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FS Calumet CC-401 view camera (4x5) (long rail) and lens (ca. 1966/1951)

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
I have just posted to eBay a Calumet CC-401 view camera (4x5) (long rail) and lens (ca. 1966/1951) (eBay item number 250973883374). Here is a direct link to the eBay listing:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250973883374

This is a Calumet CC-401 view camera, 4"x5" format, serial number 25028, made by Calumet Photographic, Inc., likely c. 1966. It is in the gray finish that was common for the model at that time. We believe that this was a special order model, made for Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, California, for use in connection with a course in professional photography.

CC-401_E25459-01-S600.jpg

The CC-401 has a 26” rail, accommodating a bellows extension of about 22”, allowing work at large magnifications with lenses of large focal length.

CC-401_E25458-01-S600.jpg

Lens and shutter

The camera is equipped with an Graflex Optar 162 mm (6-3/8") f/4.5 lens in a no. 3 Full Synchromatic Graphex shutter (both made for Graflex, Inc. by Wollensak). It is believed that the lens and shutter date from c. 1951. It is on a removable lens board. The lens board is die-cast and may be a genuine Calumet part - I've lost track of its provenance.

CC-401_E25460-01-S600.jpg

The lens would be considered a “normal” focal length for this format size, giving a horizontal field of view (landscape orientation of the back) equivalent to that given on a full-frame 35-mm camera by a 48 mm lens.

The shutter affords instantaneous exposure times from 1 sec to 1/200 sec, as well as bulb and time modes for longer exposures. Flash synchronization is provided for “M” and “F” class flash lamps, as well as “X” synchronization for use with electronic flash.

The lens aperture can be stopped down to f/32.

The shutter is a cock-fire type (one lever cocks it, the other fires it). There is also a lever that opens the aperture all the way during composition and focusing without disturbing the regular aperture setting.

There is a fitting for a conventional cable release.

Features

The CC-401 is a 4”×5” format view camera of the monorail type, the front and back standards being supported by a round aluminum bed rail with a keyway to maintain their vertical alignment.

The camera allows focusing by moving either the front or the back along the bed rail, using knob-operated friction wheel drives with locking knobs. A release lever disengages the friction wheel to allow rapid coarse positioning. There are finger grips on the slide barrels to facilitate this type of maneuver.

The camera can also be focused by moving the entire camera, by shifting the rail through the tripod mount, a maneuver that can be desirable for closeup photography with a predetermined magnification. A knob-operated friction wheel drive is also provided there, but with no quick release.

The camera is equipped with an extensive set of image control movements: front standard rise/fall, shift, tilt, and swing; rear standard shift, tilt, and swing.

Only the front rise/fall movement is gear driven.

A small nicety is a chrome-plated clip on each side of the back to hold the dark slide during the shot.

There is a nice carrying handle on the rear standard.

There are small bubble levels for the pitch and roll axes on the rear standard (adjacent to the carrying handle).

The back

The camera back is of the spring type (sometimes called the Graphic type), with a ground glass focusing frame, and accommodates standard "Graphic-type" 4”×5” double dark slide (DDS) film or plate holders. The back revolves, allowing the negative to be oriented in the horizontal (“landscape”) orientation (with the dark slide end of the film holder to either side), the vertical (“portrait”) orientation, or any other arbitrary orientation. A clamp lever releases the back to allow change in orientation. There is a detent at the vertical and horizontal positions.

The back is equipped with a lifting bail. This allows the spring-mounted ground glass frame to be gently retracted to allow the film holder to be easily inserted, avoiding any disturbance to the position of the camera after it has been carefully aimed and focused.

CC-401_E25450-01-S600.jpg

The ground glass has a light grid at 1 cm intervals, plus markings for some special frame sizes.

Included

The item for sale is the camera complete, with lens.

A 4"x5" double dark slide film holder (Graphic Type 5, made by Graflex, Inc,) is also included.

The tripod seen in the pictures is not included.

Condition

The camera is complete and in overall very good mechanical and cosmetic condition. There are, however, a few scuffs on the upper corners of the front and rear standards. The bubble levels are intact and seem to work properly.

The lens is in superb condition. There are no visible anomalies in the glass. The lens shutter operates well in all modes. The time calibration is has not been tested except at 1 sec; that setting tests out by stopwatch at about 1.25 sec (typically the slower speeds are the most affected by age).

The ground glass is in very good condition and clean.

The film holder is in very good mechanical and aesthetic condition, but shows some wear on the "leading corners" from usage.

The bellows is in good condition and is believed to be light-tight, but I cannot guarantee that there is not a pinhole someplace; I have not shot with the camera.

Provenance

The camera was bought at auction in April, 2007 from Ben Carufel of San Diego, California. The seller advised that likely the previous (and first) owner had acquired the camera through Brooks Institute.

The lens and shutter were bought at auction in April, 2007 from Don Boyce of Clarksburg, West Virginia.

The camera and lens have been in my possession since then.

Model history

The Calumet CC-400 series view camera began life in 1947 as the Eastman Kodak Company Master View Camera. In 1955, Kodak discontinued the camera and sold the rights to its design to Calumet Photographic, Inc., a Chicago-based maker and distributor of photographic equipment. Calumet made the basic camera as the Model CC-400. Kodak also licensed Burke & James Photographic Company under the design of the Master View camera, and they manufactured essentially the same camera as their Orbit series for a number of years. Variations on the original design were introduced over the years, including the CC-401 (with a longer rail and bellows—the model offered here) and CC-402 (with a short rail and bellows and a special front standard to permit convenient use of lenses of small focal length).

Calumet made this camera line into the late 1980s. It is one of the best-selling view cameras of all time.

This camera was well suited for a range of work, including portrait and product photography.

It is nicely designed and constructed, and well provided with features needed for advanced photographic tasks.

Shipping

This item will ship to the US by UPS Ground, insured.


Best regards,

Doug
 
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