6. 4x5 Cameras

The familiar 4x5 press cameba is used almost exclusively in shooting candid weddings. It is the candid photographer's badge. The 4x5 was passed down to us by the newspaper photographer who found it convenient to be able to shoot as little as one snot and to use a film size easy to handle and one that would show no objectionable grain with active developers.

The first internally synchronized shutters, X or MX, were designed for the camera most used for serious flash work—the 4x5 Press. Internally synchro­nized shutters did not appear on roll film cameras until about ten years later (1951); fully synchronized shutters about 1953. More than anything else, the G.I. Bill of Rights provided the impetus that was to establish the 4x5 as the camera for flash photography. To the many thousands of these students the schools recommended the 4x5 as the ideal "all around" camera! It was built for flash, the film was amply sized for portrait retouching and the controls flex­ible enough for most commercial assignments. Find a photography school student and you're likely to find a 4x5 camera. As candid weddings became increasingly popular, the studios and students found each other.

Four of the most used 4x5's are the Speed or Crown Graphic, Busch-Pressman, Linhof and the B&J Press. They are all bellows type. The Graphic is by far the most popular. Sheet film holders, film pack adapters and the six-film Grafmatic holder can be used in any 4x5 springback camera. This is important in case of camera breakdown.

Studios are adapted for handling 4x5 film and not many will hire a man with a smaller film size camera. The 4x5 provides a healthy margin of safety for the candid photographer who is timid about filling up his negatives.

Lenses and Shutters

The most popular focal length for the 4x5 press camera is the 135mm (5Yi inch). Its shorter than normal focal length makes it a desirable lens for working in close quarters, gives additional depth of field and provides ample coverage at f/stops used in flash work. The lenses commonly found on press cameras sold in this country are: the 135mm Wollensak Raptar, Graflex Optar, Schneider Xenar, and the (127mm) Kodak Ektar. All are coated, and all can be had with MX, fully synchronized shutters. The lens is usually an f/4.5 or f/4.7 of four-element design. F/4.7 is fast enough, especially with today's high speed films.

43. This is, of course, a posed shot so any doorway will  do  either  at  the  home  or  at  the  reception.

Shooting from a high vantage point such as an in­side stairway will make for more interesting per­spective. (Rolleiflex; Tri-X; 80 w/s electronic flash, 1 /100,   f/11;    film    developed    in    Microdol.)

A between-the-lens, fully synchronized, MX shutter eliminates the need for battery-draining solenoids. It permits an instant switch to flashgun or elec­tronic flash if either unit should give trouble. A shutter speed range from one second to 1/200 is acceptable, but 1/400 or faster is preferable. The one sec­ond to 1/400 shutter almost always accompanies the press camera lens.

A solenoid activated shutter is not less expensive than an MX fully syn­chronized shutter. To the busy candid wedding photographer the MX shutter is preferable because the cost of battery changes can mean the price of a new lens and shutter every three to five years. On the other hand, the solenoid has two advantages. First, when a long extension cord is used, you can activate the shutter by means of a button on the flashgun. Second, if your work calls for simultaneous black-and-white and color exposures from the same flashbulb, with a Candid Stereo Bracket, you'll need a solenoid on one of the two cameras.

Otherwise, if the flashbulb is used within reach of your camera, and you have a substitute camera, and both cameras are MX synchronized, the sole­noid is an accessory you'll never use.

The focal plane shutter on the Speed Graphic is a hazard that may spell no pictures. For electronic flash, this back shutter is not really useful because it can only be used at 1/25 second. Its advantage of rapid speed, on the other hand, is rarely useful to the wedding photographer who works at more normal shutter speeds. The sole advantage of the back shutter is that less-expensive barrel-mounted lenses of either wide-angle or longer than normal focal lengths may be employed.

Before getting off the subject of the 4x5 press camera I would like to comment on some long overdue improvements. The sheet film holder may an­swer the purpose of the newspaper or commercial photographer but it falls miserably short as fast and efficient equipment for the man who has 50 or more shots to take, often one right after the other. It takes four motions to put in the holder, pull out the slide, replace the slide and pull out the holder to take one picture. Multiply this by 50 and you have a lot of work just handling the film. With this, include the time and energy wasted in going to the carrying case after every four or six exposures. The Grafmatic, which holds six sheet films, is an improvement but still inadequate. You will need 10 Grafmatic holders, and as with the regular two-film holder, it's quite a job of loading. Larger holders styled on the discontinued 12 to 18 sheet film septums would add substantial weight to an already cumbersome camera. Film packs are perfect but, it costs $10 to $11 to shoot a candid wedding with them and that's a lot of money for film. What about a 4x5 roll film holder built on the order of the ones being used on the miniature press cameras that would hold about a 25-shot roll? Buckling of film? Why should it buckle anymore than in the six exposure 118 (3¼x4¼) or 122 (3¼x5½) roll film sizes? A single or multi­ple roll film developing tank should present no problem. Or as a second choice, a 25-shot film pack constructed the same as the present film pack would be a great help and would I am sure, cut production and packaging costs. Jam­ming? If it were as reliable as the present pack there would be no cause for complaint. I have used film packs for 10 years—used thousands—and not one has ever jammed.

To complete the circle of an accurate rangefinder, a sharp lens, a synchro­nized shutter, a remarkable flashbulb or the astounding electronic flash, we need a device for the press and roll film camera that would automatically ad­just the f/stop for flashbulb or electronic flash as we focused. It would end the most persistent trouble in flash photography—bad exposures. The 35mm Bolsey Jubilee Set-O-Matic has such a provision.

44. If formals of the bride alone were not made at the house they can be made during the reception. They are generally made front face although the head may be turned slightly for a more -flattering angle, and the shoulders and hips should usually be turned to a three-quarter angle from the camera. The candid wedding photographer must usually work with only one light to achieve his effects. (Busch Pressman; Tri-X; 60 w/s electronic flash unit, 1/200 second, f/10; film was developed in DK-50.)

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