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Graflex Speed Graphic

The Graflex Speed Graphic was the sister camera to the Crown and Century Graphic cameras, made by Graflex in Rochester, New York.  The Speed Graphic enjoyed a continuous production run that began in 1912 and continued until 1973.  During this time, several different models with a variety of improvements were introduced.  The Speed Graphic was meant to be packed and hauled around by the news photographers of the 1920s, requiring it to be rugged and sturdy - it was designed to be abused.  The most notable feature is its focal plane shutter, which had a top speed of 1/1,000th a second, giving the camera its "Speed" name.  This focal plane shutter not only allowed for faster action photography, but the use of barrel or shutterless lenses as well.  Other than the focal plane shutter, the Speed Graphic is largely identical to the Crown Graphic.  Some models have side or top-mounted rangefinders.  The bellows fold in, allowing the camera to be packed up inside its sturdy, metal box.  The lenses can be changed out via a removable lens board and there is often a side bracket for mounting a flashgun.  The Speed Graphic has pretty limited movements; usually the cameras have front rise, but no fall, and one direction tilt, backwards, but not forward.  Occasionally, they had shift but generally no swing and no rear movements at all.  These cameras can also be found in a variety of formats from 2 1/4x3 1/4, 3 1/4x4 1/4, 4x5 and 5x7, with the 4x5 being the most common and popular version by far.  

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