220 Cameras and Film Backs...Have Any, Think You Will Ever Use Them?

[ic-racer]

I wondered who has 220 cameras and or film backs and if anyone thinks they will use them. Will you sell them? Keep them just in case? Try to convert to 120? Other?

 

[Donald Qualls]

I have a 220 back for my RB67 -- and I use it to shoot 35mm panoramic, 24x70 or 35x70 (depending if I crop off the sprocket holes). In today's market, I'd consider a 220 back/insert mainly useful to allow automatic advance and frame counting over the full length of a 35mm film. Few if any complete cameras were dedicated to 220 -- the Yashica 24 is the only one that springs to mind, and its manual specifically mentions having to advance several extra frames after reaching the end of a 120 roll if you load that film. Lots of cameras that can be switched, just like folding cameras that can switch from 6x9 to 6x6 or 6x4.5, or 6x6 cameras with 6x4.5 masks.

 

[narsuitus]

I also use my 220 backs for shooting 35mm panoramics.

I also buy them for spare parts. For example, I bought one just to get the dark slide in order to replace one that I lost for a 120 back.

 

[Horatio]

I have a 220 back for my Bronica SQ in 645 format. I have used 120 film in it with no problems. I’m watching the Shanghai 220 thread for updates and may order a few rolls.

 

[ic-racer]

Most of my MF cameras allow switching between 120 and 220 with some kind of lever or switch. I don't have any cameras or film backs that are "220 only."

 

[PhotoJim]

I have a pair of 220 backs for my Bronica SQ-A/SQ-B. I still have some frozen 220 film, and I will probably give the Shanghai a go if it ends up being the only new 220 film in production.

 

[BAC1967]

I have one for my ETRSi, I’ve used it for expired 220 and fresh 120 film with no problems.

 

[itsdoable]

I shot some 220 (expired) film last week.

As mentioned before, some 220 backs can be used for 135 film, and some can also shoot 120 film.

 

[BAC1967]

I shot some 220 (expired) film last week.

As mentioned before, some 220 backs can be used for 135 film, and some can also shoot 120 film.

How do you shoot 135 in a 220 back?

 

[Donald Qualls]

How do you shoot 135 in a 220 back?

A 135 cassette will fit where a 120/220 spool full of film will. There are 3D printed adapters available to make the 135 cassette mount to the spool pins, and interface with the winding key, so you can (if you choose) use a cassette at both ends. Orient the cassette correctly (so emulsion is on the correct side), feed the film around/across, and secure it to the takeup spool (which can also be had with shoulders to keep the 35mm film centered). If your camera/back has an auto stop frame counting system, you may be able to trick it into working with the 35mm (as is the case with RB67 backs), or you may have to wind "by guess" (as I did with my Wirgin Auta yesterday -- 5 half-turns of the key for a 6x9 camera at the start of the film, 4 after 3 frames, it would be 3 after another three or four if the film were long enough).

When the film comes to the end, the advance will feel like the film is jammed -- then you have to stop and unload in the dark (changing bag or darkroom), because there's no rewind capability in (most) 120/220 film handling systems. Developer normally, request "no negative cut" if you pay a lab, then either scan or print as you see fit.

An RB67 with 90mm, 65mm or 50mm does a pretty good imitation (in the end result) of an Xpan with the corresponding lens mounted -- aside from weighing 2-3 times as much, being an SLR instead of a rangefinder, and not only not having electronics that may fail without warning and aren't repairable, but not even using a battery. Oh, and being able to shoot 6x4.5, 6x6 (with a third party roll film holder) and 6x7, still in the same camera. And costing literally 1/10 as much. And exposing over the sprocket holes, if you like that kind of thing.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/media/cornfield.63621/

 

[DWThomas]

I purposely bought a 220 insert for my Bronica SQ-A several years ago for the princely sum of $25, as I recall. Just thought if a miracle occurred it could be handy. And my Yashica Mat 124G can use it. Lately I seem to have trouble doing any shooting, but if some reliable B&W becomes available in 220 -- and if I can equip my existing tank or acquire another to handle it, I might indulge.

 

[destroya]

I think all my MF cameras can shoot 220. Most just require a rotation of the back plate.I still have a large stash of 220 velvia 50 and astia, so I use 220 quite a lot. It really does help in when shooting 6x17.

 

[Donald Qualls]

if I can equip my existing tank or acquire another to handle it, I might indulge.

All plastic tanks with adjustable film reels (35mm, 127, and 120) can accept 220. This is because 220 is as wide as 120, but the same length as 35mm. I routinely put two 120 rolls, one after the other, into my Paterson film reels. That lets me process up to four 120 rolls at once, but it would also let me put two 220 rolls in my taller tank.

 

[DWThomas]

All plastic tanks with adjustable film reels (35mm, 127, and 120) can accept 220. This is because 220 is as wide as 120, but the same length as 35mm. I routinely put two 120 rolls, one after the other, into my Paterson film reels. That lets me process up to four 120 rolls at once, but it would also let me put two 220 rolls in my taller tank.

Hmm -- thanks! You reminded my aging brain that I do {somewhere in the remote man cave) have an old adjustable plastic tank of some sort. Last time I remember verifying its existence was quite a few years back to ascertain it could be fudged to use for APS film!

 

[Donald Qualls]

Most adjustable reels can be (permanently) modified for in-between film widths or smaller than 35mm (like APS), but for Paterson type, at least, you'd have to cut the moving plate and glue it in place because there would be no lock. The same can be done for 16mm, though I'm not sure how well 16mm would work in those because the grooves in the plates, between them, would cover most of the image area on most 16mm still formats.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have a 220 insert for Linhof 6x7 backs that I’ll continue to use until my stash of TXP220 runs out. If Shanghai comes up with the goods or can be hired by Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, or Adox to convert some other film that I like, maybe I’ll continue to use it before it turns into another film pack adapter in the history of obsolete photographic formats. I hung on to my 8x10” Polaroid gear until it started going north of $15 an exposure.

I have other ways of shooting 220, but the Linhof insert is the only 220-only device I have, and it’s an insert, so the backs also take 120 inserts.

 

[narsuitus]

How do you shoot 135 in a 220 back?

I cut the ends off a 120 film spool and use those ends as spacers in the RB67 220 back.

I did not rewind the film. After completing the roll, I remove the film from the back in the darkroom. I then either develop the film or store the exposed film in a light tight container.

The panoramic image below was shot in a Holga using this technique but could have been shot in an RB67.

35mm film in RB67 by Narsuitus, on Flickr


Pinhole Panoramic by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[Donald Qualls]

I cut the ends off a 120 film spool and use those ends as spacers in the RB67 220 back.

I did not rewind the film. After completing the roll, I remove the film from the back in the darkroom.

This method is free(ish) -- but the 3D printed adapters also double as knobs to rewind the film into the cassette, which means if I take a changing bag, I can unload, reload, and shoot more than one 35mm roll with a single 220 film back.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use Hasselblad 220 backs to hold paper flat while the prints are drying.

 

[ic-racer]

I just spo

I use Hasselblad 220 backs to hold paper flat while the prints are drying.

If you had a 12/24 Rolleiflex, you could hold backdrop paper flat too....

 

[moto-uno]

^^ You make some tiny prints . Peter

 

[itsdoable]

I cut the ends off a 120 film spool...

You can repeat for the take-up spool by using a reusable 135 cassette (the ones you use for bulk loading) and have the film run from cassette to cassette. Then you can daylight change the film, and only lose the last frame.

I also built inserts for file guide rails to keep the film edges flat - which was useful in a P67 with large apertures.

 

[Sirius Glass]

You can repeat for the take-up spool by using a reusable 135 cassette (the ones you use for bulk loading) and have the film run from cassette to cassette. Then you can daylight change the film, and only lose the last frame.

I also built inserts for file guide rails to keep the film edges flat - which was useful in a P67 with large apertures.

Instead I use the Hasselblad 903 SWC [38mm] or the 30mm Fisheye Lens [Full Frame] and I get a full 6x6 negative, not a strip of 35mm film.

 

[BAC1967]

I cut the ends off a 120 film spool and use those ends as spacers in the RB67 220 back.

I did not rewind the film. After completing the roll, I remove the film from the back in the darkroom. I then either develop the film or store the exposed film in a light tight container.

The panoramic image below was shot in a Holga using this technique but could have been shot in an RB67.

35mm film in RB67 by Narsuitus, on Flickr


Pinhole Panoramic by Narsuitus, on Flickr

thanks for sharing that, I may have to give that a try.

 

[itsdoable]

Instead I use the Hasselblad 903 SWC [38mm] or the 30mm Fisheye Lens [Full Frame] and I get a full 6x6 negative, not a strip of 35mm film.

... and not only that, if you crop to panoramic, you have plenty of adjustment for rise/fall shift.

I did this with a P67 when Kodachrome was not available in 120. And 135 film was a lot cheaper than 120. And the X-Pan was/is just $$$...