Films that are currently available in the UK for cameras

I originally wrote this article in 2012 and updated it in 2013. That is three years ago and it is now very out of date. I have completely researched the availability of photographic film in the UK from scratch and shall now present the results of that research. Although I have tried to be diligent, there may be errors here and if you see any I would appreciate knowing about them.

I am leaving the old article below in blue for interest sake. As well as information about the films, there is some peripheral information about the makers which might be of interest.

The films I list are either available in physical shops in Lincoln or are available over the Interweb in the UK. I make no comment about the situation in other countries. The lists are in two parts - first monochrome films (because I prefer them) and then colour films. I have not bothered to put them in alphabetical order, I'm afraid. You will just have to read through the lists to see if the film you want is available.

As well as the make and type of film, I am noting the sizes it is available in. This will be a selection of 16 mm, 35 mm, 120 and 110.  'bulk' refers to 35 mm film in 17 m or 30 m lengths for loading your own cassettes.

	Monochrome films
Make	film name	size
Rollei	Ortho 25	35
	80S	35		120
	400S	35		120
	Infrared 400	35		120
	RPX 100	35
	RPX 25	35
	RPX 400	35
	Superpan 200	35
Ilford	Delta 100	35	bulk	120
	Delta 400	35		120
	Delta 3200	35		120
	FP4+	35	bulk	120
	HP5+	35	bulk	120
	Pan F+	35	bulk	120
	SFX 200	35		120
	XP2	35		120
Kodak	Tri-X 320	35
	Tri-X 400	35		120
	T-max 100	35		120
	T-max 400	35		120
Fujifilm	Neopan 400CN	35		120
	Neopan Acros	35
Foma	Fomapan 100	35	bulk	120
	Fomapan Creative 200	35	bulk	120
	Fomapan 400	35	bulk	120
	Retropan 320	35
Adox	CMS 20	35		120
	CHS 100 II	35
	Silvermax 100	35
	Scala 160	35
Fotoimpex	CHM 100	35
	CHM 400	35
Kono!	Reanimated 100	35
	Rekorder 100-200	35
Kentmere	100	35
	400S	35
Agfa	APX 100	35	bulk
	APX 400	35	bulk
Rerepan	Rerepan 100	127
Bergger	BRF 400T	35
Cinestillfilm	50	35
	800	35
Spur	DSK 50	35
Lomography	Earl Grey	35		120
	Lady Grey	35		120
	Colour films
Make	film name	size
Agfa	Vista 200	35
	Vista+ 400	35
	Precisia 100	35
Rollei	CR200	35		120
	Crossbird	35		120
Kono!	125t	35
	400T	35
	400CN	35
Fujifilm	C200	35
	Pro 160NS			120
	Pro 400H	35		120
	Provia 100F	35		120
	Superia X-tra 800	35
	Superia 1600	35
	Velvia 50	35		120
	Velvia 100	35		120
	Superia 200	35
	Superia X-tra 400	35
Kodak	Colorplus 200	35
	Ektar 100	35		120
	Gold 200	35
	Gold 400	35
	Portra 160			120
	Portra 400			120
	Portra 800			120
Lomography	100	35		120
	400	35		120
	800	35		120
	X Pro 200	35
	Lobster		110
	Tiger		110
	Peacock		110
	Orca		110
	Redscale XR 50-200	35		120
	Purple XR 100-400	35	16mm	120
	X Pro slide 200			120
	Instant film
Make	film name
Fujifilm	FP100C
	Instax
Impossible	to fit Polaroid 600
	colour and monochrome

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM 2013

I am updating this article on 23 December 2013 with the films I can find for sale today.  Those films I mentioned in the original article that I can no longer find for sale are in blue type.  Films in black type are available.

Having purchased all these old film cameras that I am writing about, I want to use them.  In Lincoln where I live, films are much harder to buy than they were a few years ago, and much harder to get developed.  There are two places in Lincoln that will develop C41 films on the premises but for good old fashioned black and white film you either need the patience to send them away to be developed or to develop them yourself.  I develop my own 35 mm films but 120 films are beyond me and I need to send them away. If you would like to develop your own films, it is worth a look here: The Massive Development Chart

Before you can develop the films, indeed, before you can take the pictures with the film, you must first buy the film.  I thought it might be a good idea to research exactly what films are available in which sizes and exactly what you get for your money.

First, here are the makes of films currently on retail sale in the UK.  These are either available in Lincoln's shops or available via the interweb.  For Interweb purchases, I find AG Photographic to be reasonably priced and fast.  These films are variously available in 35mm, 120, 127, 110 and APS.  Those last two are not very common but a few of the films described are offered in those two formats.

1 Agfa

2 Rollei

3 Kodax

4 Ilford

5 Kentmere

6 Fujifilm

7 Adox

8 Efke
9 Foma

Some of these names will be known to everyone (Kodak, surely!) and some will be known to older photographers (Adox) and some will be new to just about everyone.  I was surprised to find that there are nine different film makers selling their products in this country.  Each of these produces a range of films so the total number of films available is still quite large - digital might well be king, but analogue photography is far from being ready to lie down and die.

I shall now give a brief list of the range for each manufacturer followed by more details on each film.

1 Agfa - APX 100, APX 400, Vista colour negative, CTprecisa reversal, APS 200 star 200 and finally Scala 200x B&W reversal.

2 Rollei - RPX 100, 80s, RPX 400, 400s, Retro 100, Inra-red, ATP, colour reversal.

3 Kodak - T-Max, Tri-X, BW400CN, Porta negative, Ektar negative, Ektachrome reversal, Elite Chrome reversal.  With Kodak's current problems, this is likely to change rapidly.

4 Ilford - FP4, HP5, Delta 100, Delta 400, Delta 3200, Pan-F, XP2, SFX 200

5 Kentmere - 100, 400

6 Fujifilm - Neopan 100, 400, 1600, 400CN, Fujicolor Pro negative, Superia negative, Velvia reversal, Astia reversal, Provia reversal, and Polaroid-type instant film.

7 Adox - CHS 25, 50, 100, ART, CMS 20, PAN 400, Orthochrmatic, Pan 25.

8 Efke - IR film

9 Foma - 100 Classic, 200 Creative, 400 Action, Formapan reversal.

Agfa.

There are two companies called Agfa (American readers may think of a third - Ansco Afga, now defunct) making photographic film.  Consumer films are made by Agfaphoto and industrial films are made by Agfa Gevaert.  While Afga Gevaert retains the rights to the name 'Agfa', it has licensed the name to Agfaphoto, but not the use of the Agfa logo.

The Agfaphoto logo is

and the Agfa Gevaert logo is

Products from both Agfa companies are available to the retail market, but only Agfaphoto products carry the name 'Agfa'.  Agfa Gevaert products are only available as re-badged products - several Rollei films are re-badged Agfa Gevaert Aviphot films.

Agfaphoto became bankrupt shortly after buying the right to the Agfa name in 2004.  Agfaphoto products currently on the market are either the remains of the stock produced in 2004 or produced by Lupus Imaging and Media under license.

Lupus are currently selling:  Agfaphoto Vista 200 and 400 ISO colour film, CT precisa slide film, APS 200 star 200 film and APX 100 & APX 400 monochrome films - and also the idiosyncratic Scala 200x black and white reversal (slide) film.

Rollei

Rollei films are not made by Rollei (which is now just a marketing name) but are re-badged products from other firms - Agfa for sure and possibly others.   

Retro 100 is actually Afga APX 100 which is also marketed under that name by Agfaphoto (see above).  It is very cheap in the UK - £1.89 for a 36 exposure film if bought in a pack of ten and gives good results.  It is the film that I use the most.

Retro 400S is made by Agfa Gevaert as Agfa Aviphot PAN400S and is intended for aerial photography for mapping purposes.  It has near IR sensitivity which reduces haze in landscape photography - it also lightens the colour of foliage.  This is made on a synthetic base rather than acetate and so needs to be loaded and unloaded in very subdued light.  This is because the synthetic base act much like fibre optics fibres and will transmit light into the cassette and cause fogging around the sprocket holes.

ATP 1.1  This is an ISO 32 film - very slow indeed.  It produces very fine grain and controllable contrast.  It is sensitive from 379 nm to 820 nm (i.e. well into the infra-red).  It is placed on the market as a replacement for Kodak's Technical Pan.  It has a very thin emulsion - which means it will scan better than standard films will.  It requires the use of a special developer - ATP DC.

Superpan 200  This is re-badged Afga Gevaert Aviphot Pan200 PE1.  It is intended for technical, industrial and aerial photography.  It has near IR sensitivity as does the Retro 400 film and behaves in much the same way apart from having half the speed.

80S  Yet another re-badged Agfa Gevaert product - Aviphot Pan 80.  Slightly IR sensitive ( 340 nm to 775 nm) and is available in 120, 127 and 35 mm sizes.

Rollei also sell a number of colour films under the Crossbird label which are reversal films to be processed with the C41 process.  I assume you could also process these with the normal reversal chemistry.

Kodak 

While this is current as I write, it is likely to change quite quickly as Kodak try to save their business.  

Kodak split their films into a consumer range and a professional range.

The consumer range consists of three films - Ultramax 400 colour negative film, Color Plus colour negative film, Gold 100 or 200 colour negative film, BW400CN black and white chromogenic film.  There is no slide film in the consumer range.  The three colour negative films are run-of-the-mill colour negative films.  The BW400CN film is also sold in Kodak's professional range and more details are available below.

The professional range has four colour films and three black and white films .

Porta films are fine grained, normally saturated negative film in three speeds - ISO 160, 400, and 800.

Kodak claims that it produces natural skin tones and has extremely fine grain.

Ektar  films are also colour negative films and Kodak claims it is the world's finest grain colour negative film.  It has "ultra-vivid colour" which means it produces colours that are over saturated.

Ektachrome  100G or 100VS films are reversal (slide) films.  The "G" variety has normal colour saturation (best for portraits) and the "VS" variety has over saturated colour saturation (aimed at landscapes).

T-MAX 100, 400, 3200 films are black and white films - claimed by Kodak to be the world's sharpest ISO 400 film and the finest grained ISO 100 film.  These are standard monochrome chemistry and hard to get developed locally.

Tri-X film seems to be the only Kodak film to be available in 120 size as well as 35mm.  It is only available as ISO 400 film.

BW400CN is a chromogenic film (chromogenic means 'makes colours') that is developed in colour C41 colour film chemistry but produces a monochrome image. This means that most towns will have at least one shop that can develop it on-site and usually within an hour.

Chromogenic films have no grain in the accepted sense as the image is formed in a dye cloud.

Ilford Photo

Ilford has suffered the same fate as Agfa.  As film usage has dropped off the consumer division division has been sold off with the original company continuing to make professional films.

As Agfa's consumer division became Agfa Photo, Ilford's consumer division is now Ilford Photo.   Ilford Photo now belongs to Harman technology and seems to be in fine fettle.  They produce a range of ten films - one sold as Kentmere - all of which are monochrome films.  Some of these have a venerable heritage (FP4, HP5 have been around a long time) and others are newer.  If you want colour Ilford films, you can't.  Ilford used to produce colour films but no longer do.  (confusingly, both Ilford Photo and Ilford Imaging produce a range of papers called "Galerie".  In the case of Ilford Photo, these are silver halide papers and with Ilford Imaging they are inkjet papers.)

I shall present the films in the order that Ilford Photo do in their brochure.

Pan F plus  is a slow - ISO 50 - film with very fine grain.  Available as 35mm and 120.

FP4 is a standard medium speed - ISO 125 - tolerant film.  It is very hard to go wrong with FP4 and it is probably the classic monochrome film.  Available as 35mm, 120 and sheets.

HP5 is a fast - ISO 400 - film which is much grainier than the last two.  It is also available in 35mm, 120 and sheets.

Delta 100 & 400 The ISO 100 version is slightly slower than FP4 and both are made with modern crystal structures which gives finer grain than traditional cubic crystals do without sacrificing speed.  Also available in 35mm, 120 and sheets.

Delta 3200 uses the same technology as the above two Delta films but is very fast - ISO 3200.  Only available in 35mm and 120.

XP2 is a ISO 400 chromogenic film (analogous to Kodak’s BW400CN film) that needs to be developed in the colour C41 process.  It is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

SFX200 is a "creative" film which has some Infra red sensitivity (cf Rollei Retro 400). It is developed in standard black and white chemistry.

OrthoPlus  This is basically a very old fashioned film as it is not sensitive to red light.  It is intended for specialist applications but could be used for a very retro (pre WWII) look.  It only seems to be available in sheet film format.

Kentmere is available in ISO 100 and ISO 400 forms and is only available as 35MM.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm still have a good range of films available.  They produce colour negative, colour reversal and black and white films.  They split their films into consumer and professional films as seems to be the fashion these days.

Consumer films:
Superia colour negative film is available in speeds of ISO 200, 400, 800 and 1600.   They only produce this film is 35mm.

Professional films:

Fujicolor is a colour negative film available in three forms.

Superia reala is a ISO 100 film available in 35mm and 120.

Superia X-tra is a press film that is only available in 120 but in several speeds.

Pro is mainly aimed at portrait photographers.  The ISO 160 film is available in 35mm, 120, and sheet film formats and the ISO 400 film is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Fuji also make FP100C instant colour film

Fujichrome is a colour reversal film in two forms.

Velvia has ultra-high saturation, intensely vivid colours, high contrast (in Fujifilm's own words) so is not particularly natural looking.  The designer of this film once claimed he wanted to make a film that reproduced skies like people remembered them when they came back from holiday.  It is available in 35mm, 120 and sheet film formats.

Provia is also claimed to give vivid colours but perhaps not to the same extent as the Velvia films.  Provia films are available in 35mm, 120 and sheet film formats.

Neopan is Fujifilm's monochrome offering.  It comes in three forms.

Neopan Acros is a very fine grain medium speed (ISO 100) film  It is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Neopan 400 is a faster film (ISO 400) which is again available in two forms.  First, the conventional form which is only available in 35mm and secondly the chromogenic form Neopan 400CN which needs to be developed in the colour C41 chemistry.  This form is available in 35mm and 120 formats.

Neopan 1600 is a very fast film only available in 35mm.

Again, Fuji kasme black and white instant film - FP3000B

Adox

Note: As of late 2012, Adox currently cannot produce some of their films due to their manufacturer in Croatia  ceasing trading.  This affects the CHS films listed below.  I am retaining the listings for  the present in case Adox resume manufacture and I shall keep an eye on the situation - I shall update this post when there is something new to add.

This is a very old firm.  It was originally set up as Fotowerke in Germany making plates from about 1860.  They started making cameras as well from the early part of the twentieth century.  In 1952 they introduced their 35mm very fine grain film.

In 1962 Adox was sold to DuPont in the USA.  DuPont licensed the film technology, but not the Adox name, to Fotokemika in Yugoslavia where the films were (are!) made under the Efke brand name.

In 1999 the Adox brand was bought by Agfa so now Adox is a German company again.  However, Agfa never used the Adox name and in 2003 it was de-registered as a trademark by the German Patent Office.

The Adox name was now taken up by different companies in the USA, Canada and Germany.  None of the current Adox companies are related to the original German Adox company.

The films listed below are are made by ( or for) Adox Fotowerke GmbH, Bad Saarow, Germany.

Details on developing Adox films in various developers can be found at: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=Adox+CHS&Developer=&mdc=Search

 The Adox range is divided into a Premium Line and an Art Series.  First the Premium Line.

Premium Line consists of two films with a third film in progress.

CMS 20 is the world's finest grain film with the highest resolving power.  The resolving power of this film is stated as being 800 lines/mm which is better than most (all?) camera lenses can produce.  An example - good Canon lenses (the L series) will give around 350 lines/mm at f4.

CMS 20 needs a dedicated developer - Adotech - to work properly.

Pan 400 is a rework of Agfa's APX 400 with some small improvements.  There will be a Pan 100 film at some point, but not yet.

Art Series  These are the CHS films which are based on 1950s recipes - so very old fashioned.

Adox claims great tonal range and colour separation (its a black and white film!).  These films have a high silver content which gives richer grey scales.  The CHS in the name stands for Cubiccrystal Heterodispers Single-layer - just so you know.

Available film speeds are ASA 25, 50 and 100 (ok, should be ISO, not ASA, but if we are going to be retro . . .)

These films are coated onto a PET base so light piping can be a problem.  This is when the film base acts like an optic fibre and conducts light into the cassette or under the backing paper.  To counter this, always keep Adox cassettes and rolls in the black plastic containers they are supplied in (yes, 120 roll film from Adox is supplied in a black plastic container).

CHS 25 & 50 while this is a panchromatic film, it has a red end cut-off at 620nm so reds will come out darker than with a modern panchromatic film.  it is available as 35mm, 35 mm bulk, 120 and sheets.

CHS 100 II is more panchromatic than the ASA 25 and 50 films with a red end cut-off at around 620 nm.  This is also available as 35mm, 35mm bulk, 120 and sheets (with a wider range of sheet sizes than the ASA 25 and 50 forms).

Ortho 25 is an orthochromatic film and so not really sensitive to red light - red end cut-off is 610 nm.  This will produce a tonal range similar to that which was normal in the 1980s.  In portraits, lips and skin blemishes will be black.  In landscapes, brickwork will be darker.  This is available in 35mm, 120 and sheet.

110  Adox do not currently produce 110 film cartridges but are in the process of introducing it.  Adox say this will be a slow process and the 110 cartridges will be available towards the end of 2012 or later depending of income from other lines.

126 Until recently, Adox did produce 126 film cartridges but do not anymore.

Silvermax 100 has been recently introduced in 35mm only.

Adox  have also started making colour film. Their one offering sounds very strange - CVolour Implosion which 100 ISo and 35mm only and, according to Silverprint who retail it in the UK, "it has extra large grain, beautiful colours with bursting red and washed out blues and greens." In other words, it is a rubbish film!

Foma.

Foma is a Czech firm making four films - 100Classic, 200 Creative, 400 Action and R (reversal film. All are black and white films. 

Lomography.

Lomography are a recent addition to the world of film makers.  They are the only firm to make 110 cartridges.  Their range is currently:

Colour Tiger, Orca Black and white, Peacock - all in 110 cartridges - Earl Grey, Color Neg and Redscale (colour film) - all in 120 fcassettes - and Xpro 200 which is available in 35mm and 120.

Zeiss Ikon Colora

Zeiss Ikon Colora

Right from the earliest days in 1926, Zeiss Ikon has made cheap, simple cameras for the bottom end of the market.  It should be no surprise that they continued to do so into the 1960s - it is just not what we expect of them.  Mine is the 1963 model and is in poor condition.

The shutter is a Gauthier Prontor 125 - three speeds offered, 1/30, 1/60 and 1/125.  The aperture runs from f2.8 (quite fast for a cheap camera) to f22.  The lens is a Novicar - not a top of the range lens, but one capable of good results.  As with all lenses, it will give its best results if stopped down to f5.6 or f8.  The focussing scale is in both feet and metres - which means that Zeiss Ikon could sell the camera in all countries without modification.

This camera feels very light and plasticky and completely lacks the feel of quality and engineering that I usually associate with Zeiss Ikon.  Cheapness shows in the square iris - this camera will not give nice bokeh

Dacora Digna

Dacora Digna

This is a very cheap camera from the mid 1950s.  It takes 120 film (12 negatives to a roll) which was more-or-less standard for amateur photographers at the time.  The Digna came in several versions and my example is, apparently, close to the top of the range.  The camera is fairly small for a medium format camera - 130mm wide, 90 mm tall and 70mm thick when closed - and also relatively light.

The camera has to be opened before use, but not by extending bellows.  You turn the lens very slightly clockwise and the lens pops out on a spring.  The shutter on my example is a Gauthier Vario shutter - 1/25, 1/75 and 1/200 seconds and B.  As I say, this is the upmarket version so I dread to think what the lower end of the range had for a shutter.  The lens is a Subito f4.5 75mm lens - a make I have never heard of before.  As I have no intention of putting a roll of film through this camera, I shall never know how good the lens is (or not).  The lens focusses from 3.5 to infinity (I assume that is in feet as 3.5 meters would not be very usable as a near focus.  There are two happy snapper settings both at f10 - nine feet and around thirty feet.  At the nine feet setting, the depth of field is from seven feet to fifteen feet, and and the thirty feet setting the depth of field is fifteen feet to infinity.  Those two happy snapper settings are going to be quite useful.  The snap-shotter can keep the focus at the near happy snapper setting continually if he usually takes shots of people and at the far setting if he usually takes shots of landscapes.

To open the camera, the back comes away completely - no expensive hinge on the side away from the catch!  There seems to be very little holding the back in place, but it is quite secure.  The spool carrier for the new film hinges out for ease of loading, and the take-up spool carrier is partially hinged.  For a cheap camera, this is very good and easy to use.  When the back is removed, the mechanism for the pop-out lens is exposed - it is not at all sophisticated or complex so no worries about damaging it.  In fact, I was easily able to apply a few drops of clock oil to the moving parts and thus allowed the mechanism to work as if new.

The finish is very poor.  It would seem to be nickel plated mild steel and aluminium. The main body seems to be die-cast aluminium with just the top plate and back being mild steel.  There is rust coming through the nickel plated portions and there is no evidence of anodising on the aluminium and it was rather corroded on my example.  There is the normal red window on the back to view the frame numbers and there is no blanking mechanism so the film could become fogged eventually if the camera is left in the light.

I am unable to say how the camera feels in use as I am not going to actually use it.   However, it fits in the hand very well and is ergonomically designed - the viewfinder and shutter release are both where you would want them to be.  In fact, the basic design is fine, it is just the poor standard of manufacture that lets this camera down.

Voigtlander Vitomatic II

Voigtlander Vitomatic II

Voigtlander Vitomatic II

This is an update of the excellent Voigtländer Vito B.  The Vito B spawned several cameras - the Vitomatics I and II and the Vito BL. This is the automatic update as opposed to the more manual Vito BL. The Vitomatic II has a coupled light meter and a coupled rangefinder added and a new shutter mechanism (the Prontor SLK-V made by Gauthier) which is needed to make use of the light meter.  Voigtlander also made independent rangefinders which were less handy in use. The lens is still a Color-Skopar 50mm lens but now it is f2.8 rather than f3.5 (this might just be the items I have - I have no idea as to the options that were available regarding lenses for either the Vito B or the Vitomatic II).

View of base plate

The size of the two cameras (Vito B and Vitomatic II - I am going to be comparing the two throughout this posting) is the same except the height.  I have a version I Vito B with a small viewfinder.  The later version II had a larger viewfinder and is also higher than the version I.  So the Vito B (II) is the same size as the Vitomatic II.  The layout of the top plate differs as the Vitomatic II has an exposure meter window but is otherwise the same. The front of the camera is also different as the Vitomatic II has both an exposure meter and a rangefinder window both of which are missing on the Vito B. There is one more change that is immediately apparent - the frame counter on the Vito B is a small window above the shutter housing with an adjusting wheel below the shutter housing.  With the Vitomatic II, the frame counter is on the base plate and has a small adjusting wheel beside the counter window.

view of top plate

The presence of both the rangefinder mechanism and the light meter means that the SLK-V shutter/lens housing on the Vitomatic II is significantly larger than the SVS housing on the Vito B. The SLK-V shutter is Voigtlander's adaptation of the standard SLK shutter - this is a light meter coupled shutter.  (Both Voigtlander and Prontor were subsidiaries of Zeiss Ikon at this time.)  The Vitomatic II is also significantly heavier – something that could not be avoided with the improved specification. So, in use, the Vitomatic II still fits nicely in the hand but is much more tiring to hold for a period of time. Using the ever-ready case and hanging the camera around your neck would obviate this but I like to hold the camera in my hand – it is more discrete and faster to use.

The coupled light meter is simplicity itself to use. It is of the match needle type with the needles in the window on the top plate. This is adjusted by turning the forward most knurled wheel on the shutter housing. When the two needles are superimposed, the camera is set for a correct shutter speed/ aperture combination. This can be varied in one stop steps by turning the rearmost knurled wheel. Moving this wheel alters the speed/aperture settings but keeps them in the correct range for a viable exposure. It is a bit like the P setting on a modern digital camera. The only drawback to this system is that the meter needles are not shown in the viewfinder so you need to lower the camera and look at the top plate while setting the exposure.

The viewfinder is a reverse-Galilean finder with a large (much larger than the Vito B) eye-piece with bright lines including parallax adjustment.  The coupled rangefinder is also simple to use – this time it is accessed through the viewfinder. The rangefinder presents the user with a bright spot in the centre of the viewfinder with two separate images. The user turns the focussing ring (the smaller, forward most knurled ring) until the two images are superimposed – the lens is then correctly focussed for the part of the image in the centre spot. This is made easier by the user choosing a strong vertical to focus on.

The film chamber is accessed the same way as on a Vito B – a small portion of the base-plate is unlocked and lowered and then the back swings open. This is very secure in use and the type of accident I occasionally have with my Vito II where the catch on the back can accidentally open while the camera is in use is not possible.  The one downside is that changing films while standing in the street is cumbersome - but  far from impossible.

I now have a Vitomatic I as well.  This is the same as the Vitomatic II but without the coupled rangefinder.  I do not miss having a rangefinder as I find guessing distances works just fine - at f5.6 and smaller, the depth of field is enough to cover any slight discrepancy in the guess.

There are also "a" and "b" versions of both Vitomatics - I and II.  The "a" versions have the light meter scale mirrored in the viewfinder and the "b" versions have aperture and shutter speed mirrored in the viewfinder.

Vitomatic II in use. 

This is a fairly simple camera to use.  The light meter is not TTL so in use it is much the same as a hand-held meter.  The advantage over a hand-held meter is that aligning the match needles in the light meter window sets a usable combination of speed and aperture.  It is then simple to turn the inner ring on the shutter housing to set either a specific aperture or a specific speed according to the photographer's needs.  The shutter then selects corresponding speed/aperture to maintain correct exposure.  As this is not TTL, you do not need to fumble with the controls at eye level.  If you want to use exposure compensation you merely turn the exposure control as many stops either side of standard as you need.  As this control basically adjusts the aperture, it is possible to over/under expose by a fraction of a stop.  It is worth noting that the aperture is infinitely variable between f2.8 and f22 while the shutter speed is restricted to click-stops - it is not possible to set a speed between1/125 and 1/300, for instance.  If you try, you will get either 1/125 or 1/300 depending on the exact position of the cam inside the shutter mechanism.

This camera inherits scale focussing from the Vito B complete with two happy snapper settings of 3.25m and 10m (roughly) at f5.6.  These settings make street photography very easy.  I often keep the camera set to 1/125 and smaller than f5.6 and the focus on the distant (10m) happy snapper setting - giving everything between 4.25m and infinity in focus.  

For more critical work, there is the rangefinder.  This uses gold "silvering" of the half-silvered mirrors giving orange images in the centre of the viewfinder which are clearly seperated from the main image.  As with most rangefinders, turning the focussing knob moves one of the images - focus being achieved when the two images are exactly superimposed.  

If the lens is nearly focussed, this is quick and easy.  The downside is that focussing from one end of the scale to the other cannot be achieved in one motion but in use I am not finding this a problem.

Last comment - this is a heavy camera - particularly for its compact size - but this aids stability in use.

Sample Pictures:

Waterloo Station, London

Busker, City Square, Lincoln

Lincoln university across Brayford Pool, Lincoln

Folk buskers, Lincoln

Franka Solida III camera

The first Vintage camera that I bought was a Franka Solida II.  The Solida III is basically the same camera, as you would expect, with a different lens and the addition of a non-coupled rangefinder.

Franka Solida III

The Solida III takes 120 film and produces a 6 cm by 6 cm negative - twelve frames to a roll of film.

lens: Scheider-Kreuznach Radionar
focal length:  80 mm
apertures: f/2.9 to f/22
focus range: 3 ft to infinity
lens fitting: fixed
shutter: Prontor S
speeds: 1 second to 1/250 + B
flash:  PC socket, no X/M switch
film size: 120

The lens is a Scheider-Kreuznach Radionar 80 mm, f/2.9 lens.  This is a bit unusual as the aperture sequence usually goes to f/2.8 rather than f/2.9.  The minimum aperture is f/22 which is more than small enough coupled with the 1/250 shutter speed.  It is probably worth noting that the physical size of the aperture at f/22 on a medium format camera is much larger than f/22 on a 35 mm camera and so diffraction effects are negligible and so give sharper images than an equivalent lens/aperture would with 35mm.  With an APS C format digital camera, the difference will be even sharper.  The test film showed this lens to be better than adequate, at the least.

The shutter is a Prontor S by Gauthier, offering shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/250 plus B.

Happy Snapper settings are indicated in red and are around f/9 and twenty five feet, giving a depth of field from twelve feet to infinity.  There is also a secondary happy Snapper setting of f/9 and eight feet which gives you a depth of field from six feet to twelve feet - presumably for portraits.

There is the usual delayed action lever giving  a delay of around eight to ten seconds.  A PC socket is provided but no synchronisation lever so the flash synch could be either for bulb or electronic flash. Given the camera's age, I suspect it is synced for bulbs but whether for M or F bulbs I do not know.

The rangefinder works well and the two images are nice and clear.  There is enough separation between the two rangefinder windows (43 mm) and there is enough movement on the adjusting wheel to make the device effective.  Unfortunately, as a non-coupled rangefinder, it is necessary to read the distance off the rangefinder and set it on the lens focussing scale.  I find guessing the distance and using a smallish aperture to be fine and I don't think I would use this rangefinder very much.

The other niggle with the rangefinder is that it uses a separate eyepiece to the viewfinder making focussing and composing totally separate activities and further reduces the utility of the rangefinder.

There is a safety interlock between the film winder and the shutter release meaning it is impossible to make a double exposure.  There is a (very) small window beside the film winder which shows red when the film has been wound on.  In fact, it is only necessary to turn the film winder 3/4 of a turn to reset the shutter which is not enough to wind on to the next frame.  Not having a manual for the camera, I had thought the shutter faulty before I finally twigged the purpose of the small window.

The red window on the back which allows you to read the frame numbers has a sliding cover to prevent the fogging of panchromatic film.  Loading is easy.  Both the film spool and the take up spool are contained in hinged housings which hold the film securely until the back is closed.

The pressure plate is significantly larger than the frame size (80 mm wide) which means that the film is kept nicely flat - not always the case with medium format cameras.  The lens standard pops out nicely when the button on the base is pressed - this camera is fully self-erecting.

In use, this is not anywhere as easy as the Franka Solida II.  That camera opens vertically with the baseboard at the bottom under the lens. This Solida III opens sideways so that the baseboard is to the right of the lens when you are using the camera.  This leaves very little camera for the right hand to hold on to which is rather awkward. With the fingers of the right hand curled, it is quite usable and the forefinger drops quite nicely onto the shutter release.

Small items - there is an accessory shoe - cold shoe in flash terms - and a single tripod socket on the base which is to UK/USA standard.  Lastly, the film winder has a film speed reminder on its top, with DIN/ASA numbers from DIN 12/ASA 12 to DIN 24/ASA 200.  On a camera of this age, it is worth noting that the ASA numbers are the "new" ASA scale

Medieval troubadours, Stonebow, Lincoln

Medieval guildhall, Lincoln

Agfa Billy Record

Agfa Billy-Record

Agfa Billy-Record landscape format

This is a fairly standard full frame 120 film camera from the mid 1930s.  I think this camera is a grey import - no "made in Germany", distance scale in metres and the tripod socket is continental rather than UK or USA.

The camera takes eight pictures on 120 film which makes it an expensive camera to use.  There are two finders: a brilliant finder and a two frame Galilean finder.  I can never get on with brilliant finders - too small mostly.  The shutter is a Prontor II from Gauthier and the lens is Agfa's Apotar 10.5 cm focal length and f4.5 maximum aperture.  This lens performs very well - with colour as well as monochrome.  Lenses from the 1930s were usually colour corrected even though colour film was unusual.  This is because the new (for the time) panchromatic films were sensitive to all colours and non-colour corrected lenses would produce a very soft image.

Shutter speeds on the Prontor II are 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/150 as well as B and T.  1/25 and 1/50 seem very slow by modern standards. but the 6cm by 9cm negatives would be unlikely to be enlarged.  For most people, contact prints would be normal.  The lack of flash synchronisation and the 1/150 maximum shutter speed date this to the first Prontor II design and so dates the camera to between 1934 and 1938.

The lens focusses down to less than one metre to infinity.  On my camera, the lens will not focus to infinity - either because the grease on the focussing thread has solidified (something Agfas are notorious for) or because someone has attempted a repair (also common on old cameras).

As was normal until the mid 1950s, the shutter release lever is on the shutter housing.  As was also normal from 1930ish, Agfa provide a secondary shutter release on the camera body which is connected to the lever on the shutter housing by an articulated link.  This is a seriously weak link and barely works on my camera.  When opening the camera, there is a significant danger of the release link missing the lever on the shutter housing.  Agfa actually stress the importance of this in the manual for the camera.  The long term effect of this link missing its proper location is that the link has bent and frequently dis-articulates itself.

There are the two tripod bushes we would expect on a camera of this format and date.  One is on the base board - centrally placed which makes fitting a tripod easier than on some cameras - and one near the centre of the base.  Both are 3/8 Whitworth which is larger than most tripods use.  My other cameras from this era have a 1/4 Whitworth insert and these may well have been present at some time.

Sample pictures:

Stamp End, Lincoln

Lincoln Cathedral

Agfa Karat 6.3

1936 Art Deco Karat        -        1938 karat

 In many ways this is a very attractive camera.  It is small (22cm wide, 17cm tall and 14.5cm thick), not too heavy (for a metal camera) and simple.  It has two downsides - it uses a different cassette to other 35mm cameras and it is cheaply made.  The body is made from cast aluminium which is painted gloss black.  The controls all seem to grate a bit and although this camera is now around 70 years old, Zeiss Ikon and Voigtlander cameras of this age do not grate.  The Karat 6.3 was introduced in 1936.  Two years later Agfa introduced an improved version - still called the Karat 6.3

Aesthetically, the camera is attractive.  It has a rounded body and has an Art Deco front panel on the lens board. Focussing and aperture controls are on the lens panel.  While these work well, I find them difficult to use.  The focussing knob is below the lens and moves from about 4 o'clock (infinity) to 8 o'clock (3.5 feet).  The aperture control is a milled ring around the lens with apertures from f6.3 to f22.  One of the problems I have with this camera is that altering the aperture means my finger hits the focussing knob making it difficult to move the aperture ring.  By the by, the maximum aperture of the camera - f6.3 - gives the camera its name "Karat 6.3", later models were Karat 3.5 and Karat 2.8.

The lens is a three element Igestar lens (Sometimes with a fancy "I" which makes the name look like Jgestar).  The view finder is a reverse Gallilean finder which gives a small image (the 'reverse' part of reverse Gallilean means it is like looking through a telescope the wrong way with a smallified image).  On the original Art Deco version, this viewfinder is not only rather small but is low down on the body, making it hard to use.

The camera is a folding camera - the lens pops out on a short bellows , it only moves two cm - released by a button on the top plate to the left of the viewfinder.  The lens panel simply pushes back in  when the camera is finished with.  The top plate of the camera is dominated by the film wind-on knob and the shutter release is very close to this.  Next to the shutter release is a sliding lever which can engage the shutter release when the B setting is used to hold the shutter open.  However, this is difficult to set while your finger is on the shutter release and almost certainly impossible to do without jarring the camera to some extent.  Also on the top plate is the frame counter.  This is quite small and recessed making it less than easy to see.  The frame number is rest by a small knurled knob next to the counter - the start of film is set to "A" and then the film wound on until frame "1" is reached.  There are also two strap lugs on the top plate - one of which is missing on my camera.

The back hinges open to allow the loading of film.  The film for this camera must be in one of Agfa's Karat or Rapid cassettes.  The original format was the Karat cassette.  This was revived in the 1960s as the Rapid cassette.  There is only one difference between them - the later Rapid cassette has a film speed indicator on the cassette in the form of a metal "T".

Karat cassette (left)        Rapid cassette (right)

Film loading is easy - insert the film in the left-hand chamber and fix the film leader under the two clips.  Close the back and wind the film on to frame 1.  Unloading the film is even easier - there is no need to rewind the film, you just take the cassette with the exposed film out of the camera.

The 1938 improved version is basically the same.  It has a raised viewfinder  - no bigger but easier to use.  It also has an external frame counter rather than a window to an internal counter.  The front fascia is plain and when extended has a lock to prevent the camera from being closed accidentally.  There is also an improved catch to the back and the strap lugs have been removed.  To off-set the lack of strap lugs, the case has been changed to an ever-ready type case where the camera can be used while in the leather case.  In the original Karat, the case was a drop-in case.

1936 original Art Deco case      -      1938 improved case

This blog

This blog is about the many old cameras that I now own. I shall be describing each and giving my impressions of using them. I shall also be uploading sample pictures from each. I actually own all these cameras and if you have any specific queries about any of them, please ask.

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Voigtlander Bessamatic

Voigtlander Bessamatic - 1961

This is Voigtlander's answer to Zeiss Ikon's Contaflex range and Kodak's Retina reflex range.  It was developed sometime after the Zeiss Ikon and Kodak models and this allowed Voigtlander to learn from its competitors' mistakes.  The most obvious lesson learnt is that the entire lens assembly is detachable rather than just the front element as in the Contaflex range.   The main advantage is that better quality lenses can be added.  It also has the advantage that you can access both the mirror and the focussing screen and so can keep them clean.  This is a major fault with the Contaflexes as after fifty years of use there is a build up of dirt which can be very annoying when looking through the viewfinder - although, to be fair, I don't suppose Zeiss Ikon were thinking about  a fifty year life span for their cameras.

This is a very heavy camera - significantly more heavy than a Contaflex Super.  It is similar to the Contaflex Super.  It has a coupled light meter with match-needles in the viewfinder.  Moving the match needle also moves the aperture ring - the shutter speed must be set first.  This can only be set to a value within the current exposure range.  If the shutter speed is already set to an unacceptable value (as in moving from the shade into bright sunshine) it is not possible to align the match needles.  This can be overridden by a lever on the lower right of the shutter housing.

The shutter is a Synchro-Compur - the same as on a Contaflex Super.  The speed range is 1 second to 1/500th second and B.  The lens is a Voigtlander Color-Skopar 1:2.8 50mm lens made in 1961 (going by the serial number).  These are superb lenses and are Voigtlander's version of a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar.  Focussing is from 3.5 feet to infinity.

Voigtlander Bessamatic

A nice innovation is a couple of red pointers that move apart or together as the aperture is changed.  These mark out the depth of field on the focussing scale.  Focussing is by the whole lens assembly moving rather than just the front element so image quality should be maintained throughout the focussing range.

I have run one film through this camera, and, alas, there is light leaking into the back from three different places - without replacing all the light seals, this camera is useless.  I have now replaced the light seals but I have yet to test it with another film.