Speed graphic camera dating

Many models had coupled range finders for fast focusing as well as the traditional glass screen.

Also fitted were open wire framed and optical viewfinders plus a large flashbulb holder.

The Autographic feature was accessible via a flap on the back of the camera.

The 'Speed Graphic' 4 x 5 inch plate camera dominated photojournalism in America during the 1930s.

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From 1914 the Autographic feature appeared on most models, this enabled the photographer to write on the film with a metal stylus, through the backing paper and special tissue.

By the First World War this film had become the standard for movie pictures.

Everything works great and the bellows are light tight.At this time Newspapers preferred their photographers to use plates as they could be processed individually, also the 5 inch format was very practical for newspaper layout as this sized negative exactly fitted 3 newspaper column widths.However the versatility of this camera had to be balanced against its weight and general clumsiness.The Single Lens Reflex (SLR) designs comes from the 17th Century camera obscuras.It uses a mirror at an angle of 45 degrees to divert the image from the film plane to a viewing screen on the top of the camera.