Graflex Pacemaker Crown Graphic1947

History

The Pacemaker Crown Graphic and Pacemaker Speed Graphic together replaced the earlier Anniversary Speed Graphic in 1947. The "Pacemaker" designation marked a significant redesign: a new body with a rotating back (on some configurations), flash synchronization on the body rather than via flash clamps, an improved coupled rangefinder, and a redesigned front standard with more reliable movements.

The Crown Graphic was positioned as the lighter and less expensive variant. Press photographers who worked primarily with flash in synchronization with the lens shutter - which became standard by the late 1940s as electronic flash replaced bulky flashbulb rigs for fast news work - had no practical need for the focal-plane shutter. The Crown Graphic met this use case at a lower weight and price than the Speed Graphic.

Graflex continued the line through approximately 1973, when large-format press camera production ended as 35mm and medium-format cameras with motor drives and faster film took over most press applications. During the production run, incremental improvements were made to the rangefinder coupling and flash synchronization, but the fundamental design remained stable.

The Crown Graphic was the last large production run of a purpose-built American press camera in 4x5. Large numbers were manufactured and survive in working condition, making it one of the most available large-format cameras on the used market.

Why It Matters

The Crown Graphic, along with the Speed Graphic, was the defining American press camera of the postwar era. News photographers working for wire services, newspapers, and magazines in the late 1940s through early 1960s used the Graphic series more than any other 4x5 format camera for daily assignment work.

The photographs made on Graphic-series cameras during this period include some of the most widely reproduced news images of the twentieth century. The practical reason was the camera's combination of portability for a 4x5, its ability to use sheet film for individual exposures that could be processed and wired quickly, and the coupled rangefinder that allowed rapid hand-held operation without ground-glass focusing for every shot.

The Crown Graphic specifically attracted photographers who wanted the Graphic form factor but worked entirely with synchronized flash and lens shutters, avoiding the focal-plane shutter's limitations with certain fast lenses and flash units. By the mid-1950s, the Crown Graphic was arguably the more practical choice for most press use as lens-shutter synchronization became universal.

Lenses & Accessories

The Crown Graphic uses the Graflex 4-inch square lensboard, which is widely available and accepted by many of the large-format cameras produced concurrently by other manufacturers. A substantial range of period lenses shipped on these boards; modern large-format lenses can be remounted.

• Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.7 - the factory-standard lens for most 4x5 Graphic cameras; compact, sharp, and well-matched to the Graphic's coupled rangefinder
• Graflex Optar 135mm f/4.7 - a Graflex-branded lens using Rodenstock optical design; alternative factory standard
• Kodak Wide-Field Ektar 100mm f/6.3 - wide-angle option with coverage for moderate movements
• Schneider Symmar 150mm f/5.6 - later lens upgrade commonly fitted to Pacemaker-era bodies
• Graflex roll-film back - 6x9 on 120 film; fits the Graflok back
• Grafmatic sheet-film holder - six-sheet sequential holder; much faster to use in the field than individual dark slides
• Kalart rangefinder - the most common coupled rangefinder fitted to Pacemaker-era Graphic cameras; requires calibration per lens
• Electronic flash sync adapter - mid-production bodies gained built-in sync; early examples may require adapter

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Weegee (Arthur Fellig) used Graphic-series press cameras extensively for his night-time crime and social documentation in New York City from the late 1930s through the 1950s; his work epitomizes the aesthetic of the synchronised flash on 4x5 press film.
• Wire service photographers (AP, UPI, Acme) used Graphic cameras as primary field equipment throughout the late 1940s and 1950s; the cameras appear in behind-the-scenes photographs of postwar news coverage worldwide.
• Adopted by portrait and commercial photographers in the 1940s and 1950s as a location studio camera for its portability relative to view cameras and its compatibility with standard sheet-film processing workflows.
• Currently used by contemporary photographers for street, documentary, and portrait work as an affordable and durable entry into 4x5 photography.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Crown Graphic
• Graflex.org community resource