Wasn't a camera like this ever made?

Juan Valdenebro

Juan Valdenebro

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Looking at my XA and at any of my Bessas with the CV 28 3.5 on, I wonder months ago if a very small 120 RF with a (maybe fix) moderate wideangle lens was ever designed... With or without meter...


For street I'd like to try a small 120 RF with its lens at 8 always, so a very small and slow lens would be perfect for me... Could be a folder or not... As I won't focus, I wouldn't even need a RF...


Does that simple camera exist? Maybe an old model?


I think Mamiyas with their wide angle lenses are big, and the dreamed “Bessa IV” with a very compact fix 50 instead of III's 80, never came...


Thanks!


Cheers,
 
Juan,
Don't know what format you're looking for, but a number of people have put a 65mm Angulon (not Super Angulon) on a 6x9 folder body modified to fixed lens, non folding. You may have seen them.

Giorgio
 
or the Fuji GS645S

4565058446_9cb0f9e4d8.jpg


4070628089_928f581170.jpg
 
Thanks, filmtwit!

I guess something like the new Fuji GF670W but without electronics, and made long ago, would be very nice... When I started to think about all this, I was thinking just about really "small slow lenses" for 120 RFs, and then I thought maybe for compactness a fixed lens was a better solution for designers, and I imagined there were lots of fixed lens 120 RFs made decades ago just like in 35mm...

Cheers,

Juan
 
The GS645S shown above is not really "Wide" with a 60mm lens on a 6x4.5cm camera it is more like a slightly wide normal lens.
You should rather look for a GS645W (45mm lens) which would be a 28mm eqvivalent in 35mm.

If RF is not a requirement, then you may take a look at the Brooks Veriwide with the 47mm (6x10cm neg) or the Horseman Convertible with the 62mm lens (6x9cm negative).

None of these are very small, but probably as small as in gets in medium format at these negative sizes.
 
Last edited:
Juan Valdenebro said:
Looking at my XA and at any of my Bessas with the CV 28 3.5 on, I wonder months ago if a very small 120 RF with a (maybe fix) moderate wideangle lens was ever designed... With or without meter...


For street I'd like to try a small 120 RF with its lens at 8 always, so a very small and slow lens would be perfect for me... Could be a folder or not... As I won't focus, I wouldn't even need a RF...


Does that simple camera exist? Maybe an old model?


I think Mamiyas with their wide angle lenses are big, and the dreamed “Bessa IV” with a very compact fix 50 instead of III's 80, never came...


Thanks!


Cheers,
Click to expand...
I like where you are going with this, Juan.

Lately I've been thinking about basically the same thing but for 4x5 film. With a dedicated slow wide angle lens, you could build a 4x5 camera that could really be about the size of the Mamiya 7 (focused at infinity, anyway). A grafmatic back gets six shots; two of these would get you the same film load as a single roll of 120- although even regular two sheet backs would be fine (especially if you could carry lots of them)... not to hijack the thread but what about this? Anyone built one?
 
As a child, I had a camera (my first ! I must have been about 7 or 8 years old) like that, but I don't remember the name or type. It was 120 film, I'm sure of that, although at that moment, I didn't know anything about filmsizes, but I remember those spools. It had only three symbols for distance (I think it was a flower, a head-shoulders and three mountains) and three symbols for aperture (cloud, sun-cloud, sun if I remember correctly). I still might have some negatives I took with it; I'll try to find them back .. That must have been in the '60.

Stefan.

Juan Valdenebro said:
Looking at my XA and at any of my Bessas with the CV 28 3.5 on, I wonder months ago if a very small 120 RF with a (maybe fix) moderate wideangle lens was ever designed... With or without meter...


For street I'd like to try a small 120 RF with its lens at 8 always, so a very small and slow lens would be perfect for me... Could be a folder or not... As I won't focus, I wouldn't even need a RF...


Does that simple camera exist? Maybe an old model?


I think Mamiyas with their wide angle lenses are big, and the dreamed “Bessa IV” with a very compact fix 50 instead of III's 80, never came...


Thanks!


Cheers,
Click to expand...
 
Juan,

If 75mm is wide enough, and you can do without the RF then you might consider...

an Agfa Isola II
Agfa+Isola.jpg


a Goldammer Goldeck
3015982967_9e8e17c4c2.jpg


or perhaps a Braun Paxina


Personally, I have developed a real fondness for this class of camera lately. 🙂

Jeff
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Looking at my XA and at any of my Bessas with the CV 28 3.5 on, I wonder months ago if a very small 120 RF with a (maybe fix) moderate wideangle lens was ever designed... With or without meter...
Click to expand...

Such a camera was designed in the late 80s by Heinz Waaske, the inventor of the Rollei 35, when he worked for Minox. The camera was named Minox 645 GL and is described here:
Waaske and Minox

A prototype was built and tested, but the camera was never produced. It´s another example of Waaske´s genius.
 
Palm Press 6x9 Camera

Palm Press 6x9 Camera

Juan, you rarely see any references to these as I don't know how many were made, but in the 80's, Gus Kayafas of Palm Press - here in the Boston area - created a 6x9 camera (an aluminum tapered body), with a fixed Schneider 65mm Super-Angulon, a veiwfinder (forgot what type), with either a Mamiya or Horseman back (can't recall). I shot a roll of film through one in contemplation of buying but opted for a Hassy system instead (I still have the prints around here somewhere) but I never forgot the camera and wished I bought it. I only see a few references to this camera on the internet but I would love to see one again.
 
raydm6 said:
Juan, you rarely see any references to these as I don't know how many were made, but in the 80's, Gus Kayafas of Palm Press - here in the Boston area - created a 6x9 camera (an aluminum tapered body), with a fixed Schneider 65mm Super-Angulon, a veiwfinder (forgot what type), with either a Mamiya or Horseman back (can't recall). I shot a roll of film through one in contemplation of buying but opted for a Hassy system instead (I still have the prints around here somewhere) but I never forgot the camera and wished I bought it. I only see a few references to this camera on the internet but I would love to see one again.
Click to expand...

Maybe like pagpow's post #9?

Cheers,

Juan
 
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