Three Generations of Cameras

Well, the set is complete! I found my dad's old rangefinder a few years back and added it to my 'collection' of cameras.

Last year, I began to wonder what kind of camera my grandfather used. I knew it was most likely some sort of consumer-grade Kodak, but I couldn't nail down exactly which model. About a month ago, I asked my dad what kind of camera his dad used. All he could remember was it was a Kodak. Two of his bothers only remembered 'he had a camera'.

An aunt described it as "being so tall, with a 'draw-bridge' that came down and the lens rolled out onto it." Hmmm. I was no closer to my answer.

Then I talked to the oldest of the five. He said, "Well, I don't remember off-hand, but if you give me some time, I can tell you exactly what it was." Turns out, he had it tucked away. After a few phone calls and his sending me some cell-phone shots of it, I knew exactly which camera my grandfather used. My uncle was unwilling to part with it, despite it being unusable (bellows coating was missing, and the shutter didn't fire). But with the exact model number in hand, I went shopping on ebay. Last week, I found a working copy of that exact same camera.... A Kodak 3A Folding Pocket Camera Model C. Note... it's not the Autographic version.

It arrived today. So, here........ in all their splendor.......... is three generations of cameras.



The Kodak 3A (ca. 1903-1915), my dads' Tenax Automatic (ca. 1960) and my Nikon D600.



And yes........ I'm going to convert the Kodak to accept 120 film! Stay tuned!

That's a great story. I have a few Kodak Autographic cameras that I actually use.

Good for you, Sparky!

not to

Not to knock your skill with a fabulous Nikon (I'm a Nikon man myself) but which of the three got the greatest photos? (Grandpa could have gone around the world with his Kodak, or at least to darkest Nebraska or something, when the world was young....)

snapguy said:

Not to knock your skill with a fabulous Nikon (I'm a Nikon man myself) but which of the three got the greatest photos? (Grandpa could have gone around the world with his Kodak, or at least to darkest Nebraska or something, when the world was young....)

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I guess that would depend on your definition of 'great'. Grandpa took tons of family photos, for which I have most of the negatives for. Dad used his camera to take all the shots of my when I was growing up, plus tons of vacation Kodachromes.... which I still have.

great grandpa

Glad to hear your grandpa was an avid photographer. You can't replace that type of stuff.

Since I already had the design of the 120 conversion engineered, I went ahead and bought some of the goodies to make it happen after supper tonight. Stopped by the hardware store for a 1¼" dowel for the spool adapters, and the office supply store for a thick presentation folder to make a new film gate.





The first thing I did was tear off all the un-needed clear plastic parts of the folder, as well as the 3-ring binder loops.





That left me with plenty of plain stock to make a new film gate, and enough to make more if I make a mistake or want to make another format. I chose 6x7 since that will be the same as my RB67.

Cutting the plastic to size was easy with a rotary cutter.





What took a bit more time (and finesse!) was laying out the 6x7 cutout. But with a calculator and double-checking, it's fairly simple.





One last check to make sure everything is in place.....





Then use the utility knife with a new blade, next to a metal ruler, to cut out the 6x7cm opening.





Violá! One new film gate.

very special/ I have my dad's old kodak 616, the art deco one. I feel no need to convert it to 120 or 620 or whatever. It earned a rest.

Great story! I have my Grandmothers Autographic and my Dad's Kodak in my collection. I also have all of their negatives and slides. It's nice to have the family connection. I will pass mine on to my kids - which ever of them want it.

Just ran a roll through 'er! I screwed up the first frame by forgetting to advance the film (it doesn't have any interlocks!). So as expected, that one is a double-exposure. I also advanced the film twice by accident. But I figured 2 full turns of the film advance between the first 3 frames, then 1½ after that.... looks like it will net me 8 frames.

OK, here's some of the results:

Great fun! You may as well make a 6x12 gate and use the whole frame.

Did it use 130 film?


Typos made on a tiny phone...

trythis said:

Great fun! You may as well make a 6x12 gate and use the whole frame.

Did it use 130 film?


Typos made on a tiny phone...

Click to expand...

That's a possibility. I just shot for 6x7 for now. 6x4.5 up to 6x14 are all possible.

The camera originally used 122 film.

Sparky, what did you use with the wood dowel to index into the 120 spool so you can wind the film?

QUOTE=480sparky;1953725937]OK, here's some of the results.
And with no coated lens. There must be a lesson for B&W photographers somewhere there....Regards!l




[/QUOTE]

EdColorado said:

Sparky, what did you use with the wood dowel to index into the 120 spool so you can wind the film?

Click to expand...

The cut dowel is just a spacer for the 120 spool. To test the concept, I used a 122 spool for the take-up. I opened the camera in the darkroom and loaded the film onto a developing spool at the same time. As expected, the film kind of slid off to one side, but not too excessively.

I found a source of 120/122 adapters made on a 3D printer last night and have ordered as set. When they arrive, I'll run some more film through. By then, I should have a mask made for the rangefinder so I can more accurately frame & compose to the 6x7 gate.

Like Bruce, I have the family Kodak folding Kodak and most of the negatives from a hundred years ago. It was my first camera in the 1940s. Rather than adapt it to 120 film, buying a similar Kodak made for 120 film seems more practical now. The naming and lens options for these cameras is staggering. While the family Kodak with its meniscus lens cost maybe $5, one could buy the next size up with a Zeiss lens for $50 in 1912. Even the old box cameras made fairly good photos at the smallest apertures. However, a 16x20 print from an older folding Kodak with a Rapid Rectilinear lens was slightly unsharp in the corners.