Topic: Introduction, and a 110A / 6 0 0 S E conversion

[Ezzie]

Thought I´d introduce myself through my latest DIY effort. Because I like doing things myself. I develop all films in Caffenol, silver halide films, C-41, it doesn´t matter - it just works. Likewise I like building or modifying cameras. A 4x5 P+S, a 6x17, and in this case a 110A conversion.

Part one:

A friend sent me an old 110A, believing I could revive it to actually taking pictures again. I pondered on many 4x5 conversion solutions. I wanted something that would look good on the camera. And to be quite honest, most 4x5 solutions I found pictures of didn´t. Sticking a Graflok on the back wasn´t an option, it sticks out under the camera, and obscures the finder. Even Dean´s great Razzloks stick out under the camera, Byron´s approach is very good looking, but complex, and Noah Schwartz´low profile back looked very slick, but again difficult for someone without a CNC router.

I ended up taking an easier route, opting to go medium format instead. Grafting a Polaroid 600SE back adapter to the 110A, making it almost as versatile as anything with a Graflok back, only slightly smaller. I can now mount just about anything up to 6x9 in 120/220 with the right adapter, not to mention Polaroid backs and even 4x5 (though not covering the frame completely).

The hardest part was manufacturing the adapter plate. I made one that both functions as a mount for the adapter, but is also the side wall of the camera (where the end has been chopped off). The film plane has as a result of the plate and the 600SE adapter been moved back an inch or so, so the end stop for the lens has been moved back correspondingly.

The camera was a bit worse for wear, so she´s been given a good going over. The Ysarex in Compur #0 shutter was a bit gummed up, so exchanged for a Tominon in Copal #1 press shutter. Needed to widen the mount for that. I recovered her in Cameraleather green composite leather (comes in sheets). The top cover has been chopped too, filled, sanded and painted cream. I think she looks quite nice.


Polaroid 110A w/600SE back adapter - front view Tominon 127mm f4.7 in Copal press shutter



Polaroid 110A w/600SE back adapter - front view Tominon 127mm f4.7 in Copal press shutter
You can see the end of the camera has been chopped



Polaroid 110A w/600SE back adapter - rear view with CB103 back attached



Polaroid 110A w/600SE back adapter - rear view 600SE adapter



Tools used? A Dremel with both cutting disks, and grinding heads comes in handy, set of small screwdrivers, sandpaper (120, 240, 600 and 1200 grit), drill and drill bits, pliers, hack saw and scissors.

Materials and parts? 110A of course, Polaroid 600SE adapter, CB103 back, (in my case a Tominon in Copal shutter due to iffy shutter on the Rodenstock Ysaron), 1.5mm sheet aluminium (for adapter plate), Cameraleather.com Composite leather covering, paint (cream semi gloss and flat black), Epoxy glues and filler, Sugru, Light sealing material and 3mm machine screws


And work it does:

Fuji FP 3000B


Fuji FP 100B


Part two: 120, 6x9?

[jojonas~]

introduction a bit tucked away here in the atricles part of the forum, but welcome all the same!

looks like a good rig you've got going on there! I'll be looking forward to seeing some 120 shots. 6x7 is a favorite fromat -that I haven't tried myself yet. when you do, please also post shots of the camera with the film back

[Urban Hafner]

Great camera, Eirik. Next up your home made 6x17 maybe? And thanks to Reinhold and you I've tried Caffenol. I'm just so lazy and use Rodinal all the time. But when it runs out I think I'll try pre-mixing the Caffenol ingredients ...

Urban

[Ezzie]

Thank you Jonas and Urban.

A 6x17 article may be in the pipeline, though I suspect some of you have seen it before, on APUG maybe.

Regarding the Polaroid. Part 2, a 120 roll film back:

Having used the camera with Polaroid CB-103 backs I thought it would be good to see if it could perform well with 120 film too. The main reason for not just grafting the CB-103 straight into the camera in the first place, was indeed to keep other options open.

Criteria: Cheap, functional and 6x9. That means both the ready to fit backs for the 600SE (Mamiya S-shaped backs) and the RB67 were out. The former too big, obscuring the viewfinder. The latter not up to 6x9. And both expensive.

Solution: DIY it.

Parts: Graflex 23 back, 600SE/Miniportrait adapter plate, 1.5mm sheet aluminium, paint, glue, flocking material, machine screws.

Obviously the back and adapter don´t fit. No mounting fittings common, film plane off by 3.2mm. To solve the latter I ground out a trough in the plate 3.2mm deep with a Dremel. A horrible job, not worthy of repeating. To solve the former I cut out a skirt to go around three edges of the roll film back, recessed the necessary 3.2mm from the mount face. Glued the two together, lined the back with skirt up with plate, drilled mounting holes through the skirt and screwed them together.


Parts half way through, some tools and some nerve calming Café Longo.


The 600SE mounting plate, or adapter. A 3.2mm deep trough has been ground out from the right edge and just beyond the left edge of the light opening. Width as for the Graflex back, not much more than the breadth of the opening top to bottom. As luck would have it, lining up the Graflex right edge (as seen from the rear) with the plate´s right edge meant they were aligned left to right.


Lip glued to the Graflex, allowing the back to fit into the depression in the mounting plate. Then screwed to the mount. Flocked all round


As seen from the mount face


Mounted on the camera

Test shots, Portra BW400CN in Caffenol:




Comments on use. 6x9 (56mmx83mm) is quite a bit smaller than 3,25"x4,25" (73mmx95mm), so the viewfinder covers a bit more than what you will be getting, resulting in guestimate composition. Have since made a sort of fix for it. It´s not compact for a 6x9, though not that heavy. Need to employ rigorous shooting regime, including a step to remove darkslide

But I like it. I carry it everywhere, the 120 Graflex back and one or even both Polaroid backs. My Leica M4-2 is gathering dust, so are my TLR´s. Poor things.

To come: Part 3, new lens and shutter (again).

[jojonas~]

this is some mayor surgery going on! glad to hear you like your own creation so much

[Chalky]

wow, excellent work! I havr converted a 110 to take a pack film back but it doesn't look anywhere near as tidy as this! and the roll film part is another step altogether, well done!

amd welcome...

[Ezzie]

Part 3: Lens and shutter swap no 2.

The Press Copal shutter is not the fastest around, tops out at 1/125s. I could have just managed if it indeed performed as it should have, but it didn´t. All the faster speeds at least a stop slow, down to 1/15 which was a 1/2 off . f64 minimum aperture does help of course. But with the only pack film in B+W being 3000 ISO, indeed can be rated at 6400 in bright daylight, it would seem ND filtering would be the order of the day. I don´t really do filtering. And the Tominon isn´t that great really, I have other Tomioka lenses, but this one is really a copy lens, not that good for the longer ranges.

Here in Norway there aren´t any used camera shops anymore, and practically no market for such things on our version of Craiglist either. So it´s risking it on ebay, or nothing.

I bought a rather scrappy, but functional Ektar in Synchro-Compur shutter. I know from past experience that cleaning marks, and loss of coating on the front element isn´t necessarily a catastrophe. I´m not a contrast junky anyhow.

Having my wits about me I got one in a #1 shutter, so it fit nicely. A bit of collimation later (needed to move the end stop back a couple of mm) and she was good to go.



Test shots:

[jojonas~]

Good upgrade
And classic shot that with photographers shooting each other

PS. have you tried the Swedish site tradera.com? I've sold to Norwegians through there before.

[rotarysmp]

Nice work you have done there. Did you need to clean the viewfinder lenses and mirrors, or was yours already nice to look through? My 110A finders are horrible and yellowed.

[Ezzie]

Hi Mark

Yes, they did need cleaning. The top comes off easily enough. A couple of screws front and back and it is comes off with the lenses and a couple of the mirrors. All very simple stuff. Even recalibrating the RF was a simple enough job.

[Francois]

That's the fun part with some of the older gear, you can get to fix it relatively simply.