Vintage Photography - What to use and buy

[Nev]

Yeah that might be an idea. Thanks!

 

[Mark Fisher]

If you are willing to pay a bit more for a reconditioned folder (good idea in my opinion), you might want to contract the ebay seller certo6 and let him know what you are looking for. I suspect he could set you up nicely (and reliably) for not too much money. The other choice someone mentioned is a simple box camera (Agfa Clack for example).

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Kodak Autographic 1A's take 120 roll film (well, not exactly, but 120 film does work- might need to shave down the spools a little to get it to turn easier), and will definitely give you the look you want, and a 6x9cm negative to boot, which makes for a nice contact print size. You can usually pick them up on the super cheap (under $20).

 

[Nev]

Ill keep an eye out for a Kodak Autographic 1A. I saw one earlier but it said Jr. in the title. Is there a difference?
Are there any shops online you recommend I look aside from ebay?

Take a look at this womans photos, she is making pictures the way I would like to. With most, even the color shots. I think the blurr and dust is great. I originally wondered if it was photoshop. This is close to what I would like to achieve.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitelightof3/3190760889/in/set-72157607535219068/

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

The best place to find things like the Autographic is to look in your local thrift stores/antiques shops/etc. You can get the dust from just being really sloppy with your process.

 

[Fotoguy20d]

You can get the dust from just being really sloppy with your process.

Sort of like this (attached - Graphic View II, 90mm Optar, HP5)

Dan

 

[walter23]

OOh Cyanotypes in Coffee look great and so do gandolfi's photos! Wow. Great suggestions thanks, Ill definitely experiment with those ideas. Its a great look that could work well with what I would like to do. Especially gandolfi's...

Important: The following would be a discussion better suited to hybridphoto.com so you probably shouldn't respond about this here (apug is very strictly film based)... but I thought you should probably be aware of this possibility:

One thing to consider (that you won't likely have suggested here) is digital enlargement / digital negatives. This would let you get your feet wet (assuming you already have some kind of digital SLR). Now before everyone jumps on me, film-based photography and using old techniques can be *very* rewarding... but if you're just itching to try a cyanotype, or if you have a digital photo you'd like to see in cyano, it's possible. You need to order the cyanotype chemicals (or a kit from Bostick & Sullivan - just google that), and some paper. And you need to print a digitally-created negative (think "Invert" in photoshop) on transparency paper (basically creating a lower-quality version of a large format negative).

 

[walter23]

Kodak Autographic 1A's take 120 roll film (well, not exactly, but 120 film does work- might need to shave down the spools a little to get it to turn easier), and will definitely give you the look you want, and a 6x9cm negative to boot, which makes for a nice contact print size. You can usually pick them up on the super cheap (under $20).

Blue Moon (bluemooncamera.com) in Portland seems like a nice place to deal with. I recently ordered an interesting lens from them and they were very quick to ship and took paypal (or other forms; money orders, credit card, etc). They shave down spools to fit 620 cameras, provide other weird formats (like 127), and have an assortment of interesting cameras. You might even consider contacting them to see what they have in inventory. From my dealings with them I'd wager they could suggest something to give you that "vintage" experience you're after.

Their prices seem really reasonable for a used dealer. Whereas most used places seem to exceed the going ebay rate, bluemoon seems more-or-less on par (maybe a minor markup, but then they'll also accurately describe items unlike ebay which can be a bit uncertain at times, I think they warranty some stuff, etc, so there are some upsides).

 

[walter23]

The best place to find things like the Autographic is to look in your local thrift stores/antiques shops/etc. You can get the dust from just being really sloppy with your process.

Yeah, you have to work to avoid dust. If you just slop around in a dusty room you'll have no problem achieving that

You might consider 127 folders. The Vest Pocket Kodak Autographic is a nice one. 127 film can be bought from freestyle. You may have to find a lab that can do it, or get a spool for it (adjustable "universal" reels, like in the patterson universal tank, will fit 127 film).

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Vest_Pocket_Kodak

These are really cool cameras. They cost between $20 and $50 on ebay, and are very simple to operate, and quite neat looking. Very tiny too; they fit into a small pocket (as the name suggests ). They come in versions with different lenses. There's a "low end" model with a meniscus achromat (you can tell it by the fact that it looks like it just has a glassless hole in the front, but the lens is actually tucked away behind this hole and the shutter). Then there's a higher end model with a Kodak Anastigmat f/7.1 lens; it has an obvious glass surface on the front. Both take nice pictures and both will give you a nice vintage look. I have several of these (plus a Contessa Nettel Piccolette, a similar camera but German made). Stay away from the VPK model B. It's a piece of junk compared to the others.

The VPK (anastigmat lens) and VPK (meniscus achromat) are on the left; the junkier (IMO) model Bs are the two on the right.

When buying there are three things to watch for.

#1. Good bellows. It can be kind of rough looking (e.g. wrinkled) but obviously must be light tight.
#2. Viewfinder. These use a little glass prism that dangles on the front to compose. Ask if its clear and has the mirror. Mine have needed cleaning but have worked fine.
#3. Shutter & aperture. These simple shutters are said to be quite reliable and so most should work but it's worth asking about. The only one I've had that didn't work had been oiled by someone, and of course oil gets gummed up with dust and degrades/thickens up, so this particular shutter was totally ruined and useless. The rest have worked basically as good as new. They're very simple but reliable mechanisms.

The downside is the film is an odd size and it might be hard to find a scanner or way to print from it. (I haven't actually shot 127 yet, just got a few cameras, but I plan to and I'll just build a paper / cardboard adapter for my enlarger or scan directly off the glass surface of my flatbed film scanner).

Buy film from freestylephoto.biz or bluemooncamera.com

'course while these are really neat cameras you may just be better off with one that takes the more common 120 film size. You can do colour, and there are many B&W films available, and they're easier to deal with. But these 127 cameras are pretty damned cool (even if you can only get Efke film for them)

They also have no tripod mount and no shutter release cable, so if you plan tripod & long exposures this probably isn't the right camera for you. (The Contessa Piccolette does have a shutter release cable hole, but no tripod mount... weird).

 

[walter23]

The best place to find things like the Autographic is to look in your local thrift stores/antiques shops/etc. You can get the dust from just being really sloppy with your process.

BTW, autographics go for like $5 on ebay. In thrift / antique shops people tend to assume they're worth more than they are, from what I've seen. People think they must be rare or something just because they look old and often overprice them.

 

[Nev]

There was a KODAK No.1 JR on ebay i was looking at for 19$ and it looked like it was in pretty good working condition. What is the largest aperture on these?

 

[Fotoguy20d]

There was a KODAK No.1 JR on ebay i was looking at for 19$ and it looked like it was in pretty good working condition. What is the largest aperture on these?

I'm not sure since there can be a different lenses on them but in general it's a fairly small aperature (maybe f7.7). Watch out when you see neatly progressing numbers for the aperature (such as 4 8 16 32 64 128). Those represent an older system that was used and do not correspond to aperatures as you know them. Then, of course, there's the marking on my Autographic which is along the lines of Sunny, Partly Sunny, Cloudy, etc.

Dan

 

[Nev]

ah ok.
So you can pick up other lenses for the No1 JR?
If it is possible, what would i search if I wanted to buy one with a larger ap?

 

[walter23]

Here's a page on using 120 film in 116, 616 and 620 roll film cameras:
http://www.geocities.com/brandonshahan/

If you can avoid it (and get something like an Agfa folder that does take 120) you'll save yourself some hassle.. on the other hand the Kodaks which take obsolete sizes are much cheaper on ebay as a result. So it's a tradeoff.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Don't get sucked in to thinking that the shallow depth of field you want is not achievable with the lenses currently equipped on these cameras. You can get it, especially with the meniscus lenses, which may have a less flat plane of focus, by focusing closer so that you throw the background out. Most of these cameras have non-interchangeable lenses. Just as today, fast lenses came at a premium, and the cameras you're looking for were not premium cameras.

 

[mhcfires]

A Kodak Brownie #2 box camera will take 120 film. Kodak #2 cameras of all ilk take 120 film. Beware of the 2A, it takes 116 film, you don't want that. I have a couple of Brownie Target Six-20 box cameras. They take 620 film. It is a PITA to respool the 120 film onto the 620 spool, but I do it only because I have the camera and it takes a reasonably good picture with the meniscus lens. I took my camera apart and cleaned out the seventy plus years of dust and grime which had built up on the viewfinder and lens. Good luck with whatever you decide on. I recently acquired a 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 Auto Graflex. I had to completely disassemble the shutter to get it working, but am now using it.

 

[athanasius80]

Speaking of using Kodak Juniors, these three were shot on a No. 1 Kodak Junior loaded with Acros 100. It has a B&L Rapid Rectilinear lens, and some of the negs have been pretty impressive. These were just cyanotype proofs I had lying around and scanned quickly, but one gets the idea.

 

[Peter de Groot]

When I use kodak I just clip of the outside rim of the 120 spool (only the plastic ones) with a large nail clipper. Works perfect. Makes some cool pics to. On my website I have some pics taken with a 72 year old EHO box. http://www.degro-fotografie.nl/gallery_202294.html
I have also a agfa clack that I use as well.