Reducing press camera weight. Drill pattern wanted.

[Bob Eskridge]

My 4X5 camera is a Busch Pressman. I have replaced the back with a Graflok back from a Crown Graphic (non rotatingl now), replaced the bottom round part for attaching to a tripod with a hollowed out square aluminum plate and replaced the strap lugs with ones from a Crown Graphic and added a tripod attachment hole on the side. The camera is now really easy to use and suits me fine.

But to really have a lightweight 4X5 press camera I had planned to build a lightweight 4X5 press style camera using the front standard and rails from a B&J Press. The body and Graflok back would be from sheets of carbon fiber available from hobby stores. With that the weight maybe could be down to, say, 3.5 lbs or so.

But why bother? My Pressman weighs 5 lbs including the rangefinder but no lens. Except for backpacking I don't see much of a reason to make it lighter.

BTW: My Crown Graphic with the top rangefinder but no lens is practically identical in weight at 5 lbs
but is much bulker.

[domaz]

I use this camera as a hand-held camera most times. I just weighed my old 5x7 camera and it's about 1/2 lb more than the Pressman. The secret there must be that it's made of wood and steel.

Were there any 4x5 Pressmans with a wood cases?

Speaking of 5x7 cameras. I'm pretty sure my 5x7 Top-Handle Speed Graphic is lighter than my Anniversary 4x5 Speed Graphic. My 4x5 doesn't even have a rangefinder or any of that business- so I don't think Graflex and others were really concerned about weight as much as sturdiness.