Calumet C-1
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| image by Gustavo Vasquez (Image rights) |
Calumet made an 8x10-inch view camera, the C-1. It is inevitably large and heavy, being metal-framed, but folds up to be quite compact, and was intended to be portable. Sean Yates, in an article at Q.T. Luong's LargeFormatPhotography.Info, states that it was based on the design of the (wooden-bodied) Ansco Commercial View Camera.[1]
The main castings of the frame of the earliest cameras are made from magnesium alloy, giving a camera weighing about 14 pounds (5.6 kg). Later, these parts were made from aluminium, adding to the weight (because of the perceived fire risk of magnesium-alloy shavings in the machine shop, according to Sean Yates[1]). The camera is usually seen with either green or black crackle-finish paint.
The camera sits on a frame with two rails running front to rear, allowing up to 34 inches of bellows extension. The front standard is fixed at the front of the rails (unlike the Ansco camera, on which the front standard can rack to and fro). Focusing on the C-1 is by racking the rear standard. This is by a friction mechanism, not rack-and-pinion. The bottom frame, including the rails, is in two sections. To fold the camera for carrying or storage, it is possible to move the rear standard onto the short front section, then fold the rest of the frame up behind the rear standard. The camera has a carrying handle on the top of the rear standard, with small bubble levels in its metal mounts, one each for front-rear and left-right levelling (this is like the 4x5-inch CC-400 monorail camera).
The camera allows the following movements:
- Front rise/fall - 5 inches total, geared;
- Front shift - 4 inches total;
- Front tilt - unlimited, on-axis;
- Front swing - unlimited, on-axis;
- Rear tilt - 30 degrees, on-axis;
- Rear swing - 30 degrees, on-axis;
- Rear shift - 4 inches total.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Calumet C Series 8 X 10: a review by Sean Yates, at LargeFormatPhotography.Info
