The Graflex XL is one of the most maligned medium format cameras ever made - and unjustly so. There have been several reviews of this camera by people with little or no experience with the camera who have based their reviews on hearsay or very limited usage.
In my opinion, the Graflex XL system is one of the best thought out and highest quality systems ever offered in medium format and represent a great value in today's market. It is relatively light, fast shooting, and VERY versatile, with one of the best assortment of lenses available for any medium format camera system.
There are three bodies in the XL system:All bodies feature interchangeable lenses, interchangeable backs and extensions. Lenses range from the 47mm Super Angulon for the XLSW body and the 58mm Grandagon for the XLRF and XL bodies (see the note below on the XLSW body with other lenses) through to the 240 Rotelar. Schneider, Zeiss, and Tokyo Koguku (as Norita lenses) supplied lenses. These lenses represent some of the finest lenses offered for any medium format camera. Since there is no mirror to compromise the lenses designers' efforts, these lenses are generally superior to their name-counterparts in SLR systems.
The lenses were mounted on tube-type lens mounts with the focusing cam machined into their barrel. Each lens was shimmed to a standard RF cam at the factory to compensate for individual lens variations. Thus, the user can switch from lens to lens and the rangefinder always matches. The lenses change quickly by rotating the focusing ring to the near setting, pressing the large button under the rangefinder, and rotating the lens a little further. The mount still holds the lens snugly, keeping it from accidentally falling off the camera while changing lenses.
The lens mount/focusing mechanism is the most wrongly maligned feature of the camera. The lens barrel cams ride in three 1/4"-sized lugs in the focusing ring, which is made of polypropylene-type plastic. The design is such that if the camera was dropped lens first, the weakest link was the lugs, which were designed to shear to protect the lens. When the camera was in production, it was a simple matter to change the ring . But these rings have become very hard to find. So one should inspect any body purchase to insure at least two of the lugs are present. People have claimed that these lugs wore out, but in thirty years of usage, I have NEVER worn out a lug or worn one at all.
The second place this system got a bad rap was during it's heyday. Graflex had won the military contract for cameras right at the start of the Vietnam war. Granted, the XL was a vastly superior choice to the 4x5 Crown Graphic it replaced. But at a time when EPOI was giving Nikon F systems to the U.S. press Corp covering the war, the Army photographers resented hanging out of a helicopter with the XL while the press shooter had a Nikon in hand. A way to cut short a day's photography was to "accidentally" drop one's XL. Thus a lot of them got their lens lugs broken on a very regular basis.
The focusing system also needs a little basic attention now and then. It helps greatly if you wipe the dirt and grime off the barrel and lugs now and then. An easy way to lubricate the focusing system is built into every photographer. Wipe the barrel and lugs with a clean rag. Now take one's finger and rub the side of one's nose. Rub this residue on the lens barrel and lugs. The grease from one's nose is one of the best lubricants available! It is used in the motion picture industry to lubricate a camera's pressure plate on each new roll of film loaded into the camera.
The XLRF features a large bright rangefinder image that is easy to focus and is parallax compensated. There are bright lines in the finder for the 150mm and 100mm lenses. One little secret is that the entire image area is almost identical to the field of the 58mm Grandagon lens.
The XL system has an interchangeable back system that makes it one of the most versatile cameras offered. There is a Graflock back which will accept a ground glass back and 6x9 sheet film holders, This Graflock adapter also is the mount for a wide range of roll film backs. There are 120-size backs such as the 6x6 12-exposure backs (RH-12), the 6x7 10-exposure back (RH-10), the 6x9 8-exposure back (RH-8), a 220-size back in 6x7 format (RH-20), and the 70mm 50-exposure back (RH-50). There is a Polaroid back as well.
One very rare item is the small run of 4x5 Graflock back Graflex made. With the XL body and right spacer, one could use the XL lenses with 4x6 film. This adapter never made it into production but they are not all that difficult to cobble-up by one's self.
Graflex made a series of back spacers ranging from one-half inch through 3.75 inch that can be used in any combination to assist close-up shooting. One other Graflex secret is that a one-inch spacer will turn a XLSW body into a XL body for all the standard lenses.
A little note on the rollbacks. ALL 120-film backs have a film-flatness problem to a greater or lesser extent. It is the nature of having a film with a paper backing that it is difficult to design a holder that holds the film flat. One of the worst holders was the early Graflex RH back with the roll knob. The later backs with the lever wind were vastly superior. If one wants the best possible solutions short of the new Contax system, just use a Mamiya RB or Horseman film back which fit the Graflex system perfectly.
Lenses were supplied by Zeiss (80 and 100mm Planars and Tessars and a 180 Sonnar), Rodenstock (58mm Grandagon, 80 and 100mm Heligons, the "scary-sharp" rare-earth element 150mm Yasrex, and 180 and 240 Rotelars), and Schneider supplied the 47mm Super Angulon for the XLRF. In the later years of production, the Rodenstock and Zeiss lenses went way up in price. Graflex looked to Japan for lenses under the Norita brand. I have owned or now own all of the Rodenstock, Zeiss and Schneider lenses and have found them to be superb, as one would expect. I have not had any personal experience with the Norita branded lenses. But from my experience with other lenses from the same supplier, I would expect them to be the equal of the German manufactured lenses.
Some comments on these lenses are that the 80mm Planar, Tessar and Heligon will cover up to 6x7 and the 95/100mm lenses will be needed to cover 6x9 format. The Zeiss lenses draw a higher price than the Rodenstock lenses but in no way out perform them. Thus the best buys are had with the Rodenstock lenses for the XL system. One needs to exercise a little care with the Grandagon lens, which is prone to separation around the rear elements.
When purchasing a XL system, look closely at the condition of the focusing lugs (which are expensive, but not impossible to replace) and the condition of the lenses. With some 70% of all XL cameras having been at one time a military camera, they may have had a rough life. By the same token, the military photographers so much preferred the Nikon cameras that many of the Graflex cameras were never used at all and are in near new condition.
There were a range of grips and flash holders for the system. Also, one real nice accessory, which is often overlooked, is the very well thought out lens hood and filter system. One hood works for all lenses from 58mm through 240mm AND takes Series 8 filters! Simple step-up adapters (lens filter size to Series 8) keeps your filter inventory small and versatile.
A complete copy of the Graflex sales brochure listing all the accessories and most of the lenses can be seen at the http://www.graflex.org site.
So, in conclusion, if one wants to have a very affordable, very high quality medium format system, the Graflex XL is the way to go.