Graflex was a historic American manufacturer of iconic large-format and press cameras, including the renowned Speed Graphic and various photographic accessories.
Graflex is best known as a historic American manufacturer of legendary press cameras, large-format cameras, and photographic equipment. Founded in 1887 as the Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company, the brand became a prominent division of Eastman Kodak before spinning off into its own entity in 1926. The quintessential Graflex product is the Speed Graphic, which became the standard-issue camera for American press photographers for decades.
Today, Graflex cameras and accessories, such as roll film holders and focal-plane flashguns, are highly sought after by collectors, large-format photography enthusiasts, and historians. Since the original company is long out of business, official support no longer exists. However, our database provides archived instruction manuals, user guides, and technical documentation to help you preserve, operate, and maintain these classic photographic tools.
Latest manuals from manuals+ curated for this brand.
Common questions about manuals, registration, and support for this brand.
We provide archived instruction manuals and guides for classic Graflex models like the Speed Graphic and Graphic 35 Electric directly on this page. Additional historical community resources can be found at graflex.org.
Since Graflex is a historic and long-defunct company, official factory support is no longer available. However, many independent vintage camera repair specialists and large-format photography communities still service and restore these cameras.
Different Graflex models accept different formats. Many Graphic and Graflex reflex cameras take traditional large-format sheet film, while those equipped with accessories like the Rapid-Vance 120 Roll Film Holder can shoot on standard 120 medium format roll film.
The classic Graflex focal-plane shutter uses a combination of curtain slit widths and spring tension settings to control exposure. You must refer to the shutter-speed plate on your specific camera and consult the original manual to properly adjust these settings without damaging the fragile mechanisms.