Graflex Speed Graphic

The Graflex Speed Graphic is the classic American press camera, made in one form or another from the early 1910s until 1973. Most surviving examples are 4x5, though smaller 2x3 and 3x4 versions were made too.

What separates the Speed Graphic from its Crown Graphic sibling is a focal-plane shutter built into the back of the body, in addition to the leaf shutter in most lenses. That gives you two ways to make an exposure, and it means the camera can use barrel lenses with no shutter of their own. It also makes the Speed Graphic a little heavier and deeper than the Crown.

It folds up into a box. Many have a side- or top-mounted rangefinder coupled to the lens, so you can focus at eye level and shoot handheld the way press photographers did. For careful work you use the ground glass on the back. Movements are limited compared with a field or view camera — mostly front rise and shift, plus tilt by dropping the bed.

Common lenses include the Kodak Ektar 127mm and Schneider Xenar 135mm. A Speed Graphic is one of the least expensive ways into large format, and a box of HP5 Plus sheet film is a fine place to start.