6x17, 6x9 cheap as chips!

[steve george]

This is two questions in one:

 

Firstly: Does anyone have any recommendation for a cheap as chips

6x17? I've turned an old Kodak Autographic into a 6x11 - (just

adapting film spools) - anything similar possible to get 6x17?

 

Secondly: What's the best cheap camera to get 6x9 - my 6x11

adaptation works pretty well but isn't 100% reliable due to lack of

reliable film flatness. Would be good to get a camera built for 6x9

though.

 

Thanks in advance.

[tim_curry]

For 6x9 you might try an older press type camera. A Busch Pressman or an old Crown or Speed Graphic would be just right. They should be available in many places. A 4x5 press camera with a 2x3 rollfilm back would also work out well.

[paulh]

For cheap 6x9, you have a couple of options.

 

First up, get a Moskva 2 or 5 - it can be a bit of a lottery, but good ones are very sharp and you could get one for $20-$30 if you're lucky (I was) and/or patient.

 

Another option is one of the kodak 620 cameras. Because 620 film is not commonly available you can often pick these cameras up cheaply. You can then either modify the camera to take 120 spools, or re-spool, or buy 620 film via someone like fotoimpex or J and C. The Kodak Monitor 620 often comes with a very good lens, and can be picked up for less than the cost of the Moskva.

 

Paul

[fernando_mcsoto]

I've been wondering something similar for a long time. I cannot afford a medium format panoramic camera (6x12) so I have always wondered if there is a round way to get one...

[ken_lee11]

I have two nice 6x9 folding cameras from the 1950's that have been fully restored and are good for another 50 years.

 

<p>See <a href="http://www.cleanimages.com/articles/MediumFormatInYourPocket/folders.htm" target="_blank">Medium Format in Your Pocket</a>.

 

<p>Many of these cameras are available on eBay, but beware of those which are in need of service. Stuck shutters, leaky bellows, etc.

[w_t1]

Ken, interesting link.

 

I got a German (i think) Rollfix 6x8+/- a few years back for $20 at a yard sale, works fine, Schneider lens and all. I honestly get a lot egotistical pleasure out of using the thing when most everyone else is using a p&s digital. Kind of like parking a '78 Chevy truck that has been used like a truck next to a four door F350 with a 4.5' bed that some clown is paying $800 a month for

 

I was browsing ebay this week and some fellow in Greece had the same Rollfix for 149 starting bid, i dont think so. I'd avoid ebay unless you got it really cheap or are willing to work on restoring.

[john_shriver]

A 122 folder (3A size) can be adapted to 6x14 via spool adapters, and a mask for the film plane. They are cheap if you are patient on eBay, and avoid the sellers who think they are rare.

 

You need 6.7" the long way to get to 6x17cm, and rollfilm cameras are very rare at such sizes. You would need a 4A size, originally using 126 roll film. (Rare collectible compared to the extremely common 3A size.) Easier to find would be a 5x7" camera, or a "half plate" camera, to get the full 17cm.

[john_shriver]

Oh, there are also some 10x15cm folding plate cameras on eBay right now. Probably won't be as cheap as a Kodak 3A, and you have to be sure to have a source of plate holders (and film sheaths) for them.

 

(The 6.5x9 and 9x12 folding plate cameras are much more common.)

[jtk]

The Singer/Graflex 6X9 backs for the various Graflex press cameras with Graflock backs all hold film plenty flat for spectacularly sharp non-macro work but not for critical micro work...that's where the increasingly-rare sheet film comes in. The backs I've used in 6X9 (and I have one on the way from EBay, along with a baby Graphic) have a knob-advance...later versions with lever advance may have extra flattening rollers, but I don't recall seeing that version in anything but the puny 6X9 girly-man format.

 

Along that line, in my experience the 103 & 127 Ektars are significantly better than the uncoated Tessars... Optars may be a tossup. I've had two exceptionally good wide Wollensack Raptars, easily equal to same focal-length Angulons (not Super Angulons). Don't know directly about Xenars, but they have never had a great reputation as the cheapest possible Schneiders...on the other hand, their shutters are only about 40-50 years old now...on the other hand again, the older press camera shutters (Graphex etc) were perhaps less fussy than newer Copals and Compurs.

[jtk]

Wisecracking, I meant to say 6X7 was a girly-man format (Arnold would prefer 6X9).

[troyammons]

I would not say its super cheap, but i got some good shots out of a

Mamiya press with a 6x9 back. the 6x9 camera I shoot now is a Fuji B690GL (older model) with interchangable lenses. I paid $300 for it on Ebay with a 100mm lens and followed up with a 65mm lens purchase (expensive).

 

Its like a giant Leica thus it ended up with the nickname of Texas Leica.

 

Another option if you want movements would be a Crown graphic, like the smaller 2x3 with a 6x9 mf film back.

 

As far as 617's I did receive an email from someone who just built a 617 that was interested in having me do some drum scans for him. I am not sure what back he used, but it was probably a lengthened back of some sort. I can ask him if you want.

 

Probably the best route for 617 IMO is a 5x7 with a 617 back. You could build a film back out of a lengthened 6x9 back and use two frame advances for each shot. Also there is a chinese 612 and 617, but i am not sure about the quality. Midwest is waitng on a new batch of those backs.

 

Again not cheap, but i bought an older fuji 617 fixed lens camera a while back for $1300. While that may sound high, by the time you get a good lens and a film back you have come close to spending that much already. The new GX617 and one lens sells for about 5G. One thing about the fuji is it has no focus assist at all, it has a crappy viewfinder and weighs a ton. It is really a LF camera just condensed a bit with no focus screen. It is a good camera, but its tripod only. This is a camera, that if you buy it right you can always get your $ out of it.

 

If you wanted to kill all your birds with one stone, you could set up a 5x7 with a 4x5 reducing back and virtually shoot any MF you want. 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, 6x12, 6x17 as long as you have the film backs. Of course you could shoot 4x5's as well.