Speed Graphic

Setting the focal plane shutter speed required selecting both a slit width and a spring tension.

There are 4 slits with widths of 1/8 in, 3/8 in, 3/4 in, 1 1/2 in and “T” (T = “time” setting, used when lens diaphragm shutter is used to control exposure duration.

[3] The combination of the slit width and the spring tension allows for exposure speeds varying from 1/10 to 1/1000 sec.

[9] Recent auctions show Irving Klaw used one in his studio for his iconic pin up & bondage photos of models such as Bettie Page.

The 1942-1953 Pulitzer Prizes for photography were taken with Speed Graphic cameras, including AP photographer Joe Rosenthal's image of Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945.

1961 was the last Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph with a Speed Graphic, which taken by Yasushi Nagao showing Otoya Yamaguchi assassinating Inejiro Asanuma on stage.

[7] In 2004, American photojournalist David Burnett used his 4×5 inch Speed Graphic with a 178 mm f/2.5 Aero Ektar lens removed from a K-21 aerial camera[10] to cover John Kerry's presidential campaign.

The award-winning Graflex plant in Pittsford, New York is still standing and is home to Veramark Technologies, Inc., formerly known as the MOSCOM Corporation.