inside the body, wide angle lenses are difficult to focus and wide angle lenses in helical mounts are hard to find.

When new, one neat feature of the Super Graphic is it's internal wiring system. Buried in the bellows is a series of wires to a built in solenoid. With a pair of 22v batteries, you can trip the shutter by the red button on the body.

Time has not been kind to this feature. Over the years the wires in the bellows break, and many times the original Super Graphic board is replaced with a standard Pacemaker board, eliminating this feature.

If you plan on using normal to long lenses, it's a great camera.

Les:
Thanks for your input.
This camera has a Rodenstock(Graflex Optar) 135mm lens which sounds good to me, is this so?
Also, can this camera use roll film with the proper back? and if so are these hard/expensive to get. I assume 4X5 film is reasonably available and priced. I have never used sheet film so excuse the basic questions. I am looking for a little more guidance.
Thanks,
Dave

If you say "Super Speed" meaning that it has the 1/1000 sec shutter, you might want to think twice. That shutter has history of being a bit persnickity... and nearly imposible to get repaired if it needs parts.

I'm a bit fan of the Super Graphic and find the perfomance of the Optar lens and Graphex shutter to be quite acceptable. I especially like the electric shutter release. The batteries are easily available from Radio Shack web site.

Yes, you can use a roll film back. You'll need to remove the ground glass, though, so a calibrated rangefinder and the proper viewfinder mask really helps. The backs are seen every day of the week on ebay and masks are availble from Midwest Cameras. The backs with lever-wind have additional film rollers and are reputed to be better in terms of film flattness.

Brian:
Thanks for your advice. This camera is a U.S. Army model but it is complete with tripod, case, flash etc. I may be smart to pass on it, there are lots of Graphics for sale.This is a new area for me so all the help I can get is most welcome.
Thanks,
Dave

Dave Ramsey wrote:

Les: Thanks for your input. This camera has a Rodenstock(Graflex Optar) 135mm lens which sounds good to me, is this so? Also, can this camera use roll film with the proper back? and if so are these hard/expensive to get. I assume 4X5 film is reasonably available and priced. I have never used sheet film so excuse the basic questions. I am looking for a little more guidance. Thanks, Dave

My mistake, I missed that you posted it was a Super Speed, and not a Super Graphic. The 135mm Optar is a very good lens and the shutter was "cutting edge" in its day as it was the only between the lens shutter that came close to a 1/1000 of a second, but it isn't the most reliable shutter and repairs are difficult and expensive.

Yes this camera can use 120/220 roll film. By pushing and sliding the silver brackets on the back of the camera, you can remove the ground glass and expose the Graflok sliders. This will hold Graflex Graphic roll holders designed for 4x5 cameras and Grafmatic film holders. Do a search on ebay for RH-10, RH-12 and RH-8 film holders. The 10 gives 6x7cm sized images, the 12 is 6x6 and the 8 is 6x9, make sure it fits 4x5 cameras as they made them for the 2x3 cameras as well.

Calumet made a roll holder that slides in from the side like a film holder. these will work as well, but are a bit awkward for hand hold shooting. The C2 and C2N will both work.

Film is available and reasonably priced through freestyle (www.freestylephoto.biz) You'll need some film holders too. Look for Riteway film holders on ebay. Prices are falling for decent used holders.

If the price is right, Dave, and the camera/accessories are in good shape you might want to consider grabbing it. 135 Optars in Graphex shutters are all over ebay and you can easily swap the lens/shutter out if you need to.