Print PDF
Favorite
Email
There's a lot of awesome old cameras out there, most use 620 film, which is hard to come by these days, or extremely expensive. This instructable details how to mod your cheap 120 film for use in older 620 era cameras, without having to do the whole darkroom thing.
all you need is sandpaper, a knife and some brute force
all you need is sandpaper, a knife and some brute force
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Getting some backround info
I got a hold of a Kodak Tourist, a film camera made in the 40's.
I wanted to use it to take some pictures; its an awesome camera that supposedly kicks out high-res shots. So after going to a camera store, i found out that the film it uses (620) hasn't been made for 30 years. Knockoff film is available, but its expensive (20$ for 1 roll of like 8-10 pictures, + the cost of developing = ridiculous)
I found a guide online for 're-spooling 120 film onto 620 spools, although this looked like a quick alternative, i found out it was nearly impossible, as it involves moving things around in the dark, without touching the film. I attempted doing it in the daylight on exposed film, and i failed miserably.
Then i realized, the only reason it was necessary to 're-spool' was that the spools were slightly larger than 620's . Thanks evil corporations.
The camera's are pretty much useless without the film, so if you break something, chances are no one was going to use it again anyway.
I wanted to use it to take some pictures; its an awesome camera that supposedly kicks out high-res shots. So after going to a camera store, i found out that the film it uses (620) hasn't been made for 30 years. Knockoff film is available, but its expensive (20$ for 1 roll of like 8-10 pictures, + the cost of developing = ridiculous)
I found a guide online for 're-spooling 120 film onto 620 spools, although this looked like a quick alternative, i found out it was nearly impossible, as it involves moving things around in the dark, without touching the film. I attempted doing it in the daylight on exposed film, and i failed miserably.
Then i realized, the only reason it was necessary to 're-spool' was that the spools were slightly larger than 620's . Thanks evil corporations.
The camera's are pretty much useless without the film, so if you break something, chances are no one was going to use it again anyway.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
Do you think I can use normal film?
It doesn't specify size but it says No A-116....
I obviously do not know much about cameras.... but it looks similar to yours so i'm going to try your technique anyway :)
Thank you
Gonna try Brandon121233's plastic tutorial to make a sleeve for it to fit.
I'd suggest to anyone wanting to make a 620 spool to grab some Kodak 120 spools (Pictured in instructable) from the bins of a photography department as they're much easier to cut to shape if you use the grove.
Nice instructable/camera Dane.
BTW, respooling isn't hard *if you already process your own film and are used to handling film in the dark* (hint: roll the film onto another 120 spool, either in the darkroom or in a camera, before trying to spool it backward onto a 620), but even though I have respooled, I find it much easier to modify my 120 rolls. I use a heavy nail clipper to cut the rim, and for most of my 620 cameras I don't need to sand the thickness of the spool flange (that is, the extra 1/16" of overall length doesn't cause a problem).
I recommend processing your own film from these cameras anyway, since there aren't many places left that will process 120 film locally (much less black and white); if the film is sent off somewhere you're very unlikely to get your 620 spool back, and the cut-down 120 spool won't work on the takeup side in most 620 cameras.