Can You Use 620 Film In A 120 Camera Without Re-Spooling ?

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

Here's the background;

I still LOVE Verichrome-Pan B&W film, especially by today's film standards.
It's loaded with silver & has a great range of Grey-Tones,
even without using the Zone System.

Verichrome-Pan B&W film is still available on eBay.
But 620 is in much greater supply, than 120 film is & it's priced much lower.

I also know in order to still use 620 cameras, people routinely re-spool,
120 film on to 620 spools, due to the smaller core of the 620 spool.
So this tells me the film dimensions are the same.

I WILL NOT RE-SPOOL ANY FILM !

So, can I use 620 film in a 120 camera, as it is from Kodak ?

This will be used in a Mamiya RZ camera, not that this matters, much.

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before.

 

[domaz]

The big issue with using 620 film in a 120 camera is that the spool is overall thinner. Mechanisms that are meant to keep a 120 roll in place might not "bite" the 620 roll. It will probably work ok in the majority of cases though- especially if you use a 120 take up roll. I wonder where you are getting this "cheap" 620 film though- I haven't soon too much of it. It seems a lot of people will buy 620 film just to get the spool so they can use 120 film in 620 cameras (the other way around from what you are doing).

 

[Rick A]

The main difference between 120 and 620 mechanisms is the size of the drive ears that engage the spool. 620 drives are smaller than their 120 counterpart and may not engage them properly, you cannot fit a 120 drive into a 620 spool. Some cameras of questionable quality may end up with broken parts from this. The other difference is actual film chamber space. Personal experience with Kodak 620 cameras is that there just isn't enough room to fit a rol of 120 in most of them. Some may be modified on the feed side to accept 120, then winding onto a 620 spool on take-up.I have modified a few Kodaks, mostly the Tourist models, but have also owned the Duaflex cameras that have zero room for mods.

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

If my memory is correct... I "think" 620-120 spool adapter thingies are available... somewhere. However, those might be for using 120 film in a 620 camera... not vice versa. I can't remember.

 

[Rick A]

If you are going to load 620 into a 120 then it could work, so long as you wind onto a 120 take-up spool. The only difficulty I could perceive is not enough tension on the feed side from using a smaller diameter roll of film, also there aren't any "ears" on the spindle.

 

[rawhead]

I seriously think you have the supply thing figured out the other way 'round. There's a whole ton more 120 Verichrome-Pan on the 'Bay than their 620 counterparts, and the latter seem to go for 3-4x the price of the former.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Kodak specifically designed the 620 spool so that it would be incompatible with the 120 spool and vice versa. The problem would be holding the 620 spool in place since the hole and slot is so much smaller. If you attempt to use a 620 spool in a 120 camera you may wind up damaging either the film or the camera. Since Verichrome was primarily designed for simple cameras with limited exposure control why not just get a 620 camera and have fun with the film/camera combination.