116 to 120 film window mask, material?

[jay moussy]

Two 116 camera (Ansco 1A Advanced and Buster folder) await some prep to roll 120 film in.

I need a film mask, as the camera window width is 4 1/4 (or so).
- make a full frame mask (rectangle with window), or just two narrow strips lengthwise?
- material, from craft paper to...?
- attachment, allowing removal or adjustment?

 

[Donald Qualls]

Assuming you want to use the 120 framing numbers, your frame is going to be shorter as well as narrower, so I'd have to recommend a full frame mask. You also probably aren't going to be able to see the framing numbers of the backing through the original window (116 had the window in a corner like 6x9 does, but was a quarter inch wider, besides an inch longer frame).

If this is going to be a permanent installation, you likely will want to make the mask from some durable material -- sheet or strip polystyrene from model railroad suppliers is a good source (comes in white, but you can paint it black easily enough); I'd probably use .020" or half millimeter thickness (stiff enough to hold its shape and not warp when you paint it, thin enough to be easy to cut, file, and sand to exact shape/size). Given 116 film has been gone for almost forty years, it's probably safe to conclude it isn't coming back, so I'd likely make the conversion permanent -- even to the point of permanently installing the spool spacers, at least on the supply end. You can also make a viewfinder mask from the same material as the film frame mask.

 

[jay moussy]

Great.
Yes, a new one-piece 6x9 film gate.
I was thinking or only altering to accommodate the 120 width, retaining the 4 1/4 in long way, but there may not be much benefit to it, versus the 6x9?

Other film transport thought: I am to use the wall anchor method at the 120 supply spool ends, which means my film path may be imprecise.

 

[MattKing]

You could make a gate out of a piece of fogged and developed 4x5 film with a window cut in it.

2 1/4 x 4 1/4 is quite neat actually.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The big problem with trying to use the full length of the 116 frame is how to advance -- you'll get 6 frames per roll, if you can frame with even moderate precision, but unless there's a framing track visible, you'll also be prone to overlaps or big gaps that may mean you get only one or two good exposures. If the 116 framing window will show any of the 120 framing tracks, I think it'll be the 6x4.5, and you might be okay to use every 3rd frame on that track -- that will get only five on the roll (maybe a sixth, but it'll be in danger of running off the film tail). I'd certainly start with a used backing paper, to see what if any framing numbers you can see (and whether you'll need to cut a new window to be able to advance accurately).

If you do wind up cutting a framing window, I'd suggest putting it on the 6x6 framing track; two frames of that format should give a good space between 4 1/4" frames and ensure six frames on a roll -- and it's as far as possible from the edges of the backing, limiting opportunities for fogging through the framing window. You can cut this on the centerline of the camera back, about an inch inside the frame gate, and use the odd numbers only on the 120 backing.

For centering the supply spool, two US quarters on each end is said to work well, and the drywall anchors will work after a fashion for takeup, but you can buy 3D printed adapters for the price of a couple rolls of film; if you'll use this more than once, it's worth getting a set of those.