6x14 with your 3A...

[minhnguyen9113]

Convert your 3A folders to 6x14 panorama medium format cameras

<p>

The picture of the inside of my 3A show you what exactly it is, and do not worry about the flatness. It is

flatter than any 3A before being converted. All the converting steps were done inside the cameras so do not worry

about the original look of it.

<p>

This camera was sent to Japan and the new owner asking for a wider one after enjoy taking pictures with it, it

is a little difficult to get a good 4A model. I'm asking help from you for getting new old-stock bellows sources

for 3A and 4A and hopefully a good working 6x17 Kodak 4A will come soon.

<p>

Last trip when I went out to take pictures with a 3A at lake Balboa in Van-nuys California, an old couple at

their 80 starred at me, the husband asked if I got film for it, he told me he used to have one in the 50's and

wished me luck.

<p>

<img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/2cpwa6x.jpg">

[connealy]

Very neat work. If I'm interpreting this correctly, you have added a full-width pressure plate along with

the rails to narrow the film gate. Also, it appears the red window is now in the autographic slot; that's a

really neat hack to deal with the frame spacing problem.

[razondetre]

Show us your film spool spacers. What material is the pressure plate made of? Did you make the viewfinder (looks like you have a folding viewfinder on it) or did it come off a camera?

[paulh]

I also used the autographic slot to create a red window frame counter when I converted my 2C (118 film, so I get a 55x120 image on 120). I used some brass to make some new film rails, painted matt black. For the pressure plate, I just drop in some card stock, which the old pressure rails press on. No problems with film flatness.

 

I'm interested in your spool adapters. I had a special take-up reel made, and spacers for the supply side.

[minhnguyen9113]

Mike

 

What you think are what I did, narrow the width by adding the rails, add a pressure plate and use spacers to compensate for the difference between 120 and 122 roll film.

[minhnguyen9113]

Joseph and PC

 

The spacers of the first converted camera sent to a customer and the second one converted and sent to Gene are hand made with wood rod from Home depot, these spacers are ordered from a machine shop to have a better look, and made by special plastic, the rails and pressure plate are ordered from a sheet metal shop to save time and better quality. The take up adapter is the connector transfer the action of the advance knob to the take up spoon does the job of the U joint. I do not have picture of it now, will post later.

[connealy]

Well, you guys have me thinking that it is about time I paid attention to a couple old Kodak folders

which haven't felt the tickle of film in the better part of a century ( I haven't actually <i>owned</i> them

that long). One is a No. 3 which used 118 film. The film gate on that one is so big that I toyed with the

idea of using sheet film, but I don't really want to get that far out of my comfort zone. The other one

used the 116 format; that is the same as my 1-A Special model for which I already have workable

adapters. The nice thing about both big cameras is that they have the Autographic port, so I would be

able to try locating the ruby window there; that location seems like it would make frame spacing a

breeze, as well as being less problematic regarding light leaks. <br>     Both cameras

have full pressure plates, and they also are equipped with Kodar lenses. KODAKERY ads from the

1920's show the company promoting the Kodar as a mid-level product in terms of quality and price

between the Rapid Rectilinear and the Anastigmat. I've gotten very nice results in the past from both

ends of that spectrum, so I'm pretty confident that Kodar image quality would be top notch, particularly

with those large-ish film formats. Good sharpness and DOF is also assured by the fact that the

apertures in both cameras will close down to f45.

<br><br>

<b>My Big Guns</b>

<br>

<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/connealy/kodak/1797.jpg">

<br>

No. 1-A Folding Pocket Special,  No. 3 Series 3 (118),  No. 1-A Pocket Kodak (116)

[gene m]

Minh continues to amaze.

[john_shriver]

If you want to get really ambitious, and make a more "panoramic" result, try swapping in the lens from a smaller camera, like a 1A (116 size). You would of course need to move the infinity stop. You would also need to find a lens that has enough coverage. A Tessar formula isn't going to scale up. Maybe a Rapid Rectillinear, or other symmetric design, might scale up to covering a much larger format. Pick one from a camera with a lot of front rise.

 

Myself, I still use 3A's with VP122...

[rick_drawbridge]

This is all very fascinating; to be quite candid, I've not taken too much interest in this era of camera as working objects, as opposed to ornamental. I have a few old Kodaks I've cleaned up over the years and append a pic of one of my favourites, a No.1A Pocket Kodak with a f16.3 Kodak Anastigmat lens.. I'm ashamed to admit that it's only after reading through this thread that I realise that the old film spool nestling inside the camera is considerably wider than the 620 format I assumed it to be. This appears to be an Autographic model with the hatch on the back.

 

Could some kind soul enlighten me as to what size film it takes? The shutter and lens appear to be in fine shape...<div></div>

[connealy]

As John indicated, the 1A cameras used 116 format film, which is a quarter inch wider than 120 or 620.

Your camera is the same as the one on the right in my picture above. The one on the left with the red

bellows is an older 1A model and also uses 116 film. I made photos with that using a couple different

simple adaptations for fitting a 120 roll. I'm not nearly the craftsman that Minh is, but the pictures really

turned out looking pretty good.

[minhnguyen9113]

Gene

 

Thanks, brother

[minhnguyen9113]

John

 

I did already with a Kodak 3A with a Rodenstock 127mm f 4.5 from a Polaroid, another one with a 90mm Graflex Optar W.A f 6.8, but the bed of the 3A too long and cut off the pictures. I think I have to cut the bed at least 3 inch shorter to make it work.

 

There is not much to build a medium format panorama camera if we have 5 fundamentals: 1) a body, 2) a dark chamber such as a box or bellow, 3) a film advance system, 4) a lens, 5) we have to know the diameter of the pictures of the lens, we can make whatever format as long as it fit inside that diameter, and the focal length of the lens so we can make the distance scale and set focus (if we change lenses). Most Kodak dead body cameras have these so I started to play around with them for a while and get addicted.

[minhnguyen9113]

Mike, Rick

 

I set up for all Kodak bellow folders which use 116,118, 122,130...to be converted to 120 roll film and that the standard for all my folders which have larger size than 120 film. Yours uses 116 film that is the same size with 616 just bigger spool. You just need two 5/16 adapters to make it work with 120 roll film but it will be off center, if you make 4 thin adapters and 2 small rails that will work. you can count 3, 5 1/2, 8, 10 1/2, 13, 15 1/2 and get 6 frames from a 120 roll film, your red window is on 6x4.5 format backing paper.

[david_f._stein]

Thanks for sharing again. Would be great to write and post a summary article.

[rick_drawbridge]

Thanks, Mike and Minh. This could be a fun project. I agree with David that an article summarizing the steps, when you have the time, would be of interest, though I get the general drift of the procedure.

[minhnguyen9113]

Sorry for the mistake, I should write the diameter of the circle of the pictures. Minh

[cliffmanley]

Minh,

 

I think it is great to see these old cameras back in use. To put into perspective just how important these cameras

were to their owners , here are some old photos I found on the net showing how proud they are of their cameras.

The first one is a portion of a tintype, and the second is a portion of a snapshot, notice the cars in the bacground.

 

People often say "If this camera could only talk" ....Well they can talk... by recording history for everyone to see

in the future. If you don't put a spool adapter in one, they will never "talk" again. That would be a shame.

[cliffmanley]

Pic 1<div></div>

[cliffmanley]

Pic 2<div></div>

[minhnguyen9113]

Cliff

 

Thanks a lot for your words, I started converting Polaroid several years ago to 120 roll film and post pictures on photo.net, after that I received email for converting some Polaroids that made me to move further from my hobby and I've converted some Polaroids to 35mm film ( sold hundreds of Polaroids in 3 year ). Last year a customer ask if I can convert a Kodak 3A for him to 6x12, I reply him that I can make it to 6x14 and it's sold, several 3As sold this year and the second Polaroids converted to 4x5 will be on its way to Hongkong next week, the first one tested by Gene. Several Polaroids on its way to be multi film and multi format ( 6x4.5, 6x7, 6x9, 6x12 ) and LF 4x5, these Polaroids are converted to multi format 120 roll film and they have an extra 4x5 interchangeable back ( the thread about this back been posted several month ago on photo.net ) so they are both medium and large format cameras. At the same time several Kodaks : 1A, 2A, 3A... are converted to 6x12, 6x13, 6x14 and couple 4A to 6x17 on its way... I'm thinking " should I change my career from a mechanic to a classic camera converting man" Minh

[minhnguyen9113]

David and Rick

 

Why not, I'll prepare a short column explaining with the pictures, kind of " How to convert an ancient Kodak folder to 120 roll film " and I think it help some young guys who want to discover the value of film cameras and the Kodak golden time.