'Good' 620 roll film camera

OptiKen · Oct 2, 2014

Someone posted this morning regarding re-spooling 120 film onto 620 reels for use in 620 cameras and it opened a question in my mind.
What really 'good' 620 roll film cameras are out there to be had?
Does anyone have experience with the Kodak Reflex TLR?
A Medalist or Chevron may be out of my budget but what else is out there with a nice lens on a 620?

Hatchetman · Oct 2, 2014

Cheapest "good" camera is Kodak Tourist with Anaston 105mm f/4.5 lens. Reflex I/II are also good but very difficult to repair - lens elements are cemented to body and very difficult to put back together. I destroyed one just trying to clean the shutter a bit. Medalist II is great but that will cost you $200+ and need a CLA.

BrianShaw · Oct 2, 2014

Define "good"... what attributes are you looking in the camera for other than the ability to use 620 film.

Define "nice"... what attributes are you expecting from the lens.

I have 1 620 camera, a Kodak Duo 645 that I think is good and has a nice lens. Many would disagree, though, since it is portrait oriented, has no rangefinder or flash synch and has an uncoated lens.

Hatchetman · Oct 2, 2014

Here's a shot with my Reflex II and cheapo scanner:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22953190@N07/8372106794/

Tourist with AnaSTAR lens which is a bit harder to find.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22953190@N07/12939479883/

JW PHOTO · Oct 2, 2014

I've owned all the cameras mentioned and still own several Medalist and one Duo 620. The Duo, Medalist, Reflex I and II are capable of professional results. The Tourist does fine also, but the big negative helps out too. If you can find a Kodak Monitor 620 with the word "SPECIAL" in red on the front of the lens you might want to try it. They are built like a tank and the "SPECIAL" lens is very good. The Reflex I and II are good cameras, but a pain to work on. Getting the viewing and taking lens back in sync is a time consuming task. John W

OptiKen · Oct 2, 2014

Define 'Good' and 'Nice'? lol
Great question since the answer will vary from person to person...day to day....shoot to shoot.

"Good' camera to me would be one solidly built with full manual controls and a bright, usable viewfinder (rangefinders are nice but often a non-existent luxury on cameras of this era)
"Nice" lens would yield sharp images as close to edge-to-edge as possible - coated - wide aperture range (min. 3.5 - 18) - minimal vignetting.

I used those adjectives because most of the 620 cameras I have come in contact with are snapshot cameras.

BrianShaw · Oct 2, 2014

OptiKen said:
Define 'Good' and 'Nice'? lol
Great question since the answer will vary from person to person...day to day....shoot to shoot.

That was my point... thanks for being so perceptive (and answering to the best of your ability). For 620 cameras the answer is undoubtably Medalist II.

OptiKen · Oct 2, 2014

I don't own either a Duo or a Tourist - I really like folders so I may be shopping for one of them soon.
I do have a Kodak Reflex (I can't remember if it is I or II-the bright viewfinder makes me think it is a II but I'll check when I get home).
I really like the Reflex even though it is a bit of a brick - both in weight and shape. I think it's time to try to re-spool some 120 and take the Reflex out for a spin.
Thanks to everyone for the great answers and advice.

OptiKen · Oct 2, 2014

THESE are GOOD!

Hatchetman said:
Here's a shot with my Reflex II and cheapo scanner:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22953190@N07/8372106794/

Tourist with AnaSTAR lens which is a bit harder to find.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22953190@N07/12939479883/

These are what I would definitely consider being shot with a good camera and nice lens.
These are excellent!

Dan Fromm · Oct 2, 2014

Y'know, 620 film was used outside of the US and some foreign manufacturers made first class cameras to use it. For example, the German-made Kodak Regent which has a good Schneider lens. These sometimes turn up on eBay. If you want one you'll have to be patient and keep looking.

Jousset, a French manufacturer made a series of Kinax 6x9 cameras that used 620 film. You can read about them here http://www.collection-appareils.fr/general/html/listeK_imagettes.php if you can read French or use Google Translate. The better grades of Kinax are fine cameras that have good lenses from, in alphabetical order, Angenieux, Berthiot and Boyer. There are usually several on offer on ebay.fr and on leboncoin.fr.

DannL. · Oct 2, 2014

I just purchased the 620 Duo several months ago. I really like this camera. Build quality was much better than I would have expected from . . . Oh wait! It is a German camera. I've rolled 620 for the Tourist and several Kodak cameras over the past decade, but I would give highest marks to the 620 DUO. I would love it much more if I hadn't turned right around and purchased a Franka Rolfix 6x9/6x6 folder. So the DUO has been in waiting. It will get used again . . . I'm almost sure of it.

The only trouble I've had with the camera, is that occasionally the last two or three frames might end up with a little light leaking into the frame. I think because the camera is so compact, re-rolling 120 to 620 spool can make the roll ever-so-slightly larger than for what the camera was originally designed.

Chrismat · Oct 2, 2014

I have two Kodak Reflex II tlrs, and I think they are great, very nice lenses. I eliminate one step of re-spooling by taking a roll of 120, putting it in a tlr that I'm not using at the moment, keep the lens cap on and just shoot through to the end. Then I take the 'exposed' roll of 120 into a darkroom and re-spool it onto a 620 reel.

I also have a Kodak Medalist I, but it's been in line at Bald Mountain Camera for cla. Should be done fairly soon.

Chris

OptiKen · Oct 2, 2014

Ok
I went home and checked out my Reflex II. Everything seems right with it so I re-spooled a roll of 120 to 620 and loaded it in the camera.
Fingers crossed. I'll post a scanned negative if anything comes out

Rick A · Oct 3, 2014

For some reason, I'm particularly fond of the Kodak Tourist cameras (could be because of 6x9 size). I have modified several to accept 120 film in the feed side, leaving the 620 take up side alone. I prefer the original ones to the Tourist II models, and watch for specific lens/shutter combos, such as 105 Anaston on Flash Kodamatic shutter. The lenses on all of these cameras are removable, not glued on, but not easy to pop off. They are held on by a locking tab/ring that needs to have the fingers depressed while turning the shutter anti-clockwise, these are similar to ratchet pawls.

David Brown · Oct 3, 2014

Ya know, I've got a Tourist in the archives (along with several Brownies, and that ilk). I may have to re-roll some TriX and get that sucker back out ...

bdial · Oct 3, 2014

I should drag my Tourist out too. It's the first camera I bought for myself, for $1.50 at an auction c. 1966

Scott Gibson · Oct 3, 2014

I grabbed a Medalist II on eBay cheap a couple years ago, but it arrived with a sticky shutter so I've never used it. This thread has revived my interest in the camera though! Anyone have a recommendation on where to send it for a full CLA?

JW PHOTO · Oct 3, 2014

Scott Gibson said:
I grabbed a Medalist II on eBay cheap a couple years ago, but it arrived with a sticky shutter so I've never used it. This thread has revived my interest in the camera though! Anyone have a recommendation on where to send it for a full CLA?

The 100mm f3.5 Ektar is as good as any lens made today and better than most. The front and rear lens assemblies unscrew from the shutter. If everything else works except you slow speeds I'd use a belt/strap wrench to take off the front assembly(It might unscrew by hand even) and use some lighter fluid/naphtha to flush the shutter several times. Do this until it frees up when it's totally dry. It might take a day or two of this treatment off and on to free it up. The Kodak Supermatic shutters are usually pretty trouble free except for gumming up. When you flush the shutter keep the camera tilted slightly forward so as not to flush lighter fluid into the body. Or send it to Bald Mountain, but that won't be cheap. It is truly an all-time classic professional camera. An IKON so to speak. John W

OptiKen · Oct 3, 2014

I've always liked the look of the Kodak Tourist but never picked one up because I thought it was 'just another average folder'.
I may have to revisit ebay for another look.

Hatchetman · Oct 3, 2014

OptiKen said:
I've always liked the look of the Kodak Tourist but never picked one up because I thought it was 'just another average folder'.
I may have to revisit ebay for another look.

There were a ton of lens options. Some of them were terrible.

macrorie · Oct 3, 2014

Scott Gibson said:
I grabbed a Medalist II on eBay cheap a couple years ago, but it arrived with a sticky shutter so I've never used it. This thread has revived my interest in the camera though! Anyone have a recommendation on where to send it for a full CLA?

Ken Ruth, of Photography on Bald Mountain - www.baldmtn.com - is a Medalist specialist who can CLA but also does full and partial conversions of them to 120. He is a really nice guy and very helpful about Medalists.

'Good' 620 roll film camera

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