My Combat Camera Story 

RIP Typhoon

When you mentioned "older gentleman on the Graflex forum", I knew exactly who you were talking about (and found your post there and confirmed that it was the same guy). Sorry to hear that he passed and took your camera with him. He had a wealth of knowledge and was happy to share it. That's a real loss.

that's a pretty sad ending there.

I’ve been repairing old cameras for about 30+ years now and over the years met quite a few “Typhoon” characters. Sadly, most of them have gone to the great darkroom in the sky.. taking their wisdom and very specific knowledge with them. That Graflex KE-4 is a very cool camera. I hope you get it back someday.

in this video - Jason helps a hospice patient by sending him old timey puzzles. in reality tho, it's always super sad, when anyone passes, but it's a really big loss, when photo engineers go. I still fondly remember PE from APUG. The kodak tech who worked on kodachrome, portra, gold and other films and developing systems. with him went like 50+ years of knowledge not only on developing, but also on how to actually make the films we all use and love.

WOOF! Amazon Essentials Ryan Gosling is back!!

“I was down in the trenches of East Hollywood with my last roll of Portra 400. My beanie was barely keeping me warm and my matcha latte was already ice cold. It was golden hour, the tones were all around me. My combat camera was winded and loaded.”

We need to support places like Camera Rescue (Norway) who are trying to preserve the knowledge. RIP Typhoon.

I know someone who is a nam vet and he had some amazing stories about what he did over there working a division photo lab. he said all the shot they used was from ww2 or korea and it came out of an antique 9 mobile photo lab, whatever that means. that they were only allowed to get new shit if it was destroyed in combat, which is unlikely since he was at a base. He ended up finding someone who worked in supply who dident quite like the army who asked if they needed anything. He handed the supply person the three stock numbers for the three supply manuals that are used by all branches of the military. The supply person brought them to him and he used the manuals to find all the new photo lab equipment and shit that they needed. the supply person would just put a few of the numbers at the end of an actual order so no one would notice that the unit receiving the equipment was not authorized to have it. When the order got to their base they would go through it and take out the piece of camera gear that they weren't authorized to have and throw it in a warehouse. after the shit got buried in the warehouse he would find it and load it onto a truck and take it to the photo lab. They ended up having all new photo lab equipment within a few months and they also got new zeiss cameras and lenses this way. he said that if they were caught they would have gotten into quite a bit of trouble. but he said that in the end he did it to save lives. he says that the difference in clarity of photographs coming out of the lab allowed for better decisions to be made by the people in charge. these vets did a lot of shit that we will never know about, i speak to him every week and every time he has new story.

This camera was made during the 1950s by Graphlex under US government contract for military use. I was not sold otherwise. The ones you see today were used for years by the military, then sold as surplus. In the 1960s and 70s, they were not common, but they were not hard to find either. They always commanded a fairly high price if in working order, as they commonly sold with the full military kit. As noted, they use only 70mm film, which was readily available in the 1950s and 60s, but died out when pros shooting medium format largely abandoned the long roll formats, 220 and 70mm. The critical error he made here was shooting it on 120 with the paper backing. This put too much pressure or drag on the film at the pressure plate. It may have damaged the film advance gears. Note that the 120 film has no sprocket holes, and the film is too narrow to engage the film advance sprockets anyway. As a result, the only part of the mechanism handling the full load of film advance here was the take-up spool gear, which was not designed to take that abuse.

This is your best video. Interesting story about an old war camera and an old man trying to resurrect it, while losing a battle for his own life. Somehow, I wonder if that camera will one day be delivered to your door, like the "lost" film from your European trip. (And thumbs up to Monica for springing into action with 3D printing!)

Everyone take a moment of silence for Typhoon please :(

Sometimes a gamble doesn't pay off, but you at least managed to get 3 images from a camera very few can claim to have shot. RIP Typhoon, pour a cold one out for the ever dwindling number of camera techs and tinkerers keeping our little community going.

1. Rest in peace Typhoon, what a beautiful story. 2. I shoot tintype and we could shoot 4x5 tintype no shutter needed with that lens. I’d love to give it a shot, if you decide to get curious

The fact that you were able to get one decent shot of Baxster with the camera means it was well worth the experience of this camera.

I have an old guy for flashes and stuff... We are in Bucharest and he lives in a building from 1930's, at the top floor, so if an earthquake hits us, his building already has a red dot on it that represents the highest risk. The whole community calls him to repair high end flashes from studios :)) This might be the next sad story... I am sorry for yours. But nice thing that you made a movie clip about this. Bravo for the initial will

The size of it is comical I didn't realize from the photos haha

Great video. Storytelling on point. I hope a PT 2, emerges from the ashes here... never know, the power of the internet. I am sure there is some hipster san jose county intern watching this video right now and leaping to their feet, as they know just who to ask, to figure out who to ask, to figure out what office handles these estates. Good luck!

Oh man, I've always wanted to buy one of these! Pour one out for Typhoon.

What a remarkable camera, so sorry for the failure and loss. Those were 3 pretty nice shots! I'm also a sucker for attempting to use/restore these old cameras, got a pile of them sitting around in my 'camera hospital'. Alas, Typhoon and his ilk are passing away, taking their knowledge with them, sad indeed! This was a very interesting story, thanks for sharing! Let's hope that more young folk pick up the film camera repair trade.

Mate what a story so well told rest in peace Typhoon. Around a year ago I bought a Zorki 4 off a bloke on an auction site it was cheap and the guy was an old school technician he bought old cameras refurbished then and sold them on he told me if I ever had an issue with it send it back he will do the repairs. So roll one two things happened I fell in love with the zorki and the resulting images suffered from a light leak. I sent the camera back the fella was awesome updating me on a weekly basis until Christmas 23 when all comms stopped I have an awful feeling my unknown mate is no longer with us I will eventually buy another zorki 4 and name it Tom Rip mate 😞📷

Man I have always wanted one of these for no reason, so awesome

I had a Topcon Super RE a few years back, it was the official military camera for the US Navy, probably because you could bludgeon someone to death with it, it was an absolute tank.

Thank you for your service 🫡

Finally, a new type of video. Thanks!

Damn, I feel for Typhoon and his family

Hey I appreciate you posting the info for a project that seems unlikely to complete. I love learning even scraps of knowledge about obscure stuff like this. I hope you get your camera back and RIP to Mr. Typhoon

Meet the Leica’s big brother. The Lysander

This is such an interesting video! Thanks for putting it together. So different to anything that I have seen.

One of your best video ever. Love the Baxter pic. RIP Typhoon

Sorry to hear this, Jason. Unfortunately been in a similar situation before, and they are always the hardest ones to deal with. The ones with no resolution. RIP to Typhoon.

Such a crying shame but thanks for sharing the story. That was so gripping! RIP Typhoon

Man, Monica is cool af

I gave up trying to get one for the exact reason of their are no examples of them being held together. Awesome you got to make it to getting one.

You do realise you need 70mm film in these in order for the shutter to work properly. Using 120 in it in the way you did, prevents the curtain from braking properly, as there’s too much spring tension on the curtain drums. These should ONLY be used with 70mm. If you want a big 6x9 camera, shoot the fuji 690. Also those lenses only cover 2¼ x 3¼ (6x9cm) format.

I got a surprise when I saw you holding it. It's proportioned pretty similar to a Leica M so I didn't imagine it as quite that huge.

thats the most beautiful camera I've ever seen! I can only imagine the haptics.

If you’re after another rare camera (that works!) try a Linhof 220. Wonderful to use with weird but good ergonomics, a decent viewfinder and very sharp lens.

hugs!

Your story is why I haven't sent my Rollei 35S for repair. There seems to be 2 main repair people for this camera in the US and while their repairs have a good reputation their communication and the fees are issues.

Wow I was not expecting to cry durng this video

The original Pentax 645 from the 80s apparently had an optional 70mm film insert. As far as I know Pentax stopped making them for the later 645n and nII.

The shutter sound of this beast of a camera is exactly like the one you hear in the military movies.

I have the Leica M8 and 90mm F2 lens used by Audrey Tautou in the Chanel film by Jean Pierre Jeunet - it was given to her as a gift - the reason Jean used this camera was to "not to distract from the beauty of Audrey" they used a little plastic to cover the 'M8' - as a Pro I do get a lot of questions asked about cameras but this one gets the most attention

When I began my career as a combat cameraman with the Pacific Fleet Combat Camra Group in 1966 - we had a couple of these cameras in our inventory. However, by 1966 no one used these cameras any more. Our still photographers were equipped with Leica M-2 and M-3 cameras. By that time, 35mm was the format of choice for photojournalists. Most of our photojournalists were trained at a 10-month photojournalism course at Syrause University. Funny, aside... many photojournalists painted their silver colored Leicas black in combat situations. It wasn't long before camera companies began selling black Leicas and Nikons for photojournalists, I was a motion picture cameraman and used various 16mm motion picture cameras everything from a Bell and Howell Model 70, through Ariflexes, Eclairs and even sometimes 16mm Mitchells. The 16mm B&H Model 70 Filmo had replaced the 35mm B&H Eyemo as the standard hand held motion picture camera and I loved that old girl. I used a three lens turret with 10mm, 16mm and 25mm focal length lenses. There were longer focal lengths available but, I could do a better job wit the short focal length lenses when hand holding. If I were going to shoot with a tripod, I would most often choose the 16mm Arriflex with a 400mm magazine and a 12-120mm Angenieux zoom. I fell in love with Angenieux lenses. A shipmate of mine who retired in Japan sent me a Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8 Angenieux based lens for my personal Canon DSLR cameras and I loved that one as much as I loved the 12-120mm for motion picture shooting.

i did not expect to be cranking my hog during combat when i signed up for this sir

Thanks Mr. Days. Wonderful storytelling and beautiful pictures as always. Fitting the toilet was the last picture. RIP Typhoon. Hope I find the tank here in San Jose for you…

Maybe someone mentioned it before, this camera was designed by Hubert Nerwin, who also designed the Contax RF line of cameras for Zeiss Ikon except the first. So, a Contax guy might also have gotten along with the repair.

Loving that shot of Baxter! RIP Typhoon.

sad story but i’m glad he was able to go out what seems to be peacefully ❤

There's a camera store in Finland that is working to preserve the old knowledge of camera repairs, and they have an enormous inventory of parts. I saw a YT video about them once.

Thanks for sharing and helping me combat my GAS

So sad, but that's the way it will go with these guys, and the film cameras we cherish 😢

Well, bugger. RIP, Typhoon. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, I guess.

He's beginning to look more like Walmart Tim Roth than Ryan Gossling. Cool camera. Tarantino shot the 'Hateful Eight" on 70mm Panavision. The landscape shots in that film are insane. Yes. RIP Typhoon.

Adapt the lenses to a speed graphic lens board, and then use the focal plane shutter on the speed graphic to control the shutter speed element of the exposure triangle.

I just put in the order for a memorial bracelet commemorating Typhoon, taken from us all too soon in The Great Graflex War of 2024. RIP brother

I wasn’t expecting that ending. RIP Typhoon.

That was an interesting story! Thanks for sharing it!

You are a brave dude. Once when I needed camera repairs, I came across a lab tech in a university who fixed weird measuring stuff for the science department using "first principles" approach. Perhaps fishing in a different pond is the worth a try. Another thought, Germany used to be advanced with mechanical cameras.

the camera is made for 70mm 15Ft cartridges till 2012 there was 70mm produced (Kodak Ektachrome and Potra and. Tri-X) and Agfa / Rollei and Ilford. Today the alternative is to load the cartridges with 65mm Kodak vision also usable for Hasselblad 70mm Magazines and Mamiya, Pentax and Zenza Bronica

Now i'm sad about typhoon, and overall that was horrible luck for you as well.

I recently bought a Rollei 35 which basically broke on me during the first shoot. Luckily I have a repair shop in my city that's a true gem, they fix all film cameras. Years ago they could even make custom parts instead of shopping for donor cameras but now there's only two guys left. I always cherish that place, it's hidden well in the city center, it's basically a 5x3 meter room, covered in wood with a small window and a bell that says "Ring please". They fixed my Yashica Mat124g, a Zenit, an old Zorki that my aunt's dad left after he passed away. Really a precious little place.

I'm heartbroken for you, and for Typhoon. It feels like you're on the verge of tears this whole video, and I am there with you. When you started asking about who could fix the shutter, I was thinking "why don't you just send the whole thing to SK Grimes?" They repaired a Wollensak lens off my Crown Graphic years ago.

@4:35 - I know Kodak 5222 Double-X was used in 70mm format for the B&W segments of Oppenheimer, so maybe that's why Ilford makes 70mm, too?

BEAST Mode Activated ...or... passivated? Sad to hear about Typhoon's passing and also your camera. But you did make a great video out of it for sure! Thanks for sharing the story.

Your best episode yet!! yes I said episode

The ring crumbling is a very specific issue,and I think I might actually know why it happened,Mazac Rot. When you strain metals poorly you wind up with metals that are very weak,and decay very fast due to the amount of impurities within them,it’s common in low grade metals or just poorly manufactured ones,and while we found out how to fix it in the 1930’s there are still products with this issue today,and back in the 1950’s during the Korean War this camera could have been put together with low grade parts,of poor quality that slowly got weaker and weaker until this crumbled under the pressure of their own job,much like every human in their mid-40’s.

“That happens sometimes with cameras” Honestly, this is why I love the medium so much. It’s a slice of real life. Good vid man.

Thanks for the video. I now need to buy one and learn how to fix it. Thanks

There’s an outfit based in Finland called Kamerastore who I believe have started a training scheme for analog camera repairers.

Funnily enough I watched a video the other day about the hasselblad A70 back which takes 70mm (named, I think, because it will hold 70 frames). The backs are still available, though need a small mod to take modern 70mm which lacks the sprocket holes.

A project of passion as opposed to "caution". If you buy one of those rare cameras, you should know the risk you are taking and be okay with it. Is there a high probability that it is going to end up on the shelf of a Typhoon never to be seen again? YES! If that's a risk you are not willing to accept, don't buy the camera. On the flip side, if it had of worked out and you are still shooting with camera like that! That's awesome. The moral of the story is never put yourself out for more than you are willing to lose. Take that with a grain of salt and have a nice day!

Your video shows a kernel of truth: film photography is on a timeline. I'd judge we have another 15-20 years (if that if I want to be EXTRA pessimistic) if we're lucky to really enjoy these aging sows of ours before we're left behind in the dustbin of history for good and they just become fancy paperweights. All we can do in the meantime is keep creating and enjoying.

This is the perfect Black Metal album cover creator right there, with the grainy black and white.

Few years ago I purchased a Zeiss Ikon Contraflex Super, not nearly as old as other cameras I have. The camper is in great cosmetic shape but the shutter is slow in closing and the mirror sticks up. Appears the “grease” used back in the 50’s slowly turns to cement over the decades. I have a repair person for several 1930’s and 40’s Zeiss folding cameras, however, he stated due to the complexity of the lens and leaf shutter he does not touch these cameras. I have followed up with several others who work on the Zeiss Ikon’s with the same result. Thinking of doing the repair work myself but haven’t brought myself to do so. So there definitely the issue that many of these repair experts are dying off and there’s no apprentice to replace them.

Sorry to hear that man, I ran into the same issue with PDX Camera and an Olympus FT that never returned home...probably a lost cause.

Oof, something very similar happened to me, I dropped my Pentax 67 and broke it in some bizarre way. Handed it to some guy, legit technician, who had a whole room of camera parts, he was also obviously having some health issues. He sent me some photos of my disassembled camera, saying he found the issue and almost fixed it. Then his texts stopped and he stopped reading my messages as well. All things considered: COVID, health issues and the fact he was a known guy among local film community (not some con artist), I think he has also, unfortunately, passed away.

I NEEED IT!!!!

I was about to buy one of those in 2019 but after learning that it used 70mm and the pain it would be to secure and develop it I let the dream go. Hope you get yours back someday... Maybe one day you'll have a "Captain Koons moment" with Typhoon Jr.

wow, that's truly sad to hear .. quite the story, quite the man

Mercury works sells sprocketed and non modern Kodak imax 70mm in 100’ mini spools. You can also shoot in hasselblad V series with a V70 back. Sick video dude.

Really nice story man. Albeit sad but well written.

OMG i almost bought that listing!!

Seeing this video reminds me that my dad is in his 70s and a longtime photographer, repair tech, and custom camera maker (large format and panoramic). I think I take that for granted and really need to learn from him. I’ve neglected doing so, and that’s just wrong

The 105 lens could easily go on a 4x4 wooden lens board for a speed graphic with focal plane shutter.

7:09 you better upload this to the internet archive

I swear I just saw several of these at my local camera store!

Great vid! I'm working on a project with some very special 70mm film, and am trying to get one of these to borrow for a while. I have been using the 70mm in my RB67 with a 70mm back, but using 70mm in it would be cool.

I don't know what the flange to film distance on this thing was, but maybe it could be adapted to fit a Pentax or Mamiya body. Ask SK Grimes about it, they might know a thing or two.

Typhoon for the win!!!

you only got 3 photos but they look amazing from that camera.

An exclusively 4:3@24 channel on youtube is something I don't think I've ever seen someone bold enough to do neat

Bummer. Sorry to hear about Typhoon and about the loss of a very cool steam punk brick of analog camera technology.

70mm is a cinema format. Its in produse by kodak for imax cameras. (250d, 50d, d-x etc)

F for Typhoon. Semper fi, buddy

Can't wait for your review of war film photography in the latest Civil War movie. - Film stock used - Developping on the road - Shooting 4 frames in 1sec with a FE2 like the Lucky Luke of film photography - Other details I may have missed - Just general thoughts on the movie and on war photography and photo journalism - Price of Nikon FE2 afterward

I saw one of these in a museum compared to my Canon 70D its massive.

Rip typhoon what a legend

RIP Typhoon. Pleased you got the pic of Baxter.