Simple folders and modern film?

I rediscovered something I've had in the house for decades, an Ansco Readyset Traveler (Abring #1464). Its a nice camera, so nice my wife decorated the livingroom with it for nearly a decade, and it came through that in a still user condiotion.

Nice camera, red bellows, linecloth covers with yellow, green, blue and black stripe decor.

The camera has a very simple lens an Agfa Antar F:9 135mm with a simple 2-times shutter.

My problem is, what film do I use with this camera? Modern films are typically 100 - 200 ISO or more, and it would be impossible to use this if the sun is up, thumbs of rule with a 200 ISO film would be 1/200 @ f:16, this camera would overexpose grossly.

Any advice here? What films to seek out or what developer to use, to get ISO down to yesterdays typical ISO 25 - 50?

Hi there, you didn't state what size film your camera uses, so I'll assume it's 120 roll film. There are a few slower speed black and white films available that I have tried, the following I can thoroughly recommend. 1-ILFORD PAN-F, 50 asa, a really nice film if a little pricey, but works very well in all my folders and box brownies. 2-ADOX CHS 50 ART, another very good all round film, great emulsion that gives fabulous enlargements, and at a very reasonable price. 3-ADOX ORTHO 25, a very slow by todays standards film, 25asa, and orthochromatic (not sensitive to red light) but perfect in my no2 folding brownie, which only has 1/25th, 1/50th and B shutter speeds, and all my box brownies. I don't know where in the world you live, but all these films are available from ag photographic in Birmungham, Great Britain, and they are very helpful people (proper enthusiasts!) and ship worldwide with no minimum order size! Hope this helps

Try Adox 25 art, that shouild be slow enough, probably around the same era as the camera, if that is to slow try the art 50, it is available in 35mm, 120 and a wide range of sheet sizes,Richard

Its a 120 for sure, and I live far out in the norskie boondocks, no proper camera store in sight any more....

I raided the local dig. cam peddler a week ago, acted on a tip and found a fridge half fuyll of 120 film, of which I secured half (on the managers order via mobile phone "only sell HALF of it!"), but that was 200ISO, and color to boot.

Color is no problem, I routineously develop Gold 200 in Caffenlo-C to B/W, works like a charm, but if Caffenol doers anything, it enhanches the ISO, its closwer to 400 than 200, so maybe a solution would be to find a real fine grain developer, which is bound to loose 1 - 2 stops and give me a perfect simple camera film ISO??

I shoot HP5 ISO 400 all the time in my Bessa. That way I have some speed when I use red or orange filters. I use a polarizer to eat up two stops when I need to.


Kent in SD

A Bessa? Thats a QUALITY camera, totally in another league of what I'm talking about.

You have a f:+4,5 lens that goeas all the way down to f:16 or f:22, with a 1 to 1/300 shutter, yes you can shoot ISO400 in broad daylight with a sun over your shoulder.

But a simple camera, with a f:8 to f:10 lens and a 1/25 SHUTTER ONLY, it would be fried out whenever the sun is up!
In short I need films/dev routines to emulate the films of yesterday, when ISO 26 to 50 was the norm. I want some details in the highlights also!
+++---

My Bessa has a Compur Rapid shutter and will actually hit 1/400s. As for the film, I also have a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye flash, c.1959. It has simple lens that is fixed at f16, and shutter is fixed at 1/50s. I use ISO 400 film in that too. My thinking is this. In bright sun I add a red filter. In less bright sun, an orange filter. When I need to subtract one stop I use a yellow filter. When light starts getting real low I can still shoot OK with the ISO 400 film. Using the ISO 400 plus filters gives me a lot more latitude with exposure. That's why I do it.


Kent in SD

Hmmm good point, I will rummage through my disused collection of filters!