Film Fun Folio #9: Kodak Autographic 3A and Provia 400X

Periodically, I'll be posting scans of some complete rolls of film on here, showing both the good and the bad, and giving some basic information as well a little write up of the shoot as well as the reasons why I selected each camera and film.  Enjoy the trip! 

Feature #9:
Camera: ca. 1928 Kodak Autographic 3A 122 format folding camera
Film: Fuji Provia 400X - expired December 2014
Locale: Central Maryland
June of 2015

I had certainly enjoyed the experiences of creating images of a more panoramic nature by adapting 12o film to cameras using obsolete film formats.  I dove into this realm by first using 120 film in a 116 format camera, and later followed it up by shooting a few rolls through an ancient 122 format camera.  The results from the latter, while encouraging, also gave me some room for improvement.  If I was really going to get some favorable results from this camera, it seemed imperative that I shoot at f/16 or greater.  Since shooting stopped down so far in all lighting situations would be tough using slower films such as Velvia 50, it seemed only practical to use a faster speed film.  However, I'd been underwhelmed at the color rendition of this camera on negative film, and wanted to use slide film to test this theory.  This resulted in me having to use one of just two rolls I had left of a renowned but discontinued film: Fuji's Provia 400X.

1 - Sykesville, MD - f/16 1/100 - So, with only 5 shots to use, I select a sprawling farm as my first shot. Only thing is, I just can't seem to get the horizon to line up the way that I want it.

A (somewhat less than) Super Ikonta

All told, I'd had a lucky streak when it came to picking up cameras from ebay.  I had picked up a very capable TLR in the Yashica 12, as well as over half a dozen medium format folding cameras.  While I had encountered a few letdowns along the way, I came away from each initial test roll of a new camera with usable photos as well as some valuable insights on what situations for each camera would be useful.

In early December, I stumbled across a very attractive auction listing for a very good looking Zeiss Super Ikonta, for an opening bid of just under $100.  Since these typically sell for upwards of 3 to 4 times this amount, I handily placed it in my watch list for revisiting.  By the afternoon of the auction's closing date, there were no bites at all on this camera, and a good part of that was likely due to the listing calling this simply an "IZEISS COMPUR CAMERA."  Thus, it didn't appear in search results for "Zeiss" or "Ikonta."  I figured I was worth an early Christmas present to myself, so I bid, and managed to win it for just over $120,  a decent score considering its value.

This Zeiss was the "premium" version of my other Ikonta cameras in that it had a coupled rangefinder to assist in focusing, thus giving it the "Super" moniker.  Further, it had a Tessar f/3.5 lens that was the high end counterpart to the less sophisticated Novar on my other 6x9 format Ikonta 521/2.

The camera's seller was apparently a widow selling off her husband's camera collection, and offered little description in the way of the functionality of the so there was certainly some risk involved regarding the functionality of this classic Zeiss, and as such, it was being sold strictly "as is" with no guarantee of functionality.  Regardless, it looked to be in excellent shape, so it seemed that if nothing else, it was at least worth what I had paid for it.

The Super Ikonta 531/2 appears quite similar to the 521/2, with the most pronounced difference being the elaborate rangefinder mechanism that the user swings into place after unfolding.  To focus, the user looks through the porthole in the back of the camera, seen below, then composes the image using the Albada style flip up finder.

The Anonymous Franka

Sometimes there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't make a certain purchase, but inevitably, one key feature leads you to pull the trigger. 

Consider this.  I had begun to feel like I was hitting a saturation point as far as medium format folding cameras are concerned.  I had a few 6x9 folders that I liked as well as a very capable pocket 6x4.5 folder for which I invested in servicing to make it fully functional again.  I never really considered myself interested in getting a 6x6 folder since I already had a pair of TLR cameras for that format, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the 6x6 square format in the first place.

Then I spotted it: a fairly pedestrian looking folding camera with one very appealing feature, a comparatively fast Schneider f/2.9 lens.  Add to this that it was willing to come home with me for only $25.  I chided myself for being such easy click bait for a bit, but ultimately elected to take the chance on this one.  It wasn't the prettiest camera I'd seen, but I knew too well that my adoration of the look of the Hapo 10 had led me down a road of disappointment.

After pulling the trigger, the question then became "just what did I buy?" 

The mysterious camera with markings but no name.