jonathan_james

I've been using one of these for three years or so. I think it's great. The lens is as good as any I have ever owned and I love the perspective. The camera is built to professional standards and has been extremely reliable. By way of comparison, I also use a Mamiya 645 Pro. The Widepan lens is superior to the Mamiya 80mm in terms of definition and the camera's build quality is better. I routinely scan my images using an Imacon Flextight scanner to 3200 dpi so as to gain the highest quality. At this definition, the differences are observable, although the Mamiya is of course perfectly competent.

I can strongly recommend Newton Ellis and Co in Liverpool who have done really good work for me in the past. You might enquire of Nicholas Cameras in Camden High Street to see if he can recommend anyone. He has the most amazing range of classic and modern stock imaginable and may well use a high quality repairer for servicing.

Have you tried contacting SRB film services? They are the ultimate filter suppliers and can usually make something if it isn't available in stock. Their site is http://www.srb-griturn.com

The backing paper on this is yellow and the foil pack it was sealed in was silver. It also says "Panchromatic" on the seal and the backing paper. Those are about all the clues there are I'm afraid. It doesn't look old enough to be Agfa of pre 1970 vintage therefore.

I bought a whole batch of old film, including a number of reels of an

unidentified 620 black and white emulsion. The only information about it is

that it was made in Belgium. There is nothing to identify the manufacturer or

the film speed.

 

I have exposed one roll at 100 ASA. I use Adox ADH09 for developing my films.

Can anyone suggest a reasonable development time for a first attempt?

Almost certainly the camera just needs a good service. A CLA, or clean lubricate and adjust will probably do the trick. These older mechanical cameras go on and on but do need the occasional refresher. The Steinheil Cassar has a good reputation so it's worth getting it sorted.

Congratulations on an excellent buy. I bought my Super Isolette from a friend whose father had bought it for what was then a huge price in the late 50's. Mine has always worked just fine, but the camera only winds and fires with a film in it. If the winder is broken, I understand that the auto stop won't work and I suspect that the double exposure lock will not disengage. It may even be completely jammed and not wind at all. Certainly I would expect that any defect would be obvious out of the box.

 

I hope the camera is in good order. They seem pretty robust and are just about the best built folders in existence. The lens is fabulous and more than match modern offerings.

Bubbles in glass were regarded 40 or 50 years ago as being a sign of the best glass. I have had one or two lenses with bubbles. The bubbles had no effect on the image at all.

And another one would be the Cosina CX1 and 2 which were the inspiration for the LOMO. I think they were CX, anyway.

My first medium format slr was a Zenit 80 with two backs. Both were defective in that they didn't wind correctly. It was possible to get the film in the right place by detaching the backs and generally messing about. What this meant was that I learned to be very much more discerning than I had been previously. It was such a pain to wind on that I didn't press the shutter release unless I was really convinced about the image. My images became appreciably improved as a result. The Rittreck was built to a far higher standard than the Zenit and any issues it may have will be minimal by comparison. The beauty of buying a classic is exactly what it was for me when I bought the Zenit - they are very cheap and will hold their value. If George doesn't take to the different way of working with MF, he can always resell and will simply get his money back.

Oh, and I should have said that the Balda was also produced as a Voigtlander as well. I'm pretty sure that they are identical cameras.

There were several cameras like this. The Ricoh FF-1 is a particularly good example. It was very much like the Minox 35EL but was much better built and had the advantage that it actually worked! Balda made the CS35 which I still have. It feels quite plasticky, but produces good images from a decent lens. It too has an accessory flash gun which clips onto the side. Finally, Chinon made the original camera of which the Lomo LCA is a copy. Unfortunately I can't now remember what it was called. Perhaps someone else can help here.

Lenses - nope, Canon lenses will be no good. Any lens for a 35mm camera is designed to cover a circle of about 40mm diameter. The Rittreck/Norita needs a circle exceeding 60mm to cover the full frame.

 

Why buy a classic? Because class is class whenever it was made. I have a Mamiya 645 Pro kit. It's a good and competent performer. The 80mm lens on the Rittreck will knock the Mamiya offering into a cocked hat! The Rittreck is built like a tank and the Mamiya isn't. The Rittreck will need servicing from time to time, but it's a whole lot easier to service clockwork than electronics. Don't be put off just because it's old. Pop over to the Classics forum and see what some of those guys can do with the oldest and most basic of equipment.

As a matter of interest, Mike, where did you take the pictures? It looks like somewhere near me in Yorkshire.

Zeiss did a very handy albada viewfinder in 6 x 6 for an 80mm lens. I always use it with my Voigtlander Perkeo as the built in one is miniscule. You do have to watch out for parallax problems close up though.

Hi Jon. I have one of these and it takes 36mm push on filters and hoods. There is in existence a type of variable fit filter holder and hood - I just bought one from Jurgen Kreckel (certo6) but it's the only one I've ever seen. 36mm isn't too rare though.

Jon, if you check out posts by Andrea Ingram on photo net and nelsonfoto.com you should find a lot of Kowa 6 shots she has taken. I don't know if they count as seventies in appearance, but they are absolutely great!

Hi Jon. I sold my Super 66 a couple of years ago because of its weight. When I carried it with 55mm, 85mm and 150mm lenses, two backs and non metered prism, my back pack weighed in at 28lbs and I'm not getting any younger. That having been said, I let it go with great regret. The lenses are absolutely superb, matching Zeiss in fact.

 

When I needed to get the gear serviced, I mailed it to Newton Ellis in Liverpool who always sorted it for me. They managed to free it up once after it suffered from a complete jam - something which occasionally happened with them apparently.

 

The winding mechanism on the 6 and 6MM is apparently less durable than on the Super 66. The results I got with mine were every bit as good as from the renowned competitors - just don't expect anything particularly vintage. Nicholas cameras in Camden High Street usually have a good range of Kowa kit in stock.

Is it any use with black and white film in the way that an ordinary orange filter would be, i.e. increasing contrast in the sky?

This is a very common problem which I have had with three 80mm N lenses. I too have lost some important shots as a result. My repairer has fixed them easily, although one of my lenses I still don't entirely trust. Apparently there is a gum securing one of the components which breaks down in the presence of oil and spreads itself over the diaphragm. It will just need a good clean out. I am tempted to locate an earlier standard lens as I haven't heard of this problem on them. Optically I doubt that the difference in quality will be observable.

I have one of these although I haven't used it yet. It is one of the most solid cameras I have ever encountered. It has a semi automatic film advance, but needs a red window to set the first frame. On that basis, I anticipate that it would be no use for 220 film. Furthermore, the counter goes up to 16 frames only at 6 x 4.5. In other words, no chance for 220 at all.

I'm totally blown away by these, Gene. You've had some great finds in the past but I really think this surpasses anything you've pulled up to date. This is a fascinating set of true historical worth.

There are two options that I know of. One is the Voigtlander kontur finder. This is a curious device which sits on the accessory shoe. You keep both eyes open and look at the scene with one eye behind the finder. You end up seeing the scene with a bright line superimposed on it showing the framing. Voigtlander did these for both 6 x 6 and 6 x 9. I just have the 6 x 9 and it is effective.

 

Zeiss did a separate 6 x 6 albada finder, also to fit onto the accessory shoe. I have one of these and find it a little easier to use than the kontur, though there isn't a lot in it. Both options are far superior to any folder's built in finder.

I have been using 1992 Konica infrared with perfect results. I have the highest hit rate of successful photographs using this of any of the emulsions which I use. Anyone with any 120 reels of this stuff spare, lob them my way!

Nice images! I particularly like the sepia effect. How do you do this? Are the images scanned and photoshopped and if so, what do you do to produce it?