The Graflex 4x5 Super Graphic and Super Speed Graphic

by William E. Inman, Sr.

Graflex introduced the 4x5 Super Graphic in February 1958. It was heralded by Graflex as “the greatest advance in press cameras in years, and is sure to catch the imagination of every advanced amateur and professional photographer. The Super Graphic is new in every way...completely new design and appearance …. new features for greater-than-ever versatility.

The Super Graphic is smaller than its predecessor, the famous Pacemaker Speed Graphic. It's styled in two-tone gray and black with aluminum trim.” A modern dream camera in every way. We need to back up to 1956, when the president of Graflex, Inc., Gaylord C. Whitaker, enlisted the services of industrial design consultant Peter Muller-Munk, who, along with the Graflex engineering staff, began the redesign of the 4x5 Graphic camera. Drawing heavily on Graflex research, they checked “human engineering” all the way from typical handholds to the mechanics of the shutter tripping. To give this camera the strength of the mahogany box of the Pacemaker, they chose an aluminum body for strength as well as lightweight properties. They went to Alcoa Aluminum for production parts, while assembly of the camera took place at the Graflex plant in Rochester, New York.

Human Engineering Features:
The Super Graphic is designed for convenience in handling. All locks and releases are readily accessible for adjustments and are large enough and properly shaped for foolproof operation.  The front lens standard swings, tilts and shifts have “click-stop” neutral positions.  The electronic shutter and flash tripping button can be used without changing hand position. The automatic focusing scale is on top of the camera for ease of
reading. All the flash shutter connections are internally wired to minimize dangling cords and prevent misfires from partially disconnected plugs.  A removable long optical viewfinder is supplied as an accessory.

Construction Features:
For maximum strength, resilience, precision, production cost savings and minimum weight, the Super Graphic uses an extruded strip bent to shape, and butt welded at the bottom joint. Integral beads on the edges add rigidity and serve as trim strips for the leather-grained covering. For parts requiring light absorption, black

anodizing replaces paint, which ends chipping and scratching.  Other precision parts are die-cast aluminum or magnesium to further minimize weight.

New Features:

1. Automatic flash setting calculator operates as part of the focusing scale on the top of the camera for determining the correct f stop.

2. Horizontal swing and forward tilt movements of the lensboard are standard, along with rising, shifting, and backward tilting movements.  The horizontal shift is usable even with short lenses.
3. A spring loaded focusing track was added for stability. An improved yoke is now “V” guide, running entire length of each side of the bed.

4. A revolving back that locks in the horizontal or vertical position. The rotation works in either direction accommodating a left-handed user, if necessary.
5. A removable focusing hood for quiet, one-handed operation was added.
6. A dark slide holding clip, on the focusing hood, runs the full length on the back of the hood and is made of “phosphorus bronze.”
7. Larger, easier-to-handle rangefinder cams and a simplified mechanism for easiest changing of cams was added.
8. Rangefinder focusing from 90mm wide-angle lenses to telephoto lenses is standard.

9. Interchangeable, internally wired, lensboard assemblies for either flashbulbs or electronic flash provide connection through the camera body.

10. A double cam action slide lock on the Graflok back provides positive positioning of the Grafmatic, Film Pack, Roll Holder and Polaroid film holders.

11. A built-in electrical socket on the lower right side accepts a polarized three-prong pin cord for the Graflite and the Stroboflash, providing internal shutter synchronization and eliminates cords dangling from the shutter.

12. A Presslock Tripod Mount accessory for instant and solid attachment or removal of the camera when fitted to a tripod.

13. A new type bed lock arrangement, rotation of either focusing knob, locks or unlocks the bed, which eliminates accidental releasing.

14. The Super has a high-precision builtin rangefinder. The rangefinder cam operates the focusing scale indicator on the stop of the camera, so that the scale always matches the lens used. Shown below is the Pacemaker rangefinder, which is the same system used in the Super Graphic, with a few changes.

15. An electronic shutter and flash tripping release button are located conveniently for left -hand operation. The BC circuit is powered by two 22.5-volt Eveready batteries (number 412) for tripping the solenoid in the base of the front lens standard.
The same circuit can also be tripped from the Graflite two-cell flash unit red button with the addition of the Y cord (Catalog number 2808) for flash bulb firing.
When introduced in 1958, the Super “outfit” sold for $416, while the 4x5 Pacemaker Crown Graphic outfit with the same shutter sold for $340. The Super Graphic remained in the Graflex line through 1973,
when camera sales were discontinued. In that year, the Super outfit sold for $641 and a 4x5 Pacemaker Crown outfit for $543. 
The 4x5 Super Speed Graphic
The Super Speed Graphic was introduced in 1959 and last sold in 1969, when Graflex stopped production of the Graflex 1000 shutter.  The only difference between the Super Graphic and the Super Speed Graphic was the introduction of the Graflex 1/1000 leaf shutter. The bodies are the same.  Up to that time, the fastest leaf shutter was 1/500. The Graflex 1/1000 shutter was a revolutionary design. For further information, see my article in the GHQ Volume 5, Number 1, titled “The Dream Shutter.”

If your camera needs to be repaired, I highly recommend Fred Lustig.  Mr. Lustig has provided quality Graflex service for many years and has a good supply of parts for the 1000 shutter and the Super Graphic.
He can be reached by mail at 4790 Caughlin Parkway, No. 433, Reno, NV 89509, or by phone at (775) 746-0111.

References:
Graflex Trade Notes, February 1958.
Graflex Super Graphic/Super Speed Graphic Instruction Manual.
Alcoa Aluminum Newsletter, October 1959, Peter Muller-Munk Association publication.

Special thanks to Mr. William E. Inman, Sr. and the Graflex Historic Quarterly for their kind permission to reprint this outstanding and informative article. Click Here to Read More!

January’s Guest Speaker

Ann Simmons-Myers from Pima Community College
by Jerry O’Neill

Mrs. Ann Simmons-Myers was our guest speaker at the January general meeting. She is the director of the Photographic program at Pima Community College.

Ann’s presentation consisted of a group of unique and beautiful film photos made by her. The photos were printed on high quality paper and enhanced using special techniques that make them into works of art. If you missed this presentation we will be sure to invite her back to speak again at a later date. Thanks Ann!

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Spring Camera Show - March 14

Show time in Tucson March 14, 2010! We are ready for our 50th show. Set-up at 6:00 a.m. Show opens 8:00 a.m. Timing is so everyone can get in on early bird deals as well as having the public enter an hour earlier. WPHS consignment tables are again planned for opening when ready at 8:00 a.m. Exhibitors may enter from exhibitors' free parking back of the building at 6:00 a.m.
The InnSuites City Center Conference & Resort (new name) has a block of rooms set aside for exhibitors by calling (520) 622-3000 which includes Sunday breakfast. Our InnSuite hosts have the entire Restaurant open from 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  Show closing remains at 3:00 p.m. and request not leaving early.
We will ask you to remind all customers of the list of all other exciting happenings and demonstrations throughout the show. Schedules and events will be posted and copies on every table. This show includes a participant questionnaire regarding show related thoughts to be used in planning of the Fall 2010 show set for October.
InnSuites location is 475 N. Granada at the corner of St. Marys (East/West) & where Main Street becomes Granada (North/South). Best information on routes is to Google Map Quest.
You may use the following link to the show info on the WPHS web site
(http://www.wphsociety.org/camerashow.htm). This also contains a print out of the show reservation & membership application form to mail in with your check.  Note March 14th on your calendar! You may also contact via email, telephone or surface mail at my addresses below.

See you on Sunday March 14th at the InnSuites and have a great show!

Best regards,
Paul Garrett, Show Chairman
sinuoso@aol.com Click Here to Read More!

February WPHS Meeting Program

Our speaker for February will be Jerry Day. He will talk about his toys that look like cameras, cameras that look like toys, and other specialty items. Jerry has been collecting for a number of years and will bring many of his cameras for you to see. Jerry enjoys his collection and will talk about how he got into this area of collecting. You'll enjoy his enthusiasm and his cameras!

In March, we'll look forward to hearing about the real Ansel Adams from Becky Senf from the Center for Creative Photography. Becky has studied Ansel Adams and will have an interesting show for us.

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January Program

Ann Simmons-Myers first worked in a darkroom at the Ohio State University in January of 1971. Since that time, she has sustained a love of photography and its various processes through teaching and exhibiting. In 1979 Simmons-Myers moved to Tucson, in order to study alternative photographic processes with Todd Walker and fell in love with the desert. For the past twenty years she has been head of the Photography Program in the Visual Arts Department at Pima Community College, where she learns from her students every day.
Her work has been shown extensively throughout the United States as well as several foreign countries.
Ann will have several pieces of her latest work on display and will share her vast photographic experience with our members.
We urge you to attend this outstanding and exciting program.

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November Program:

Our speaker for November will be Andrew Bevington, Photography teacher at Amphitheater High School. Andrew is a Tucson native who began teaching in 2002 on the Tohono O’odham Reservation and moved to Amphi in 2004. He recently won a Fulbright Scholarship to Photograph Turkey: Secular & Sacred Spaces. His awards come from Photo Imaging Educators Association and Prix de la Photographie in Paris. He’s also had works in a number of publications. Andrew will talk about his experience teaching students to create bodies of work that convey a theme or idea using color psychology, symbol, metaphor, etc. to expand and extend the conceptual value of each image. It also encompasses the transition from film to digital and how he trains students to choose a form (film, digital, historical process, etc.) that enhances the meanings of their series. For the last few years, he has been trying to change the focus from preparing students to work as studio assistants to preparing them with a wide range of skills to succeed in the photographic industry. Click Here to Read More!

October Meeting Recap

At our October meeting, James Gregg shared the life and works of a photojournalist with us. His ability to get people to talk about their situations and then to take photos that catch the story is impressive. He called it taking “pictures with heart”. Pictures from his recent trip to Puerto Rico gave us an entirely new sense of the vibrancy of life there with glimpses of the more difficult sides of life.

James always carries a camera with him and noted that, as a photographer, he always looks for the “unexpected in the expected”. As a newspaper photographer, he is assigned some routine shoots—a high school football game, for example. James got the expected football shots, but also showed us an intriguing picture of a baton twirler performing with the band.
One of the most impressive sequences of shots was taken while James stayed with a homeless man in Tucson whom he had befriended. Taking a camera “I could afford to lose”, he went to live with the man for three days with not much more than bus fare in his pocket. James’ confidence to survive in such a potentially dangerous situation was rewarded with some amazing shots that give the viewer a real look and feel for the life of homeless persons.

There are some quieter moments when James is reviewing all the shots he takes. He may take 10,000 shots in a day in order to get just the shots to tell the stories.

James likes the life of a newspaper photojournalist and has covered stories from the difficulties along the US/Mexico border to the winter celebration at La Encantada when the fake snow rains down on the courtyard. Thanks, James, for sharing your photos and enthusiasm with us.
Late Breaking News: James Gregg just won two Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for “His Own Fight” about a Tucson mixed martial arts fighter and in the achievement of craft/photography category.
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