Crown Graphic Special

What does the "special" mean in this camera's name? Is there anyplace where I can find information on this particular model? Has anyone ever used a 65mm Super Angulon 8.0 on this camera? Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Changeling1

What does the "special" mean in this camera's name? Is there anyplace where I can find information on this particular model? Has anyone ever used a 65mm Super Angulon 8.0 on this camera? Thanks.

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You might start here:
http://www.graflex.org/

I don't know for sure but, the examples I've seen left me thinking there was not really any difference between the "Special" and the ordinary Crown Graphic. I may be totally wrong, but I think it was a marketing gimick.

less expensive

Thanks everyone- I did check the Graflex site. On this camera, the word "Special" appears only on the lensboard that the 135mm Schneider Exenar is mounted on. The other lensboard with a Schneider SA 65mm doesn't have "Special" written on it. I did read somewhere that these Schneider lenses reduced the cost of the camera some $20.00 "back in the day" so Dan From's reply is correct, albeit a somewhat strange marketing ploy on Graflex's part.

The Special was indeed the bargain version of the Crown Graphic.

Twenty bucks, not all that long ago, was a lot of money.

And, not that long ago, Schneider was not the 'super premium' brand it is today. It always made good stuff, and the Xenar is fine, but the best glass was made in Rochester and it was expensive, whether it said Optar, Raptar, or Ektar.

When the 4x5 market was slowing, and costs had to be cut, lensmaking was shipped offshore, from Rochester to Germany, to Schneider and Rodenstock. Like many things, perception shapes our performance. I've seen folks literally throw out a mint Ektar and pay a premium for a Xenar... just out of ignorance.

Anybody out there know how Joseph Schneider became a lensmaker ? :p


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Ha, so "Special" does not mean "special". It means "less expensive"

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Originally Posted by vysk

Ha, so "Special" does not mean "special". It means "less expensive"

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Does the same apply if your mother called you "Special"? :whistling:

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Originally Posted by df cardwell

Anybody out there know how Joseph Schneider became a lensmaker ? :p

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I know he started out as a brewer, here in the US and went back to Germany to start the lens business.

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Originally Posted by df cardwell

The Special was indeed the bargain version of the Crown Graphic.

Twenty bucks, not all that long ago, was a lot of money.

And, not that long ago, Schneider was not the 'super premium' brand it is today. It always made good stuff, and the Xenar is fine, but the best glass was made in Rochester and it was expensive, whether it said Optar, Raptar, or Ektar.

When the 4x5 market was slowing, and costs had to be cut, lensmaking was shipped offshore, from Rochester to Germany, to Schneider and Rodenstock. Like many things, perception shapes our performance. I've seen folks literally throw out a mint Ektar and pay a premium for a Xenar... just out of ignorance.

Anybody out there know how Joseph Schneider became a lensmaker ? :p


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Oh boy. Now all those bargain lenses I've been buying on ebay are going to double in price when everybody finds out that old Rochester glass is better than old German glass.