UKH

My Mum recently dug out and brought up to Manchester her Mum's old Kodak Six-16 camera, a lovely art deco folding camera from the mid 30s. Having done a little research despite Kodak 616 film no longer being available I can get a conversion kit that will allow me to use 120 film, which seem pretty readily available in quite a few flavors.

So, I have decided I would like to at least manage to take a portrait of mum and her two granddaughters with it. I have checked the bellows and there appears to be no splits or holes. What else do I need to check? The lenses don't appear to have any visible mold, but might be a little "cloudy"? The viewfinder was a little "cloudy" but scrubbed up well with a les cloth, the main lens is a little harder to clean that way?

Also:
- Does anyone recommend a film that is forgiving to a "beginner" in these things?
- Where should I get the film developed?
-  Does anyone know a crib sheet or can help with exposures? It has a 126mm f 6.3 Kodak Anastigmat lens with apertures of f/32, 22, 16, 11 and 8 with speed of 1/25, 1/50 and 1/100*. I understand how aperture, shutter speed and film speed work together but have now idea where to start with this set up. f6.3 or f8 @ 1/50 with 400 film for a "normal day" outside?

Any help/advice etc much appreciated.

*plus bulb and time but I shalln't be touching those!

This may be entirely wrong but if you have a half decent camera such as an SLR, logically you can set the iso and aperture to the same as film and see what it suggests for shutter. Basically use the slr as a light meter, as long as you have roughly the same shot in frame 🐸

In the 'old days', there was a small instruction sheet inside the box with a roll of film. On it were printed symbols for the light type: bright sun, cloudy etc and suggested exposures for those conditions. Perhaps those small sheets are still included? Alternatively, look at the manufacturers' websites, the same info should be there.

Colour negative film is supposedly the most forgiving. Try a 400 ASA Kodak Portra and see how you get on.

Take notes as you go that you can use later to repeat successful exposures.

There are also some pretty decent exposure metre apps for a smart phone.

Have fun !

I've got an old Voightlander bellows camera. As has been mentioned I use my expensive dslr, as a light meter. You have to remember that these cameras were meant for a different era, where portraits were staged and film was slower. See if you can get a tripod, or solid table, which will improve quality over handheld. Then test with some 120 film. Many places will develop it and scan to a CD. Some also do a contact sheet.

There may be minor light leaks or weird lens artifacts. Unless its totally ruined, these will add an etherial quality. Good luck.

I’ve got an old Leningrad 4 light meter/exposure meter from circa 1975 you can have if you want? Simple to use, though probably will need an (re) adjustment now - there is a dial on the rear to do that if you have something reliable to compare with.

Well, obviously check if the film transport works, first. Just turn the knob with the back open and see if the receiving film shaft nubs move as you turn it and the two nubs where the film spool goes spin freely. The manual film advance can be pretty rusty in a very old camera, and you don't want to tear the film.

Oh, and with 120 film, you need a second empty spool to wind the film onto! Ask in the camera store. After you go through the film, keep the old spool for reuse.

Check if the aperture moves as you close it down. It's often gummed up and stuck open in some old lenses, but likely not here.

Open the aperture all the way to f/6.3 and check if the shutter itself works. It's got a leaf shutter inside the lens, right? Try all the speeds.

It's quite likely that the shutter speeds are quite off by now, even one stop off is not uncommon, especially in the higher speed range. Since you only got three shutter speeds, the 1/100s will likely be slower, maybe even 1/60s or so, but that doesn't matter that much – just wing it. Use negative film, it has enough latitude for it to not matter.

For setting the exposure, google "Sunny 16 rule". It's basically just 1/ISO (film speed) and f/16 on a full sunny day – so with ISO 100 film, you use f/16 and 1/100s, etc. That's the table printed on some film boxes.

Or just download some "exposure meter" phone app, the ones I tried worked pretty accurately on an iPhone.

Exposure and stops – f/5.6 at 1/250s is the same exposure as f/8 at 1/125s, apart from more blur. f/5.6 to f/11 is a "two stop" difference. ISO 100 to ISO 400 is a two stops difference. 1/25s to 1/100 is a two stops difference, you get it.

I'd go with ISO 400 colour negative film as the most forgiving, especially as your lens is pretty slow. It's two stops faster than ISO 100, so your "Sunny 16" becomes "Sunny 32", but you can still keep it around 1/100s when it's overcast, avoiding blur when handholding it at slower speeds. 1/100s still means keep it pretty steady, though.

Check youtube how to load and advance the film, 120 type film is nowhere as easy as more modern 135 type cameras. Your camera likely has a red window in the back and you advance the film carefully by turning the knob until you see the next frame number in the window, the numbers printed on the film's paper backing. When you are finished with it, you wind it fully onto the spool and lick a little "stamp" to secure the flappy end to the spool.

Read the advice for your 616 to 120 spool adapter, as the 120 film's frame numbers don't readily work for adapted 616 cameras like yours. You might need to start at frame 3, then go to 6, 9, 12, or  whatever.

Tell the lab that it's a panoramic – 616 has a different aspect ratio to normal 120 film. Would be a shame if they cut it wrong or scanned only half of each frame!

Enjoy your camera! I have a nearly 100‑year old family heirloom camera which still works, it can be fun. Even brought it to a few professional shoots for the laughs.