Voigtlander Avus...which format?

[kahoxworth]

Hello all.

Yesterday on a whim I decided to take my first plunge into plate cameras and bought a Voigtlander Avus on impulse at a local camera show. Upon coming home and researching it a bit more I'm learning that some were made for 6.5x9 and some for 9x12. Is there a way to tell which is which?

 

[Whiteymorange]

A ruler?

 

[kahoxworth]

I should have mentioned, it did not come with any film/plate holders.

 

[Jerevan]

A photo of it would make it easier to identify. A camera with a lens in the 135-150 mm range is a 9x12 and one with a 105 mm would be 6x9.

 

[kahoxworth]

Thanks, that answers my question! It has a 150mm lens.

Now the real adventure starts, finding the film holders...

 

[Ian Grant]

It's a 9x12 the standard lenses are either 135mm or 150mm camera's were often sold with either. I have both.

9x12 plate holders are easy to find in Germany, try a search for 9x12 on ebay.de (log in is identical to ebay.com or .co.uk etc & the watched items etc are common, so the database is the same just the front end changes). Having said that there was no standard so you need to know what you want, and sellers often don't know what they are selling

See the thread in this Forum about holders, inserts were available to convert plateholders to take film. 9x12 film is still available again mainly from the EU.

Ian

 

[archphoto]

9x12 (and 18x24 too) mainly in Germany and Austria, otherwise 4x5 inch (and 8x10 inch).......

Peter

 

[Ole]

It's "worse" than only 9x12 and 6.5x9: I have a 4.5x6cm too, and there are 10x15cm ones as well.

A 4.5x6 will have a 75-80mm lens; a 6.5x9 will have 105-120mm, 9x12 a 135-150mm, and 10x15 will have 165-180mm.

 

[Soeren]

Hmm I just "won" an AVUS on Ebay "6X9" with a 135mm lens
It looks like its a 9X12 but with a 6X9 rollfilmholder and two 9X12 looking plateholders. A real expensive way to buy holders for my Bergheil.
NB. I didn't bid on or buy another camera but a skopar lens and some holders that just happened to be mounted on an AVUS
kind regards

 

[Ole]

Søren, I'm very familiar with that "technique". Like the 24x30cm camera I bought because there was a good iris lens mount on it, the 6.5x9 Avus I bought because I needed holders (with film inserts) for my 6.5x9 Bergheil which I had originally bought for the 120mm Heliar, the 9x12 Bergheil which I bought for the opposite reason - needed 9x12cm holders with film inserts for the 9x12cm Avus since the three I got with the Rodenstock (with Eurynar) camera weren't enough...

 

[Soeren]

I don't think the AVUS is usable (holes in the bellows). What are the big differences between Avus and Bergheil?
Hmm yes Ole, buying stuff this way is far more fun than buying the holders alone just to find out they dont fit
Kind regards

 

[walter23]

Hmm I just "won" an AVUS on Ebay "6X9" with a 135mm lens
It looks like its a 9X12 but with a 6X9 rollfilmholder and two 9X12 looking plateholders. A real expensive way to buy holders for my Bergheil.
NB. I didn't bid on or buy another camera but a skopar lens and some holders that just happened to be mounted on an AVUS
kind regards

Hah. I recently got a heliar that happened to have a beat up bergheil attached and then went after a nice bergheil to attach to my heliar. Stupid

At least the second bergheil has a sheet film holder on it (no ground-glass back though).

 

[JPD]

Hmm I just "won" an AVUS on Ebay "6X9" with a 135mm lens

On German eBay? If so, I thought about bidding on it for the rollfilm holder.

I'm not so into photography at the moment. I got a new hobby (temporarily I hope, since the days are getting longer): kerosene as a lightsource.

 

[Soeren]

Yep. I did it for the holders too.
Kind regards

 

[Mark Layne]

If anyone has a 10x15 Ica Favorit they wish to part with I need one
Mark