Among the cameras I inherited is my mom's Voigtlander Rollfilm 116, circa 1928-29. So far as I can tell from the negatives in my archive, it was last used in 1957, coincidentally the last year my dad used his Graflex 4x5 Series D SLR. (For reference, 1957 was the year my sister and I turned 4 and started moving too quickly, in different directions, for either of these cameras to be used successfully.)
The Voigtlander's been gathering dust on my display shelf for a few years now. I ordered some 116-120 adapters from Film Photography Project, made some minor modifications to the film aperture to support the narrower film, loaded up a roll of Foma 100 Classic which seems to be close-ish to Verichrome Pan, and took a walk around town. Results were . . .OK for a largely neglected 95 year old camera. The shutter is still remarkably accurate: no light leaks, all speeds sound normal. The lens, Skopar 114/4.5, has developed some sort of haze internally, which I've yet to diagnose. I don't think it's fungus, so possibly a breakdown of the balsam between the paired elements.
So, one more connection to the past. I'm struck by the economy and patience one needed in an era of 6 and 8 image per roll cameras, to wait for the right moment for an exposure. Digital notwithstanding, 36 exposures on a roll of 35mm seems almost profligate in comparison.
