not really rangefinders

[puderse]

Just got home from the goodwill. One is a Franka solida II that has potential. Coated tessar clone. The other is a Kodak tourist w/"Luninized" 105mm/4.5 4 element lens in a 200 flash kodamatic shutter. Thinking I night mount the lens on an otherwise sorry 6X9. The bellows looks in good shape. I've been known to buy junkers and try to make them work. Ha!!! Sure wish it would take 120. Anyone ever taken a dremel tool and epoxy to one of these Tourists to try to adapt?

 

[retro]

^ Might be easier to re-spool 120 --> 620 in a changing bag
though I've never tried it.

 

[Ernst Dinkla]

The other is a Kodak tourist w/"Luninized" 105mm/4.5 4 element lens in a 200 flash kodamatic shutter. Thinking I night mount the lens on an otherwise sorry 6X9. The bellows looks in good shape. I've been known to buy junkers and try to make them work. Ha!!! Sure wish it would take 120. Anyone ever taken a dremel tool and epoxy to one of these Tourists to try to adapt?

Done that conversion to 120 on a Kodak Monitor with a Luminized 101mm/ 4.5 Anastigmat Special. Kodak Flash Supermatic 1/400 shutter though. I have some doubts that your lens will be a Tessar type on a Kodamatic shutter but it probably is the also excellent triplet Anaston.

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Tourist

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-67.html

Ernst Dinkla

 

[FallisPhoto]

Ha!!! Sure wish it would take 120.

I know exactly what you mean. I just finished restoring an Agfa PB 20. It's a beautiful camera, but only came in 620 and 616.

Anyone ever taken a dremel tool and epoxy to one of these Tourists to try to adapt?

I have a Tourist II, somewhere, and I thought about trying a 120 conversion, but after a close look, I decided it couldn't be done; at least not by me. To do this, I'd have to enlarge both ends and maintain the same distance between film plane and lens. A Tourist isn't a Medallist and the metal is too thin to just grind out enough to make room for a bigger spool. Only solutions I can think of would probably look like hell. Maybe a sheet metal fabricator or someone who is a whole lot better than I am at shaping metal with a hammer and dolly could do it, but I'd just get a bunch of lumps.

At any rate, for my 620 cameras, I just respool 120 film. With a few exceptions, it isn't nearly as difficult as converting the cameras would be.

 

[chippy]

I know exactly what you mean. I just finished restoring an Agfa PB 20. It's a beautiful camera, but only came in 620 and 616.

At any rate, for my 620 cameras, I just respool 120 film. With a few exceptions, it isn't nearly as difficult as converting the cameras would be.

very cool retro deco style camera-tripod outfit ,looks great!

you may find this interesting Charles , this guy shows how he modified his PB 20 to take 120 easily. according to his example it was only ness to remove the holder from the chamber holding the unexposed film, the take up spool side needed no alteration

http://www.jdhartsell.com/AgfaPB20/index.html

 

[FallisPhoto]

very cool retro deco style camera-tripod outfit ,looks great!

you may find this interesting Charles , this guy shows how he modified his PB 20 to take 120 easily. according to his example it was only ness to remove the holder from the chamber holding the unexposed film, the take up spool side needed no alteration

http://www.jdhartsell.com/AgfaPB20/index.html

I should have thought of that. It is pretty much what you do with an Argus metal-bodied TLR to modify it to 120. His is a different year/model, but it's worth a try. He says his conversion jams when he takes the last photo and he has to go into the darkroom to finish winding and take out the film. I wonder if it would do this if he took out the film cradle on the takeup side too. I'll have to try that after I have used up the six rolls of 620 film I have already respooled. I have one in the camera now. If it looks like it will work, I'll also probably want to look at installing a new drive blade. 620 drive blades are undersized and are not very reliable for 120 film.

 

[literiter]

A nice conversion from 620 to 120 would be great for my Monitor and Tourist cameras, but I must say I've found no issues with a film changing bag and some 620 spools. The processing facility I use seems to have no problem with returning the spools (so far anyway).

I've got it down to where I never touch the film and the wind is really nice and tight.

 

[myoptic3]

Boy, you MF guys can get things done! Us 35mm weanies balk at opening a lens. Thanks for showing us how it's done.

 

[chippy]

(literiter) its been a long time since i used one of my 620 camera (just got too many 120 to use lol) but when i did i used the ol foldex method--its easy enough as well. if the 620 camera can be converted easy enough tho its worth doing if you want to use it regularly i guess.

He says his conversion jams when he takes the last photo and he has to go into the darkroom to finish winding and take out the film. I wonder if it would do this if he took out the film cradle on the takeup side too.

yeah i thought it was wierd how he went to trouble to convert it and then puts up with it jambing. i could only imagine that he didnt change the take up chamber because perhaps it would not wind on smoothly and I had visions that it maybe would sound like finger nails scraping on a black board ( i can read you mind on how you would fix that tho)

 

[chippy]

Boy, you MF guys can get things done! Us 35mm weanies balk at opening a lens. Thanks for showing us how it's done.

LOL yeah everything happens bigger here.............bigger mistakes too haha

 

[FallisPhoto]

yeah i thought it was wierd how he went to trouble to convert it and then puts up with it jambing. i could only imagine that he didnt change the take up chamber because perhaps it would not wind on smoothly and I had visions that it maybe would sound like finger nails scraping on a black board ( i can read you mind on how you would fix that tho)

Well, if there is room enough in there for a 120 spool, I am pretty sure I can convert it. The bigger blade (and maybe a bigger pin on the opposing side) would cure any winding on problems. I think I have enough spare parts (and some stock brass and aluminum) around to handle it. If not, ... well, ... we use spit and baling wire here instead of fencing wire -- think that'll do it?

 

[FallisPhoto]

Boy, you MF guys can get things done! Us 35mm weanies balk at opening a lens. Thanks for showing us how it's done.

Well, it is pretty simple. We just grit our teeth, do it, and screw up a lot of cameras until we finally figure out what's what and stop screwing up. Early on, that's where a lot of our spare parts come from. Having spare parts allows you to screw up even bigger and better, but finally we figure out what we can and can't do (and by then we have even more spare parts). I started out with Yashica G-series cameras -- and I still have a jar half full of parts of the three GSNs I wrecked. By the fourth one, I pretty much had them figured out though, and I was later able to put most of my GSN parts to use.

As for the MF folders in this post, they are quite a lot easier to work on and are a whole lot more fun to use.

 

[FallisPhoto]

A nice conversion from 620 to 120 would be great for my Monitor and Tourist cameras, but I must say I've found no issues with a film changing bag and some 620 spools. The processing facility I use seems to have no problem with returning the spools (so far anyway).

I've got it down to where I never touch the film and the wind is really nice and tight.

I don't know about the Tourists (I'm told you at very least need a lathe to do those), but Monitors are pretty easily converted.
http://mconnealy.com/vintagecameras/monitor/index.html
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-67.html

 

[puderse]

not really rabgefinders

not really rabgefinders

Done that conversion to 120 on a Kodak Monitor with a Luminized 101mm/ 4.5 Anastigmat Special. Kodak Flash Supermatic 1/400 shutter though. I have some doubts that your lens will be a Tessar type on a Kodamatic shutter but it probably is the also excellent triplet Anaston.

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Tourist

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-67.html

Ernst Dinkla

Before I put my money on the counter I referenced the sites you quote. This has a 200 KODAMATIC shutter and I think it might be an adaquate performer. Now, do I cannibalize this old Kodak for its lens/shetter and bellows or do I roll another one?

So many cameras ; so little time!

 

[FallisPhoto]

Before I put my money on the counter I referenced the sites you quote. This has a 200 KODAMATIC shutter and I think it might be an adaquate performer. Now, do I cannibalize this old Kodak for its lens/shetter and bellows or do I roll another one?

So many cameras ; so little time!

The Kodamatic isn't bad. The Kodak shutters you want to avoid like the plague are the Kodets; They'll jam at the drop of a hat.

 

[Ernst Dinkla]

Before I put my money on the counter I referenced the sites you quote. This has a 200 KODAMATIC shutter and I think it might be an adaquate performer. Now, do I cannibalize this old Kodak for its lens/shetter and bellows or do I roll another one?

So many cameras ; so little time!

Roll another one IMO. Time counts and there are bargains with even better lenses and shutters. Doesn't have to be a 120 but a Monitor 620 with a frame counter + the Tessar type Anastigmat Special is worth the trouble of the conversion or the rolling of 120>620 spools.

Ernst Dinkla