Kodak Tourist II 620 to 120 Modification

c.w. · Dec 31, 2009

c.w. submitted a new resource:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) - Kodak Tourist II 620 to 120 Modification

It's not terribly difficult to switch a Kodak Tourist from a 620 to a 120 camera, but it's not exactly easy to find a how-to on it to keep one from making stupid mistakes. Hopefully this will keep people from making all the dumb mistakes I did.

I did this on a Tourist II, if someone wants to chime in on the differences between the original and the II it would be appreciated, because apart from my thinking the original viewfinder looks much nicer to use than the faux rangefinder on the...

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Removed Account2 · Oct 16, 2010

Can't see no pictures!

dehk · Oct 16, 2010

Funny I just picked up a Tourist 2 last week and was gonna do similar things. Lets see photos though!

removed account4 · Oct 17, 2010

i was under the impression ( after conversations with ken ruth
who does conversions of medalists from 620 to 120 )
that either the paper or the film base of 620 was thinner than 120,
so film is likely to get "bound up" ..
do tourist cameras and others that take 620 film have the same problems or
is this a situation that may be more likely to happen just with medalist cameras because of their design ?

- john

dehk · Oct 17, 2010

jnanian said:
i was under the impression ( after conversations with ken ruth
who does conversions of medalists from 620 to 120 )
that either the paper or the film base of 620 was thinner than 120,
so film is likely to get "bound up" ..
do tourist cameras and others that take 620 film have the same problems or
is this a situation that may be more likely to happen just with medalist cameras because of their design ?

- john

My friend always respool 120 to 620 into a Kodak Duraflex with no problem.

c.w. · Oct 17, 2010

Well... what the what? I thought i had the images attached to the thread and now they're nowhere to be found. I had a hard drive crash, so i'm not even entirely sure i still have the pictures. I'll have to look around and see if they're backed up somewhere in the mess of backup shenanigans i have. I'm actually a little surprised to see this pop back up.

I'm not sure if the backing paper or film was thinner on 620, but i didn't tend to have any real issues with binding of the film / paper, only the spools. I thought the spool could be smaller because they were made of metal and had a thinner core, not because of any thickness difference, but i may well be wrong. That being said the winding on mine was never what i'd call "buttery smooth", largely because of my seat-of-the-pants engineering.

Removed Account2 · Oct 17, 2010

Article pops back up because you have written a classic!

Thanx for your effort.

Rick A · Oct 17, 2010

I did a Tourist II conversion earlier ths year. There were no problems feeding 120 film through it once there was enough room for the 120 spool in the feed side. I left the 620 spool in the take up side, no need to modify that side. It is a dirty process, so blue painters tape EVERYWHERE to keep grindings out of places it doesn't belong. I taped the entire outside plus over the the entire inside except the work area. I used a dummy roll for the many test fits until it moved freely in the chamber. A thorough cleaning is next, compressed air followed by wiping with a soft cloth soaked in a fast drying solvent. I recommend not modifying the take up side, the tabs on the shaft are too small to properly engage the slots in a 120 spool and could possibly slip causing film advance difficulties. The tool of choice for this is a Dremel with a good assortment of grinding burrs. Have fun!

Removed Account2 · Oct 17, 2010

got anny pickchers, Rick?

If you have of the modified example I can provide some pre-modified.

kingkristjan · Nov 8, 2010

Can't see the pics either. But I did the same thing about 10 years ago, except I had access to my brothers precision machining business. It was still a little crude, but it did work. I needed to smooth out one edge because it was grinding the top edge of the film. I ended up auctioning it off on eBay to some guy in Taiwan. He also worked in a precision machining company and he refined it a little more. The only thing I did miss was having a true rangefinder...guessing the focus position was hit and miss.

Removed Account2 · Nov 9, 2010

Still noone that has a picture of this procedure?
I'm hesitant at putting my Dremel to a perfect camera, after some Wiley E. Coyote gunsmithing that went bad some years back!

Rick A · Nov 9, 2010

My appologies, I didn't photo the procedure. IIRC, you must grind at the top and bottom of the feed side of the camera. There are "bumps" that limit the diameter of the film roll. I have since sold the camera, so there isn't any way to photo it and describe the process. Go slow, and take care not to take too much out at a time, and test fit often. When you are satisfied you have completed the job, some flat black paint is in order to finish properly. One other recommendation, do this somewhere dust and metal grindings dont pose any problems, and wear a dust mask and safety glasses.

Removed Account2 · Nov 9, 2010

Dust & grime? I've worked in the oil industry with corrosion control, sandblasting, spray-painting and spray-metallization - this is peanuts!

Thank you for your info. One question: did this procedure ruin the abulity to use 620 rolls, should you be lucky enough to nab one somewhere?

Erik

Rick A · Nov 9, 2010

Thats something I never gave a thought. I suppose that there mightn't be adaquate tension on a roll of 620 after the mod, but then again, there may be.

jhw · Feb 22, 2011

I was the lucky foster parent of the adopted Tourist & just saw this follow up. I've used Rick's camera with both 120/620: 120 - all good; 620 - as Rick opined, a tiny bit loose, but still works fine. Btw...the actual conversion work by Rick is amazing. Clean, smooth, all surfaces resealed...I can certainly see this as an involved process with metal dust everywhere. I have taken my adopted Tourist many places, most recently yesterday on a cloudy day in the redwoods...perfect for 6x9 slabs of contrasty Ektachrome...

Rick A · Feb 22, 2011

Well, I certainly thank you for the pat on the back. I miss the little beast, glad to hear you are having a wonderful time with it. I might just have to do that again.

sergeant1989 · Apr 27, 2015

NO pics

The pictures are not available even after logging in Thanks Peter

Adam W · Apr 27, 2015

sergeant1989 said:
The pictures are not available even after logging in Thanks Peter

Might be because the original post was from 2009.

Gry · Dec 26, 2016

Good information .. I just got interested in using my grandfathers old Kodak Tourist, and re-spooled my first roll of 120 onto the 620 take-up spool that was in the camera .. I was fortunate that there was an old roll of film in the camera, and the film processor did return the spool to me !! .. I've exposed 7 of the 8 frames and film advanced very smoothly !! .. If all goes well with the bellows and the shutter, I plan to buy some extra 620 spools on Ebay so I don't have to wait for my film to come back to re-spool another !! .. I might consider modifying the camera if I continue to use it .. It certainly would be easier to just pop a roll of 120 into the camera, instead of re-spooling, and since I'm not developing color film myself, it wouldn't hurt to have some extra 620 spools on hand in case one doesn't make it back to me !!

Bud Hamblen · Feb 7, 2017

I hope you do well. I just got a roll of re-spooled Ilford FP4 Plus from Film Photography Project to try in my Kodak Monitor camera. Unfortunately the new FPP plastic 620 spool was just a little too large for my camera and the film spool fit the supply chamber so tightly I couldn't advance the film. A roll of 120 film re-spooled on an old metal 620 spool advanced smoothly. Re-spooling film isn't hard. It helps to roll the film onto a take-up spool and then re-roll onto the 620 spool because the film and backing paper come out more evenly. I used a 120 film camera to do that part in the light by loading the film as usual and then running the film through the camera. I did the re-spooling with a changing bag. I think it's easier to re-spool a roll of film than it is to get it into a developing reel.

Saganich · Feb 7, 2017

I've been respooling to 620 reels for my medalist, no issues. I've been using a Brownie Hawkeye (no flash) where the 120 spool just fits on top and I use 620 for take-up. Works well but is tight getting to the first frame.

Kodak Tourist II 620 to 120 Modification

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