James's Camera Collection: Graflex Century Graphic

Graflex Century Graphic USA 35mm cameras
Graflex Century Graphic
Film type: Sheet Film (2x3 inches) or Roll-Film (120 with adapter back)
Approx. dates of manufacture: 1949 - 1970
Approx. original price: $115.00 (1952)
Approx. street value: $150

This is a smaller version of the Pacemaker edition Crown Graphic by Graflex, so it looks like the little brother of my Speed Graphic (the difference between a Crown Graphic and a Speed Graphic is that the latter has a focal-plane shutter).

They made these for 20 years so it's tough to date it. Mine came from an antique shop and it's in beautiful condition; I paid full-freight for it but it came with the 2-¼ square adapter back for 120 film (because you can't easily get 2x3 sheet film anymore), a couple of old light meters, an early-era electronic flash (boy, we've come a long way), instruction books and some odds and ends that are always fun. It has the Kalart rangefinder and the bomb-sight, both of which were options. The only disappointment was that it has the low-end Graflar lens. For awhile there I was actually thinking of putting a better lens on it (like a Kodak Ektar), but I then I realized I'll probably never use the camera enough to notice the difference.

The camera is about ¼th the size of my Speed Graphic, which makes it much easier to tote around, whereas the Speed Graphic is simply luggable. Some weekend I'll drop a roll of 120 in and see what she'll do.

Camera manual: Orphan Cameras.com

©opyright by James Ollinger. All Rights Reserved.