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 four pounds to the weight[2] (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 hammered-finish paint. It has a ground-glass ruled with a half-inch grid.
The bottom frame of the camera comprises a pair of outer rails, with an inner pair that can be extended backward to give up to 34 inches of bellows extension; more than double extension. The front standard is fixed at the front of the outer 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 tripod mount is also movable along the frame, so the camera can be balanced front-to-rear when the bellows is extended.
The outer rails are jointed in two sections: to fold the camera for carrying or storage, as pictured here, the rear standard and the tripod mount are moved onto the short front section of the outer rails, and the rest of the frame is folded up behind the rear standard, like a Reisekamera.
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;[3]
- 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]
There are no detents to locate the zero positions for the movements.[4]
Accessories
- The camera uses 6-inch square lens boards. Adapters were offered to accept a 4-inch board.
- Reducing backs for 5x7 and 4x5 inch were sold for the camera.
- The camera was supplied with a wire frame to support a focusing cloth (so that it forms a tent, rather than draping over the user's head).
- A compendium shade was available.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Calumet C Series 8 X 10: a review by Sean Yates, at LargeFormatPhotography.Info
- ↑ According to a forum post about the C-1 at Photrio; one post states that some green-painted cameras are magnesium-framed, others aluminium, and all black-painted cameras are aluminium-framed.
- ↑ As is often the case, more front rise than this can be achieved by tilting the camera and using both front and rear tilt.
- ↑ According to a post in a forum post about the C-1 at photo.net
Links
- 1970 Calumet brochure covering both the CC-400 monorail and the C-1 (pp 11-15), at Camera Eccentric
- Calumet 8x10 at Timothy Hawes Stahl Imagery
