GRAFLEX Cirkut User Manual
VOLUME 14 ISSUE 3 THIRD QUARTER 2009
GRAFLEX
HISTORIC
QUARTERLY
FEATURES
No. 5, No. 6 and No . 16 Cirkut Cameras by Bill McBride…………...1
The 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 Speed Graphic of 1935-1939 by Ken Metcalf….…..5
GRAFACTS….Graflex Slave/Sync and Graflex Booster/Analyzer
by Bill Inman………………………………..……………..…….7
Speed Graphic article, xl advertisement...………………..……....Insert
Since 1996
No. 5, No. 6 and No. 16
Cirkut Cameras
By Bill McBride
Part 1
T
his article (previously published in The Photographist)
covers the Nos. 5, 6 and 16 Cirkut Cameras. Future articles
will cover the No. 10 Cirkut Camera and the No. 6 and No. 8
Cirkut Outfits.
The No. 5 Cirkut Camera (Figure 1) was first offered in 1915
and was available until 1923. It was the smallest and most
compact Cirkut manufactured. William F. Folmer of the Folmer & Schwing Division, Eastman Kodak Co., applied for a
patent in 1915 and received it (number 1,251,494) on January
1, 1918. The No. 5 Cirkut patent has the best detailed drawings of any Cirkut camera, and sheets from this patent are included as Figure 2. It was manufactured by the Folmer &
Schwing Division of the Eastman Kodak Co.
The No. 5 Cirkut was provided with a triple-convertible Gundlach Manhattan Optical Rapid Rectigraphic lens with 6¼", 11"
and 14" focal lengths. A rising and falling front is furnished to
balance the negative for the required sky and foreground. The
body of the camera is constructed of selected mahogany, with
all exposed wood parts ebonized to harmonize with the rich
gun-metal finish of the exposed metalwork, and the camera
body is covered with the finest grade of Morocco leather.
An internal spring motor, which revolves the
camera on the tripod
head and winds the
film, is controlled by
an internal variablespeed governor. Exposure speeds that range
from 1/2 to 1/12 of a
second are regulated by
a dial and pointer, and
a release lever that
starts and stops the
exposure (Figure 3).
Also shown in Figure 3,
are the nine pinion
gear wheels, stored
along with the winding key, in a “pocket”
on the right side of
the camera. An indicator on the body top
shows, in inches, how
much film has been
used during an exposure. The back panel
is provided with a
perforating button to
mark the film when
Figure 1. No. 5 Cirkut Camera made by the Folmer &
Schwing Division of Eastman Kodak.
Figure 4. The No. 5 Cirkut with the back
open, with the ground glass in position to
focus.
Figure 3. The No. 5 Cirkut Camera
open, showing gear storage compartment, governor speed control dial, and
making more than one picture. Figure 4 shows the camera back
open with the focusing ground glass in the focusing position.
The back panel will not close unless the ground glass is shifted
to the right to reveal the vertical exposure slot. One disadvantage of this model Cirkut is that the photographer cannot refocus once the film has started through. The No. 5 Cirkut could
use 5" film, up to 42" in length. The No. 2 Crown tripod legs,
along with a geared 7-inch diameter aluminum tripod top, were
provided for the No. 5 Cirkut, and the bellows length is 12
inches.
There were approximately 400 No. 5 Cirkuts produced, in at
least two batches, where the first production run in 1915 consisted of approximately 100 cameras that had serial numbers of
434xx, and the largest cluster of these cameras had serial numbers from 467xx to 469xx, where, in 1918, a total of close to
300 cameras were manufactured. The No. 5 Cirkut serial number was stamped on, and located inside on, the fold-down front
bed at the rear center. The camera and all its apparatus came in
a single sole leather case weighing 19 pounds.
The 1915 Graflex catalog had the No. 5 Cirkut priced at
$100.00. The 1917 Standard Photo Supply Catalog, Eastman
Kodak Co., New Orleans, listed the No. 5 Cirkut complete outfit at $118.00. The 1920 Graflex catalog priced the No. 5 Cirkut
at $151.59 (an odd amount!), where a 5" x 42" white label roll
of Cirkut film sold for 85¢*. The 1929 Central Camera Company of Chicago catalog had the No. 5 Cirkut listed at $83.65,
to dispose of the cameras that
they had left in their inventory.
The No. 6 Cirkut Camera
(Figure 5 and Figure 6) was
the same general design as the
No. 5 Cirkut, but used 6" roll
film and was manufactured by
the Folmer Graflex Corporation of Rochester, New York.
Folmer Graflex realized that
the No. 5 Cirkut was limited to
42-inch lengths of film, so the
No. 6 Cirkut was made to accommodate roll film up to 15
feet long. The No. 6 Cirkut
was supplied with a Wollensak
Anastigmat Series IA Raptar
triple convertible f/7.7 lens
of 7", 10" and 15½" focal
lengths. The No. 6 Cirkut
was sturdily constructed of
selected mahogany and
brass. All outside wood parts
were covered with black
grained Morocco leather,
and the metal parts were
mounted on the top of the
body and finished in dull
gray duco. A convenient
Figure 5. The No. 6 Cirkut Camera, showing the extra sharp
Wollensak triple convertible lens.
Figure 6. The No. 6 Cirkut open,
exposing the nine pinion gears.
Notice it is taller than the No. 5
Cirkut shown in Figure 4.
spirit level was provided to level the camera. The tripod setup
for the No. 6 Cirkut was the same one used on the No. 5 Cirkut.
The No. 6 Cirkut camera, complete, was fitted into a single
well-made, very sturdy wood case that was covered with a cloth
imitation leather material on the outside, and the inside compartment surfaces were lined with a purple velvet fabric. The
outfitʼs total weight was 23 pounds. There were a total of 127
No. 6 Cirkuts manufactured. The serial numbers of the No. 6
Cirkut were 178529 through 178653, 180454, and 180455,
where they were available from 1932 through 1949. To find the
No. 6 Cirkut serial number, open the camera back, and it will be
stamped on the body wood at the bottom, in front of the film
winding drum. In 1932 the No. 6 Cirkut camera was priced at
$275.00, and in 1938 it was listed at $293.50, where the net
price was $205.45. In 1932 a 6" x 15' roll of non-curling daylight film could be purchased for $4.35, while Verichrome, in
the same size, cost $5.20.
The No. 16 Cirkut camera was the largest Cirkut roll film camera commercially produced. The article on the No. 10 Cirkut
will describe the merger of the companies that manufactured
the No. 16 Cirkut camera. There were two types of No. 16
Cirkuts manufactured; one that used air-resistance fans to control the camera rotational speed, and the other which utilized an
internal variable-speed governor to control the camera rotational speed.
The first No. 16 Cirkut, a fan-type, was manufactured by the
Rochester Panoramic Camera Co. in 1905. The camera came in
three carrying cases, one for the body, one for the back and one
for the tripod and gears, where the whole outfit weighed 90
pounds. The tripod top was 20 inches in diameter, and it provided a flat surface for the rollers on the camera bottom to rotate. A triple convertible Turner-Reich Anastigmat lens made
by Gundlach-Manhattan Optical Co. was supplied with 15", 24"
and 36" focal lengths. A set of nine camera gears (three for each
focal length) was furnished, along with five air resistance fans
which provided shutter speeds of 1/3, 1/6, 1/10, 1/25 and 1/30
of a second. This No. 16 Cirkut was the only one made that had
an adjustable exposure slit of 1/8", 1/4" and 1/2". The camera
was constructed of mahogany and covered with Morocco
leather. The exposed wood was varnished natural, the metal
parts nickel plated, and bright red leather bellows (39 inches in
length) were provided for this camera. The lens could be raised
or lowered to arrange the amount of sky or foreground required
in the picture. The lensboard could be tilted when making negatives of groups of people where the subjects occupied several
rows, to get these rows in the proper perspective in the picture.
The film back was provided with a perforating button to mark
the roll film when taking more than one picture. The film made
available for the No. 16 Cirkut was 8", 10", 12" and 16" in
width up to 20' long. When using the 36-inch focal length lens,
a 360-degree picture would produce a negative 18 feet long.
From 1905 to 1907, the No. 16 Cirkut was manufactured by the
Century Camera Company of Rochester, N.Y., who purchased
the Rochester Panoramic Camera Company in 1905. The Century Camera Co. No. 16 Cirkut was identical to the Rochester
No. 16 Cirkut, except that the exposure slit was fixed at 1/4" in
width, and three fans of 1/3, 1/6 and 1/10 of a second shutter
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speed were provided instead of
five fans on the
previous version.
Figure 7 shows the
front view, and Figure 8 illustrates the
open film box of a
Century Camera
No. 16 Cirkut. In
1907 the Century
No. 16 Cirkut was
priced at $425.00,
or the same could be
purchased without
lens and shutter for
$350.00. A roll of
film 16 inches by 20
feet was listed at
$12.80.
In 1907 Eastman
Kodak Co. created
the Century Camera
Di vi sion wh i ch
manufactured the
next version of the
No. 16 Cir k ut
(Figure 9). The No.
16 Cirkut made by
the Century Camera
Division was the
same as the one previously produced by
the Century Camera
Co., except that the
scissors-type mecha-
nism, for raising and
lowering the lens, was
redesigned to use a
rack and pinion-type
mechanism. Also, the
spring for the motor
was made larger and
more powerful. To
focus the camera, the
film box is removed,
and the internal
ground glass is ex-
tended as shown in
Figure 10. The fan-
type No. 16 Cirkuts
had a wide range of
serial numbers, so it
appears the company
manufactured cameras
when they received
orders for some.
The Century Camera Division redesigned the No. 16 Cirkut
about 1915, to replace the air fan speed control system with
an internal variable governor speed control system which had
speeds of 1/2 through 1/12 of a second available. The speed
control dial and start and stop lever were similar to the one
shown in Figure 6. The camera was made of mahogany covered with Morocco leather, the exposed wood parts were
painted with an ebonized finish, and exposed metal parts
were oxidized to give a nice gun metal-type finish. This 1915
governor-type model serial number range appears to be
68370 through 68390. The Century Camera Division catalog
listed the No. 16 Cirkut, complete, at $425.00 or without a
lens and shutter at $350.00. The 1916 Graflex catalog listed
the No. 16 Cirkut at $629.85, where a 16" x 20' roll of film
was available for $15.20.
In 1917 the Folmer & Schwing Division of the Eastman Kodak Co. manufactured the same governor drive No. 16 Cirkut
as the Century Camera Division of Eastman Kodak Co. The
only difference was the nameplate. The Folmer & Schwing
Division produced the last batch of No. 16 Cirkuts and of 36
governor-type cameras in 1917, which had serial numbers
ranging from 80737 to 80772. The 1917 Standard Photo Supply Co. catalog, Eastman Kodak Co., New Orleans, had the
No. 16 Cirkut, complete, priced at $445.00 or without lens
and shutter at $370.00. In 1920 the roll film of 16" x 20' cost
$15.20, which included the war excise tax. The Folmer &
Schwing No. 16 Cirkuts were available until 1924.
Because the No. 16 Cirkut was listed in catalogs from 1905
through 1924, it would appear that many were made, but it
was bulky to handle, and it was an expensive camera to purchase for the average photographer. Just how many No. 16
Cirkuts were manufactured is not known, but from information that exists, the total production of the No. 16 Cirkuts,
which includes the fan and governor speed control types, is
approximately one hundred cameras. There were about 43
fan-type and 57 governor-type No. 16 Cirkuts constructed.
Nearly a third of them have survived today.
The text is based on the best information and materials available at the time of writing. The writer would appreciate any
additional information available and/or comments on this
article. Bill McBride, (805) 684-7268 or ramabill@cox.net.
*On the Cirkut Cameras, the exposure slot is in the back of
the film box, while on the Cirkut Camera Outfits, the exposure slot is on the front of the film box. Thatʼs why the films
are wound differently for each type of Cirkut Camera.
Figure 7. The Century Camera Co. No. 16
Cirkut.
Figure 8. The Century Camera Co. No. 16
camera with open film box.
Figure 9. The Century Camera Division of
Eastman Kodak Co. No. 16 Cirkut front
view. Notice that the scissors mechanism
shown in Figure 7 has been deleted.
Figure 10. The No. 16 Cirkut with the film
box removed with the ground glass extended to focus on the next picture.
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