Get Into Medium Format 120 Film Photography. 120 or 120mm?
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- čas přidán 16. 12. 2022
- In this video I talk about Medium Format Film for those that have not yet taken the leap.
See the next video where I take the Agfa Record II down the farm
• Getting into 6x9 Film ...
Information you see in the video on the Kodak Models can be seen here
www.brownie-camera.com/film.s...
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EQUIPMENT USED IN THIS VIDEO
PRODUCTION GEAR
Leica Q2 Mono, CANON 6D, GOPRO 7 BLACK, Gopro 10 Black, TASCAM DR10L MIC, SENHEISSER SHOTGUN MIC,
NEEWER LED PANELS, GVM COLOUR PANELS, Valoi 360 Film Holder System for scanes, Zeapon Micro 2 Motor Slider,
Editing - FCP, PHOTOSHOP, LIGHTROOM,
ABOUT MY VIDEOS
If my videos inspire, create ideas and help others in film photography and darkroom work then it's worth making them.
I always welcome comments that are useful towards the video subject that will help others understand the process within.
Keep shooting and thanks for watching.
MUSIC CREDITING
CZcams Studio Music - Jak na to + styl
We all started as newbies once. I hope your quality, down to earth, and charming demonstration helps inspire more novices to progress to medium format, Roger.
Thanks Danem
All these years that I have hated loading 120 onto a spiral are over! Thanks for the tip with folding the tape over. I always used to cut it off. This old dog has learnt a new trick today 😃
I started with 35mm on Canon AE-1 after two years i switched to 120 and got a Mamiya RB67 from my uncle. Shot a lot of amazing photos with it. Currently using Mamiya 6. I still shoot 35mm occassionally but i love 120!
A very clear and no nonsense demonstration, great video as usual Roger.
Thanks Malcolm
Top tip for newbies: once you've loaded a 120 film on your reel, keep shuffling the reel until the film is all the way in. Now you can load a second film. Your developer will go twice as far! The reason for this is the reels and tanks are designed to accept 220 film which is twice the length of 120. I've been doing this since the 1970s so I know it works!
Your developer is still developing twice as much film and being depleted at that rate.
@@mikesmith-po8nd
1 roll of 120 takes about 500 ml to cover in a paterson tank
2 rolls of 35 mm 36 exposure takes the same volume to cover in the same tank
1 roll of 35mm 36 has the same surface area as 1 roll of 120
quid pro quo you CAN develop 2 rolls of 120 end to end in a paterson tank and use the same amount of developer as you would for 2 rolls of 35mm one on top of the other.
So in reality 1 roll of 120 per 500ml is better described as under utilising your developer!?!?
the real trick is in the loading which, after doing this for 20 years, is not too hard as long as everything is bone dry and your sweaty fingers don't make the emulsion tacky.
If you're using your dev as a stock solution, which is fairly uncommon in black and white (E-6 is another story), you just have to compensate for the number of films developed and replenish accordingly.
I've never used a stock solution for personal work I've only ever used one-shot developers, many of the better developers :- pyro, rodinal etc are exclusively one shot processes and your bog standard d-76 works best as 1:1 or 1:3 dilutions unless your'e push processing them and then you'll want to discard after each use anyway.
I have never tried it but I know many that do this. I'd have thought it wouldn't be enough to cover 2 rolls of 120 and your negs would be a bit thinner but as you say, it works for you.
I'ld recommend this video to anyone who's curios on medium format film photography. Great work, Roger!
Thanks 👍
This was brilliant. As someone new to and leading about MF, this was so informative and easy to understand. Thank you!
Good tip with the sticker at then will try that to see if it makes my life easier
Quite succint and entertaining, well shared! I am just starting off with my first 120 camera, an old kodak pocket 3A model C, with adapters. It luckily does have working bits n bobs, plus an orange frame window. Cannot wait to get on with a roll of the new kentmere 120 so I can dev and scan at home. You are a great guide inspirer of my film journey, glad to see and learn from your videos, thanks and cheers!
Cheers Patrick. Best if luck and fun with it
medium format, my favorite for analog photography, but as you said there a lot of camera and a lot of ways to load a film on it, and some are really similar. great video
Nice overall description! When loading the plastic reel, I start from the leading edge but fold it back about half an inch, which makes it much easier to catch on the ball bearings. Not my idea, I saw someone demonstrate, forget where now.
I have an old camera that takes 116 film, which is bigger than 120. Sadly nobody makes that format film anymore, but you can make spacers (or buy them from somebody online sometimes) that will allow you to use 120 film in manually-operated 116 cameras. So if you have an old folding camera and it's in decent working order, you don't have to just give up because it uses 116 size film. You do have to get used to operating it a bit weird, though.
The spacers that you can buy/make, are they universal or needs to be unique shape for the camera? Sounds like a great use case for a 3D printer
@@felixisme The ones I bought were made on a 3D printer, IIRC. Think I got them on Etsy maybe? But, yeah, they just go between the ends of the reel and the sprockets so they should fit any 116 camera. I also have some wooden ones I made at home.
I'd suggest shooting a test roll just to make sure that the film is registered correctly in the camera, and if necessary, adjust your technique accordingly.
These adapters vary a lot in quality, so check reviews from other users.
By and large though, they work well.
I have 3d printed several sets of spacers! They do the job nicely.
@@RCAvhstape Nice, thanks for letting me know.
Excellent video
Thank you very much!
intro music reminded me of "minder" I was expecting Arfur Daley (george cole) to swagger into shot with Tel in hot pursuit :), chrz from the antipodes !
Classic!
Great intro to medium format.
Thanks Erich
Oddly enough, when I got back into film, I jumped straight into medium format, with a Ciro-Flex. I did shoot 35mm back before I went digital. (And did get back into 35mm again, eventually)
MF is awesome. I shoot so little 35mm these days. Of course, MF is just a gateway drug to Large Format 😁 Loved learning about the history of 120 - didn't know that. Cheers Roger.
Yeah, I also almost exclusively shoot MF nowadays. I do have several 35 mm and one 4x5 camera but I think MF is the perfect compromise between them. It's not too much less convenient (though the cameras ARE larger and heavier, my main camera, a Mamiya RB67, is a real beast but still manageable even hand held), than 35mm, which I find lacking in resolution, and the image quality is not that much worse than 4x5 which obviously makes great pictures but is extremely slow and unwieldy to use and process.
Also, I find 120 very easy to load on a spiral but the trick of loading the tape end first and using the tape to stiffen the film seems like a good idea, especially when dealing with thinner film stocks like Fomapan which can sometimes be fiddly to load on some spirals. I usually just unroll the backing paper until I reach the start of the actual film, then feed the film on the spiral and load it while simultaneously unrolling. I feel this helps me avoid touching the film more than I absolutely must.
Adorama makes a reel with bigger tabs that's much easier to load than the standard Paterson reels. Dunno if they're available in the UK though.
Mystery solved - I wondered what the numbers on the backing were for.
G'day guys, When loading 120 film advancing to the arrows you should make sure that you retain tension in the film, Also when loading film in a change out bag onto a spiral, separate the backing paper from the film, I the wear nitrile gloves and nip the corners of the film on the slant to aid loading onto the spiral.
You know that I have developed 35, 120 and 4x5 film since I was in my 20s. I've never used your technique of using the tape to thicken and stabilize the end of the film that starts on the reel. The last couple of films I tried it. Most of the time I don't have any issues but if it is a thin film then it might take multiple tries to get it started correctly on the reel. I tried your method for a couple of thin 120 films this past couple of weeks. It worked a treat!!! So, even after 50 years of developing one can still get useful ideas. I used to use metal reels but I wouldn't try those now. 😞
Glad it was useful. I've never used metal reels. Always had the plastics. Some of my plastic ones now get a bit stuck though.
Why the numbers are upside down on my Agfa isoly. Its so confusing
Quite correct Roger, 120 just means film for number 2 Brownie. It is actually the 20th daylight loading film Kodak produced, and as you table shows the next daylight loading film was indeed the 121 and so on., and sadly only the 120 has survived . The other two anomalies, the 110 and the 126 are sometimes produced by other manufacturers for the Instamatic cameras and I have seen the odd 127 too. Good of you to explain this to the digital generation. LOL. The thing about the 120 film is that if it is treated with respect and with adequate technical prowess, in a format like 6X7 or 6X9 it can actually approach the quality of the 4X5 ( approach and not match as some people claim ), there are indeed field cameras by Linhof and Horseman that do use either the very hard to find 6.5X9 cm sheet film or 120 roll film back. Come to think of it I have a Wista 6X9 roll film back for my field cameras, I had forgotten about that TBH.
Yes I wasn't surprised when I read up. Makes sense. Imagine the chemists back in the day selling film without the number system ha ha..
When the corners of the film tend to catch on the sides of the reel, I like to cut them at 45° so that it slips through more easily.
That's another way I know many use Francois 👍
Hi Roger does the film get scratched when you load the spiral that way, looks a bit rough. Great video by the way.
No Anthony. May have looked that way as I was leaning over two tripods holding a camera and a light so I was a bit cack handed
Take small ( 4-5mm ish) corners off the end of the film you are loading onto the spiral first...... it really helps
It does help a lot. Also, if you have two rolls to process, you can tape them end-to-end and feed them in sequence like they were a single roll of 220 (which is double the length of a roll of 120).
Every plastic reel I've bought comes with a little plastic spacer for keeping the two rolls from overlapping on the reel. It's also incredibly easy to lose.
Some 120 medium format camera can also take 220 film which gave you more exposures. 220 was/is the 120 film without the backing paper so the manufacturer can give you more film length on the same roll. Naturally wihout a paper backing, there were no window to see the frame number at the back which would fog the film. So you need a camera that is either designed for it with a special magazine (there is a 220 film back for the Mamiya 645) or states it can take both 120 and 220 film, I had one (can't remember the name of it now) that needed the pressure plate on the rear cover rotated 90deg to adjust the pressure plate against the now paperless film.
All modern cameras without magazine could be switched between 120 and 220 formats by sliding the film pressure plate or returning it. Some had also different film "start arrows" for 120 and 220, (Yashica Mat 124).
I never started with the tape side, I just make a chamfer on the other side of the film. Actually the only film that gave me problems multiple times is TriX, although it was not that old (maybe expired 3 years) although I have been using much older film like Verichrome Pan from 2001, Plus X from 2007 and APX 100 and 400 from 2005
Yeah it's usually the older expired films that are clock springs! Fomapan is the best film for being flat I find... Unpredictable emulsion though
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss hmm that's not my experience, only film I had trouble with was TriX. HP5+ what I used most is usually within 10 seconds done
SUPERB ! Can you pls recommend few 6x8 folding cameras ? Many thanks.
I have no 6x8 folders but there must be loads of the online
I never thought of folding the tape over. Usually I just take it off completely, but I did notice on the last two rolls of Hp5 when I took it off it must of built up static because it made the film glow a bit. Anyone else ever see this?
I'm glad I read this. Yes. I have had that in the past. A small static glow when I pull off the tape. The reason I stopped pulling it off and ended up realising it was a better way for me to load the film.
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss
Next roll I am going to try it your way It seems like it will help with the super curly films I get from time to time.
How can I use a roll without any numbers on the back for a folding camera?
Wow, I imagine that would be hit and miss. Depending on your camera model I guess you would have to measure by counting the amount of turns on the take up winder using a normal film with numbers so you know where the first frame is. Then do the same for each frame and take note so when you load the un marked film you will have a rough idea where each frame is?
"Do you kiss bulls?" 🤣🤣🤣
X X 😂
Just a little bit of advice you missed in your otherwise great video, some camera’s can take both 120 and 220 rolls. So before loading the film make sure that the camera is set for the right type of film.
Yes one will say 12 the other 24. I nearly mentioned that on the Yashica load. Cheers
I wish I could still buy 220. It’s too bad they stopped making it.
I think Cinestill are working on it
Shanghai GP3 film is available in 220 format. It’s a nice emulsion, though I’ve only used it in 127.
@@stephenmcculloch1915 thanks for the suggestion! I’m going try this out.
I came to the dark side about 7 years ago with a Bronica S2. I dabbled in medium format for a while then kinda tapered off.
Then I found a Fujifilm GW690II from an eBay seller and made a sweet deal.
For me the GW is easier to shoot than the Bronica S2. I find the GW is more portable.
So I have no use for the Bronica. Trouble is no one wants them. I can't even throw it away.
I'm sure someone would want the Bronica
Why don’t you just close the door while you spool instead of guesstimating?
Don't use 220. It's more difficult to load into a Patterson spiral. Get a Paterson double spiral tank for 2 120 films.
Don't get a red window camera.
Get a better camera like a Rolleicord or a Yashica Mat which is easier to use.
If you want to get the bull's attention, wear red and punch him in the nose. You will get more attention than you can handle.
Seriously though, good video as always.
120mm is NOT OKAY!! First it were only Americans that have no idea of SI units, but stupidity multiplies fast and I see it everywhere now.
I still need to make a picture with a calliper and spool so I can post it everywhere someone writes 120mm. It has been called 120 for over 120 years, only the last years people seem to be not caring about nomenclature and norms. Film sizes are written down in ISO norms. Would be nice if no-one cared. Whilst Fujifilm might fit in your camera, for Ilford is a bit smaller thus you need a spacer but for it, and Kodak spools have to be sanded down.
What about 620 cameras and 120 film... A little clip around the edges and it fits