Date sent:        Wed, 28 Aug 1996 13:36:04 +1000 (EST)
From:             Oliver Reddaway [oliver@research.canon.com.au[
To:               w.j.markerink@a1.nl
Subject:          Re: WTB: Combat Graphic (70mm film)
Copies to:        oliver@research.canon.com.au

Hi Willem,

As promosed here is some information on the Combat Graphic, (otherwise known as
Gulliver's Contax, refering to the book "Gulliver's Travels").

This is taken from Jason Schneider's Book on Camera Collecting Vol II, the ISBN
number is 0-87069-419-7 in case you want to try and find it. It's one of a
series of three books on collecting that Schneider put together from his columns
in Modern Photography. 

There is a Camera shop in the Hague that sells a fair amount of collectable
stuff and might have a copy, I don't remember the name unfortunately, also I
have seen them at the Oldtimer Photographic Collector's show that happens twice
a year in Utrecht, it's the show that used to be held in Amersfoort at the Flint
Centre until it outgrew it about five years ago; I used to go regularly to these
when I lived in England, the first Sunday in November & March I believe.

The Combat Graphic camera was built from 1954 till about 1957 by Graflex Inc. it
is designated the KE-4 (1) Still Picture Camera by the American Military. It
began life as a design by one John Maurer who specialised in designing
motor-driven cameras for the Air-Force and was put into production by Graflex
where it was productionised by Hubert Nerwin who had been part of the design
team at Zeiss-Ikon who produced the Contax 35mm cameras, total production about
1500 units.

It is finished in drab olive (of course) with black trim, uses 70mm double
sprocketed film in cartridges which are like oversize 35mm. It's 10ins. (255mm)
wide by 5ins. tall (127mm) and with the normal 4in.(102mm) f/2.8 Kodak Ektar is
about 5.25ins. deep (134mm). The body is made of cast magnesium and it weighs
about 5lbs. (2.25Kg). The normal lens focuses to 4ft and is clickstopped to
f/22.

Shutter Speeds are T,B,X,1,1/2,1/5,1/10,1/25,1/50,1/100,1/200,1/500 with a
standard cloth focal plane shutter.

Wind on is using a clockwork spring motordrive which would advance about 9
frames per winding in a single shot mode.

Film feed is from Cassette to cassette with a built in knife cutter to alow
unload in mid roll (like an Exakta), frame size is 6x7cm.

Focusing is by a rangefinder, 4.5in. (115mm) base, in a single viewfinder that
also zoomed when the telephoto lens was attached, framing for wide-angle is by a
"Sports" type finder on the top.

Additional lenses were:-

2.5in (63mm) f/4.5 Kodak Ektar Wide-angle click stopped to f/22, min focus 4ft.
8in (205mm) f/4 Kodak Ektar telephoto click stopped to f/22, min focus 8ft.

The camera plus the two extra lenses and a bulb flash unit all came together as
a kit in an olive drab Haliburton case and was known by the military as the
KS-6(1).

I hope you find the above interesting and best of luck for your search, there
are very few in Europe, I only saw a couple, one complete kit and one just the
camera in all the years I was going to shows; I have seen quite a few advertised
in the States but they are certainly hard to find even there, most never saw any
action so they are usually in pretty good shape, I believe the prices were
around the UKP1000-1500 a few years ago. It's certainly one that's on my list of
nice toys to have but a way down as a collect Nikon and that's all I can afford!
:-)

Best Wishes and please don't hesitate to mail me with any requests for more
information.

Oliver,

Oliver Reddaway  |  Principal PCB Designer   |   oliver@research.canon.com.au
Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd | PO Box 313, 1 Thomas Holt
Drive,                     | Phone  +61-2-9805-2933 NORTH RYDE, NSW, 2113,
AUSTRALIA                     | Fax    +61-2-9805-2929











Date sent:        Wed, 28 Aug 96 11:13:39 EDT
From:             Robert [RNEWCOMB@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU]
Subject:          combat graphic
To:               w.j.markerink@a1.nl

Hi,

I talked to you yesterday a little about the 70mm combat graphic.  I tried
looking it up last night but my older book only refers to the wide angle
and tele lenses without giveing the specific focal lengths. I think the
WA is a 65mm and the tele a 150mm. I've seen outfits at shows before. Often
the WA lenses is missing. A sort of clean user camera with the normal and
tele lenses in the original case was selling for around $1000. These cameras
are difficult to find so if you can get one at a price that is worth it to
you I'd probably buy it. A few cameras were made for non military use and
are painted black instead of olive green. It was designed by the same man
that designed the Contax for Zeiss Ikon. Hope this helps some.  

Robert









Date sent:        Wed, 28 Aug 1996 07:54:48 -0400
To:               w.j.markerink@a1.nl
From:             Marc James Small 
Subject:          Re: Miscellaneous Teutonic Questions

Thanks for the most interesting note.  Nerwin did more than "productionize"
the camera:  he was hired away from Zeiss Ikon (Stuttgart) by Graflex in
1947 as part of the US-sponsored Operation Paperclip -- as Chief of Design
at Zeiss Ikon, his salary was about 1/3 or less what it became as the KE-4
project chief at Graflex!.  When he joined Graflex, he had the camera
rethought on Contax RF terms, which is why the two share so many similarities.

Nice camera, but quite expensive.  Most are in excellent condition -- too
late to be used in the Korean War, too early for Viet-Nam!

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315

Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!







Date sent:        Wed, 04 Sep 1996 20:07:12 -0400 (EDT)
From:             ANDPPH@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Subject:          Re: Combat Graphic 70mm
To:               List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students  
Send reply to:    photoforum@listserver.isc.rit.edu

Willem Markerink asked sometime ago:

>Can anyone educate me on the subject of Combat Graphics, the ones for 70mm 
>perforated film? ... The Hove Blue Book has a picture of one, but a rather 
>short description. It says a Kodak 100mm/f2.8 coated lens, but also a 
>estimated double price for a complete kit with case and three lenses. The 
>question is: *which* three lenses??


I pulled out one of my military dark olive green Halliburton cases loaded with 
a KE-4(1) camera kit, which I believe is what you are referring to. The camera 
looks like a blown-up Leica M-3 but it has a spring wound motor and accepts 
70mm film in casettes.                             

The standard lens is a 4" (102mm) f/2.8 Kodak Ektar. Within the same case, in 
its neatly fitted holder is a 2 1/2" (63.80mm) f/4.5 Kodak Ektar and an 8" 
(205mm) f/4 Kodak Ektar. In addition, the case holds a flashgun that attaches 
to the camera's top deck and a full set of filters and a camera strap plus a 
case strap.

Attaching each lens to the camera changes the size of the field of view of the 
optical finder to match the lens being installed.  Within this finder there is 
a central spot coincidence type optical rangefinder which is coupled to the 
lens. The camera has speeds of T, B, X 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 200 and 500. It 
has two sync settings, 0 and 20 ms. It has a built in film cutter. On the top 
deck it has a sports finder and there is a film loaded and advance indicator. 
When the camera is unloaded the finder is red. When film is tensioned the 
finder goes clear and when film is advancing or moving out of the supply 
chamber an indicator rotates.       


>It also has a typo in the frame size spec: I assume it is 2.25x3.25", 
>right? That would make 5.72x8.25cm; also right, or are the first just 
>round numbers?

I measured the frame size and it looks like it is 2 3/4 inches by 2 3/16 or
roughly 70mm by 56mm.

>Further (hey, I am not finished yet!....8-)): how reliable are these 
>things?

Well, the shutter on each of my cameras works fine but neither was able to 
fire a flashbulb. This may have been the fault of the bulb or the battery. 
Otherwise the shutters seem to work well and the springs on the motors 
advance 10 frames in fairly rapid succession before rewinding is necessary.

>And how likely to be found? Is the Hove estimate of US$700 and 'rather 
>rare' correct?

I don't know but I'm keeping them!

Andy

 o o  0 0 o   o  Andrew Davidhazy, Imaging and Photo Tech - High Speed Photo
  \/\/\/\/\/\/   andpph@rit.edu,  http://www.rit.edu/~andpph,   716-475-2592  
___|        |_______________________________________________________________














Date sent:        Mon, 07 Apr 1997 22:51:56 -0400
From:             Nils Dahl [ndahl@worldnet.att.net]
To:               w.j.markerink@a1.nl
Subject:          Combat 70 mm

Gee, your mention of this Graflex camera brought back memories.  I used one of these
in Saigon to take pictures back in 1965.  Very nice camera.  Unfortunately, the
scenes of bombings still pop into my head at times.  Something about taking pictures
of pieces of people that sticks in one's mind.  I was in the U.S. Army and was on
temporary duty with a movie crew at the time.  Always wanted to own one of those
babies, but getting it serviced would have been a hassle.  And, I confess, I just
can't remember any of the details of this camera.  The main site for servicing and
manuals for all Army cameras was Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, an Army Signal Corp base
that taught photography, radio broadcasting, lab work, electronics repair, and other
specialties.  I went there and ended up at the Army's movie center - in Queens, New
York.  This site was originally Paramount Studios East Coast where the early Tarzan
movies were filmed (Johnny Weissmuller).  Anyway, where the heck is that shot done
with the 8 mm fisheye lens?

Nils Dahl, Hartford, Connecticut












From: Jrkess98@aol.com
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 00:49:58 EST
Subject: Graphic 70 civilian
To: w.j.markerink@a1.nl

My family ran a camera shop in the '50s and '60s in Indiana (USA).  The 
Graflex rep came in one day with a wild-looking beast.  It was the updated and 
de-mobbed 70mm unit aforementioned.  It was all semigloss black in a plain big 
briefcase.  We all stood around drooling as he put it through its paces.

In '58 I worked briefly with Stan Wayman, the famed LIFE photog, on a job.  
He did maybe 200 frames in several cassettes (Tri-X) with his 70 that weekend, 
all available-light, in addition to hundreds with 35s.  Of course Wayman is 
long-gone and I suspect the 70 belonged to the magazine.

A few years ago the US Gov't sold many sets of K-4s at surplus auction.  I 
believe prices were ridiculous at a couple hundred $.  I have heard rumor of an 
occasional set at neighborhood $1000 but I am always too late to grab them.  
Folks who have them don't seem to let them go.  There should be at least a 
couple hundred in collectors hands in USA.  I would love to get my hands on one, 
even just for a weekend.

John Kessler
Ft. Lauderdale















From: Jrkess98@aol.com
Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2005 16:58:03 EDT
Subject: More notes on Graphic 70mm
To: w.j.markerink@a1.nl

The familiar appellation, 'Combat Graphic' usually refers to the standard
4x5 'Speed Graphic' press camera in military O.D. paint, not the rare 70mm
camera.  Thousands of examples of the wood-bodied icon were used by combat
photographers in WWII.

The 70mm magnesium camera was offered to the civilian market in the late '50s
as the 'Graphic-70', for sports journalism and production-portrait work.  At
that time, 4x5 press cameras ruled the trade because of the publishers'
emphasis on technical quality which demanded a large-format tool.  LIFE, LOOK,
Saturday Evening Post, and other leading American magazines aggressively sought
full page and double-page-spread attention-grabbing images for their oversize,
glossy publications.  The 70mm 2 1/4 x 3 1/4-inch neg was far finer than any
35mm.  

The civilian version of the KE-4 was painted semi-gloss black.  I remember the
Graflex salesman in our camera shop in Indiana showing off the deluxe toy in its
gleaming silver Haliburton Case.  Even at that time, everyone who saw the camera
lusted after it.  Like the Zoomar, Inc. lenses, however, only the wealthiest
photographic hobbyists could consider owning one.  Many American hobbyists
remember it as a 'scaled-up Argus C-3'.

Some of the 70mm cameras were used by leading photojournalists of the day.  In
that business, film was cheap and the event to be recorded was priceless, so a
rapid-fire camera was useful to get the maximum number of frames for editors to
evaluate.  In my teens, I personally worked with famed LIFE photographer, Stan
Wayman, on an shoot at my high school in 1958.  He employed the '70 for
about 10% of his work that day, which had to total over a thousand frames,
almost all Tri-X.  His camera was ex-military olive drab but much of the paint
had chipped or worn off.

Many 'action' sports photogs of the day used the German ROBOT 35mm miniature
camera.  It had a spring-motor drive and shot 'single-frame' vertical negs, 
Big sacrifice in grain/resolution to get the fast shooting.  Also very compact
and easy to handle.

John Kessler
Fort Lauderdale, Florida









From: Sven Wennstrøm [sven.erik@smartcall.no]
To: w.j.markerink@a1.nl
Subject: KE-(4) replacement part
Date sent: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 23:45:06 +0100

Hi everyone over there,

If someone knows something about how to find replacement part for Combat Graflex
KE-(4) 70 mm.camera, please let me know. Curtain, especialy the follow ribbons
of mine needs replacement. As a former military camera optical repairman, I`ll be
the one to fix it.   

Best regards Mr. Sven Wennström 

Mr.Sven Wennström,
Odvar Solbergsvei 4,
0970    Oslo,
Norway.

If you have any question, remark, comment, want to share some philosophy or just want to express your opinion about these pages, feel free to send email to: w.j.markerink @ a1.nl