Working With a No.2c Autographic Folding Brownie

I have a Kodak No.2c Autographic Folding Brownie that originally took 130 film and captured 2 7/8 x 4 7/8 size pictures. I've recently finished completely restoring the camera. Cleaned up the whole thing, put in new old stock replacement bellows (to keep it original), and cleaned up the lens. Shutter works well and there doesn't seem to be any further problems so I'd like to get this camera set up so that I can shoot with it.

My question is, what type of experiences have you all had with these and how did you set them up or modify them to shoot with. 130 film has been gone for a very long time and I've been trying to figure out if the best course of action would be to convert original 130 spools to accommodate re-spooled current production 120 film or to find a way to shoot using sheet film. Converting the spools to use 120 might be nice but someone in another forum mentioned that 120 simply wouldn't take advantage of the large image circle of the lens and come to think of it 130 film was quite large so I'd like to get the most out of the camera.

I'd be very interested to know how people are using these. Thanks!

Francesco:

I haven't used a camera that takes 130 size film, but I have used 120 film in a camera that takes 616 (2½" × 4¼"). It is a bit finicky, but lots of fun! You get a great, near panoramic negative.

My approach was to convert a 616 spools to work as a takeup for the 120 film by narrowing it with rubber washers. Then I inserted spacers into the feed chamber, so that a 120 spool doesn't wander.

If you have an original spool with the camera then use that as the take up spool and make some spacers to centralise the supply spool.

If you don't have an original spool you will need to make some more spacers from spare 120 spools to extend the length and to transfer the drive from the winder to the supply spool.

The nice thing is that you don't have to modify the camera at all, just find a way of making the film fit what is already there.


Steve.

Yep, figuring out how to get the film to fit whats already there was my initial instinct and I've found some great resources on modifying spools to do exactly that but 130 film was huge compared to 120 and just looking at the difference between the size of 120 film and the size of the camera's film gate really shows how much is being lost when using 120 film in this camera. Thats why I'd like to investigate using sheet film in the camera in order to get the "big picture". 130 was practically large format compared to 120 so ideally I dont want to give up all that space. Im wondering now if there is a way to rig a back that would accept sheet film in a film holder. Any ideas?

If you want to use sheet film, you will probably need to cut down 5x4 film. Then you have the problem (or limitation) of having just one shot before you need to re-load again in the dark.

120 film will give a nice 2:1 panoramic ratio which is definitely worth trying out.

Interesting stuff here: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~paulewins/resources/3a_panoramic.htm


Steve.

And there lies the dilemma. Do I go for the practicality of 120 or the "big picture" of sheet film? Well I have a junker of the same model on the way as well as a Graflex 6x9 roll film holder. Since I already know that I can either re-spool or even use 120 directly with spool adapters with relative ease my mission is to figure out if I can hack the junker back to fit the Graflex roll film back (while maintaining the distance from lens to film). To do this I'll probably modify the junker back by cutting a hole in it to accommodate the Graflex roll film back. This should be a simple hack to get right. Another option is to grab some 4x5 sheet film in film holders and see if I can hack the junker back to accommodate sheet film holders. This I think would be a little more of a challenge. (If anyone is asking themselves why bother if I already know I can re-spool or create spool adapters the reason is simply because Im curious and I would like to figure out if there is a better solution.) Thoughts on the options?

I've got a similar camera that's in OK condition. I had a take-up adapter made with flanges to accommodate 120 film, and a couple of spacers for the supply side (so I can load it with standard 120 film). Had I thought about it more I could have made adapters for the take-up side too.

Across the film gate, I made some new guide rails from brass stock to help keep the film flat(ish). I then made a mask for the autographic window with a little red-window cut-out (using cellophane) that uses the 6x6 numbers. I then worked out the number pattern to use (Can't remember exactly which.....I think it was a couple of "spots" before 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11)

And an image (nothing special) created with it: