Category Archives: photography

Seeing the world through my viewfinder.

test rolls 2 Comments

Maiden Voyages of the Argoflex & the Brownie

My turnaround time from Dwayne’s Photo was much better this time around: 8 days total. Verra nice.

So, the maiden voyage of the Argoflex 75 was back at the end of September — around the 26th or so. I loaded it up and took it to work in my purse, and took a test roll of the path I like to walk during my lunch break. Same old photos, nothing overly original (which, IMO, is good for testing a new-to-me camera, as I know what the images “should” look like).

I noticed that there was some fogging and light leaks, although that could be from the 120 film spooling up on a 620 spool. The two spools have different diameters, so the paper backing and the film itself don’t quite meet up correctly at the end, leaving a bulged and loosely-wound roll of film after exposure.

I also noticed a desaturation of color — as this didn’t happen with my Holga pics, and I used the very same film type, I’m deducing that it’s related to the Argoflex’s lens. I’m actually OK with the saturation level, though, as it adds a certain mood and character to the prints. (Some of the brighter photos are of almost “normal” saturation, though, so it could even be a combination of the lens and the lighting conditions.)

I think I may also have smudged the lens once or twice, as the few out-of-focus spots on the images aren’t always in the same place. 😉 I forgot that I’d taken some long exposures with the “time” feature — looks like the wind was blowing the tree around during the five-second exposure of my street (right).

After seeing the results of the test roll, I think the Argoflex will get a decent amount of use. More so than the Holga, possibly, since the Argoflex is smaller and less bulky, and doesn’t cramp my style when I carry it.

The Brownie’s maiden voyage didn’t go nearly as well. The vintage 127 film I bought off of eBay was pretty much only good for display purposes, as 50-year-old masking tape tends to come loose, resulting in a resounding CRACK when the paper backing pries loose from the film within the camera. So, no vintage-looking 127 photos of the annual Apple Butter Festival, and no Brownie test roll. Yet.

The good news is that J & C Photography sells brand new 127 film (and several otherwise discontinued sizes), so I ordered myself a roll of 127 and a roll of 620 for the Argoflex. I’ve found a couple of places that seem to process 127 film, so we’ll see how this goes.

photography

Foiled Again

On Sunday, the day after I purchased the Argoflex 75, I found a Brownie Bullet camera for $1.99 at Savers. I saw that it took 127 film, and contemplated leaving it… but not for long. WTF, I figured, it’s only two bucks.

So, I thought I might be able to try 35mm sprocket hole photography with my new-old camera, to test the camera’s workings for much less than the cost of a roll of vintage 127mm film. Went out to the garage and located some foam to hold the smaller film canister in place, opened up the camera — and realized that 127 film is much narrower than 35mm. The camera wouldn’t even think about closing with that huge 35mm film cartridge in there. D’oh!

Damn… off to eBay I go, to purchase some 127mm film.

Maybe someday I’ll get saucy and learn to develop my own black-and-white film. Until then, I suppose I’ll just get butt-raped by Rocky Mountain Film Lab (who, incidentally, can also develop all my obscure rolls of Super 8 film). We’ll see if the Brownie’s worth the trouble after a test roll…

photography 6 Comments

The Argoflex 75

Dear readers: my new old camera.

This is the Argoflex seventy-five, purchased yesterday at the Lucas County Flea Market. Aaron was actually the hawk-eyed thrifter on this one, and pointed out a couple of older-looking cameras. I was intrigued by this one, and popped open the viewfinder to get a glimpse of a fantastically bright (if dirt-speckled) view.

Next step: see what kind of film it takes. I knew from my Holga research that some older films are actually identical to the 120 that I use in my Holga, but the spools are larger and won’t fit into the older cameras. So, I looked around for a release catch… and looked… and looked. Aaron found a little metal nub on the top of the camera, and tried fussing with it, at which point I said, “If I can’t get it open, I’m not gonna buy it.”

Cue the seller lady. She got up from her lawn chair and mutely asked for the camera, then fussed with it for a moment before opening the viewfinder and triumpantly offering it back to me. At which point I asked her how to open the back, where the film goes. To my carefully-supressed glee, she fussed with the same metal nub that Aaron had, with the same results.

Finally she looked up at me and said that it was mine for two bucks, since she couldn’t get it open. I told her that sounded like a deal to me, and the transaction went down. As we left, Aaron and I heard the woman talking to her husband, saying, “I just sold that camera for two bucks! I couldn’t get the back open…” and we heard the husband mutter his irate disappointment in reply.

After we had done the rest of the flea market (meeting our mail-delivery lady in the process!), we got in the car and I gave Aaron the camera to manhandle. And, sure enough, by wedging his fingernails under the top of the back, by the metal nub, and giving a mighty pull, the back finally swung free.

I wonder how much money I saved by letting Aaron wander off while the nice lady was trying to make the catch work, instead of having him manhandle it there at the booth. Probably at least $8.

So, let me tell you about my camera.

  • The Argoflex 75 was manufactured between 1949 and 1958. So, this little camera is somewhere around 50 years old.
  • It takes 620 film, but I managed to make it accept a roll of 120, despite some info listed online. We’ll see how it actually works once I expose this roll. All I know is that it seems to advance OK.
  • It’s fixed-focus, so no focus ring. I’ve read differing stats on how close it can focus: some websites say 7.5 feet, but the manual says six. There were close-up lens attachments made, but I’m doubtful about ever locating any.
  • It can take “instantaneous” or “time” photos; basically, it has a bulb setting. The aperture is f/13, but I haven’t been able to find the shutter speed listed anywhere.

Basically, I’ve got myself a fancy-looking box camera. I’m cool with that, though. I’m enjoying my new hobby of collecting old and inexpensive cameras. As I photograph with them, I find that they all have their own style and personality — which sounded like total crap to me years ago when my aunt tried to tell me the same thing. It’s true, though.

If I ever go on a trip with all my camera equipment, I’m gonna need a bigger bag. 😉