Argo CMF Folding Camera Questions

[Rick_van_Nooij]

A ladyfriend of mine recently came into possession of an Argo CMF

camera. It belonged to her grandfather and has been in storage for a

good 30/40 years. She is planning on using it again and I would like

to give her the chance to shoot some proper photos. So I've been

piecing together some of its properties but I'm stumped on a few things.

 

From what I've figured out from an italian website is that it has a

Aplanat 10.5cm f/11 fixed focus/fixed diaphragm lens. And the camera

was produced in 1939. It uses 120film and the shutters speeds are I

and P.

 

But I have no idea how fast I(nstantanious) would be. 1/100th?

Also what would be the fixed focusing distance?

 

As with my previous question, any help is appreciated.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Rick<div></div>

[winfried_buechsenschuetz1]

On most simple cameras I have seen the I shuttersetting is 1/30 sec approx. Anyhow this will not be too accurate - do not try to shoot slide film this way. 1/30 and f/11 will be sufficient for sunny or half-sunny days.

[phisc]

Chances are the fixed-focus distance is about ten - 15 feet (3 - 5 m). Manufacturers assumed that users would use cameras like this for fairly intimate group-shots (family on holiday, etc.). Having an aperture of f/11 means that its depth of field would be pretty good, leaving the holiday landscape behind the family group in recognizable focus. Your friend can probably find the lens's focus-point just by shooting a test roll. Her grandfather probably had a similar knowledge of the camera's limitations when he was using it. My mother used a slightly less sophisticated Baby Brownie for fifty years and made (mostly) fine pictures. Of course, in 2006, you need to have a definite Luddite bent to appreciate it!

[john_shriver]

Use Kodak Plus-X or Ilford FP4+ in bright sun. If you want to be able to go from sun to shadows, you could use an ISO 400 film with wide latitude, the best example being the chromogenic B&W films, like Ilford XP2 or Kodak's equivalent.

[Rick_van_Nooij]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll pass on your replies.

 

She told me her grandfather never let anyone else use it and was always very careful with it.

 

I did point her in the direction of Ilford HP4+. I always use it for my Zeiss Ikon Nettar.

 

Thanks again,

 

Rick