Vintage Camera Photography
Can a vintage camera still be used for modern photography?
Despite digital camera’s becoming more and more advanced each year, the demand for film and hybrid photography for weddings is becoming increasingly popular, with people looking for that authentic film look that modern digital camera systems can only replicate. Modern film cameras are still available, but what if you want a truly authentic experience? How old is too old? I am lucky enough to own a small collection of various vintage and classic cameras, and there’s one in particular that I wanted to dust off and put to the test…
This is my 1921 Kodak 2a Autographic Brownie. I have owned it for about 15 years, and it’s never been more than a display piece. However, now that it’s reached it’s centenary I thought it would be the perfect time to take it out for a spin to see if the old girl’s still got it. The bellows look in good condition, the shutter clicks freely… what could possibly go wrong?
Well, as it turns out, quite a lot…
Problem 1: The film for this camera was discontinued in 1984. Technically, the actual autographic film (so called because you can open the back of the camera to annotate the film. It’s kinda the first form of metada…) was discontinued in 1936, but it would also take regular 116 film. The closest thing to that we have today is 120 film, which is slightly shorter – but a couple of adapters from eBay sorted that.
Problem 2: Because the 120 film is a different size, the exposure numbers on the back of it don’t correctly line up with the exposure window on the back of the camera. Instead of shooting ‘1’, then ‘2’, ‘3’ etc, I had to start on ‘3’ and wind on 2 and a half frames to 5 and a half, 8, etc. Coupled with the fact the numbers weren’t central to the window (so I could only see the top of the number), and that I had to cover/uncover said window with black tape to help prevent light leaking in, made this even more nail biting.
Problem 3: I wanted to do some final checks on the camera, and I read that a good way to check the bellows is shine a bright torch inside it. What I thought was a solid set of light-tight bellows, turned out to have more holes in it that O.J. Simpsons alibi. With not enough time to source a replacement set, a combination of fabric electrical tape and automotive rubber sealant was employed to patch it up. It’s not for the purists, but it looks half decent and gets the job done.
Problem 2: Because the 120 film is a different size, the exposure numbers on the back of it don’t correctly line up with the exposure window on the back of the camera. Instead of shooting ‘1’, then ‘2’, ‘3’ etc, I had to start on ‘3’ and wind on 2 and a half frames to 5 and a half, 8, etc. Coupled with the fact the numbers weren’t central to the window (so I could only see the top of the number), and that I had to cover/uncover said window with black tape to help prevent light leaking in, made this even more nail biting.
Problem 3: I wanted to do some final checks on the camera, and I read that a good way to check the bellows is shine a bright torch inside it. What I thought was a solid set of light-tight bellows, turned out to have more holes in it that O.J. Simpsons alibi. With not enough time to source a replacement set, a combination of fabric electrical tape and automotive rubber sealant was employed to patch it up. It’s not for the purists, but it looks half decent and gets the job done.
So now that we’ve fixed the bellows and we know what we need to do with the film, we can go point and shoot – right? Let’s move on to…
Problem 4: Despite being 100 years old, some aspects of this camera are still valid today. The units of measurement for shutter speed is the same, the tripod screw-in attachment is EXACTLY the same – no adapters needed. The fundamental principals are all still the same. Today however we use the f/ stop units of measurement for apertures, whereas this camera uses the older Universal Standard system. One quick Google search later though, and I’ve got a conversion chart and I’m good to go. Except…
Problem 5: Turns out that the model of camera I have doesn’t have the U.S. system on the lens either – that must have been a later revision. Instead, I’ve just got 4 shooting ‘presets’. As luck would have it though, these ‘presets’ are also on the versions complete with the U.S. units of measurement, so after a little more cross-referencing I had all the information I needed.
Armed with all this knowledge, and also a copy of the original manual (albeit from 1926) which handily includes lots of settings for various conditions, both indoors and outdoors, it was finally time to go out and start taking some… oh, wait…
Problem 6: Although the manual does indeed have a comprehensive list of settings (such as, ” medium coloured walls, with hangings and more than one window, with bright sunshine outside = 4 seconds”), none of them really suited the scenes I was planning on shooting. Not only that, but I then had the realisation of film speed; the film I had was ISO 125, but there’s nowhere in the manual that states the speed of the film recommended for the camera. If it’s anything other than ISO 125, the settings in the manual would be redundant anyway. At this point, I decided the best way to move forwards was to use a present day camera (in this case, my Canon 5Dmk III at the time) to meter the scene, and then replicate those settings (or at least, influence the settings as far as the antique technology allowed) with the Brownie.
Armed with all this knowledge, and also a copy of the original manual (albeit from 1926) which handily includes lots of settings for various conditions, both indoors and outdoors, it was finally time to go out and start taking some… oh, wait…
Problem 6: Although the manual does indeed have a comprehensive list of settings (such as, ” medium coloured walls, with hangings and more than one window, with bright sunshine outside = 4 seconds”), none of them really suited the scenes I was planning on shooting. Not only that, but I then had the realisation of film speed; the film I had was ISO 125, but there’s nowhere in the manual that states the speed of the film recommended for the camera. If it’s anything other than ISO 125, the settings in the manual would be redundant anyway. At this point, I decided the best way to move forwards was to use a present day camera (in this case, my Canon 5Dmk III at the time) to meter the scene, and then replicate those settings (or at least, influence the settings as far as the antique technology allowed) with the Brownie.
So now, finally, I was ready to go out and actually take some photographs! And there was no place seemingly more fitting, than Lacock Abbey – arguably the birthplace of photography. I was met at the gate by Clare, who not only had arranged for me to have access to the abby before it opened to the public, but is also possibly one of the nicest people your ever likely to meet. Clare came around with me, patiently waiting each time I got into position and went through my multi-point check list before taking the picture. After about an hour of me over-thinking and second-guessing everything I know about photography, I had finished taking all six (yep, that’s all you get per roll of film…) images. Now all that was left was to get home, open up the camera, and tackle…
Problem number 7. Now, I am lucky enough to have a 116 spool to wind the exposed film onto inside the camera (negating the need for any adapters), but this comes with the issue that as the spool is longer than the film, there is a risk of light leaking into the edges and ruining the exposure. The solution to this was to turn the smallest room in the house into a dark room, fumble around in complete blackness to take the film out, secure it, and place it into some light tight packaging ready to be developed. Once posted to the lab, all I had to do then was wait!
After the longest two weeks of my life, I had an email containing the link to the scans of the negatives, and was presented with the images you see here. I don’t know about you, but I am amazed at how good they’ve come out. If anything, I’m actually a little disappointed at how perfect they are… I was expecting light leaks, film slippage, distortion etc, but aside from some dust marks here and there, they’re as good as the day the camera was made.
So, can you take a 100 year old camera and produce decent images? Yes, you certainly can!
Should you? Absolutely. It was a bit daunting at times, but seeing these images for the first time made everything worth it. Do your research, expect things to go wrong, and prepare for things to get pretty expensive pretty quickly (taking into account postage, this one roll of film cost about £30 to develop), but the reward at the end is so worth it.
Would I use a camera like this to capture a wedding? No! At least, not on it’s own. As a little extra though alongside my usual kit, something like this could be a really fun way to capture some moments with a proper vintage vibe. If that’s something you might be interested in, let me know and we’ll see what I can do!
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