[Leica] 100 year anniversary of 120 film (Care & feeding of '29 Original)

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

2-1/4 sq. Same film size as 120 and 620, but 
smaller diameter spool flanges (made possible by 
shorter roll).


>http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Original_Rolleiflex_6x6
>Here is says 117 film got 6 frames on a roll but not mention of what the
>format is.... That I could see.
>
>
>--------------------
>Mark William Rabiner
>Photography
>http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/
>mark at rabinergroup.com
>Cars:   http://tinyurl.com/2f7ptxb
>
>
>
>
>>  From: Richard Man <richard at imagecraft.com>
>>  Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>>  Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 12:40:08 -0700
>>  To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>>  Subject: Re: [Leica] 100 year anniversary of 120 film (Care & feeding of 
>> '29
>>  Original)
>>
>>  I'm in!
>>
>>  On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 6:33 AM, Slobodan Dimitrov
>>  <s.dimitrov at charter.net>wrote:
>>
>>>  I just found out that next year, 2012, 120 film will be 100 years old.
>>>  Anyone willing to do a celebratory project to commemorate the milestone?
>>>  S.d.
>>>
>>>  Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>>  From: Carlos Manuel Freaza <cmfreaza at yahoo.com.ar>
>>>>  Date: May 4, 2011 1:53:25 AM PDT
>>>>  To: rolleiusers at yahoogroups.com
>>>>  Subject: Re: [rolleiusers] Re: Care & feeding of '29 Original
>>>>  Reply-To: rolleiusers at yahoogroups.com
>>>>
>>>>  Kirk:
>>>>  120 film was available from 1912 and the Rolleiflex was designed in 
>>>> 1928,
>>>  it could be made to use 120 film but Heidecke wanted to keep the camera 
>>> as
>>>  compact and small as posssible and then he chose the 117 film (B1-6). 
>>> The
>>>  Rolleiflex was a market successs and hardly the firsts users got it they
>>>  asked the factory about to adapt it to use longer film; F&H found a way 
>>> to
>>>  retrofit the camera for 620 film spools use with 12 frames.
>>>>
>>>>  According the explanation in Claus Prochnow's Report 1, the 620 spools
>>>  larger flanges made contact with the upper spool chamber and then it 
>>> had to
>>>  be enlarged accordingly, the lower spool was housed in a cage and 
>>> projected
>>>  slightly and then the camera back received two spherical cuts. The 
>>> camera
>>>  exterior was kept original without changes.
>>>>
>>>>  The camera could also be adapted for 120 film at factory, but it 
>>>> required
>>>  major changes with modifications even for the camera exterior (i.e. a
>>>  additional spool knob and a new wider transport knob with a groove) and 
>>> the
>>>  changes for the camera inside were significant too.
>>>>  While the adaptation for 620 film looks pretty simple for a technician
>>>  wanting to do the task, the adaptation for 120 film looks more complex
>>>  requiring special parts, 120 spools had slight variants at the time and 
>>> the
>>>  adaptation needed to consider these variants.
>>>>
>>>>  It was from January 1932 with the first Rolleiflex Standard model that
>>>  the Rolleiflex cameras were made to use 120 film from factory. The 117 
>>> film
>>>  was discontinued in 1949, F&H decision to adopt the 120 film size had
>>>  nothing to do with the 117 film availability, the Rolleiflex users 
>>> wanted a
>>>  longer film.
>>>>
>>>>  Carlos
>>>>
>>>>  PS:If you have the 620 spools, it's pretty easy to respool 120 film, 
>>>> the
>>>  only difference 120-620 is the spool, film size is the same.
>>>>
>>>>  --- El mi? 4-may-11, Kirk Thompson <thompsonkirk at hotmail.com> 
>>>> escribi?:
>>>>
>>>>>  De: Kirk Thompson <thompsonkirk at hotmail.com>
>>>>>  Asunto: [rolleiusers] Re: Care & feeding of '29 Original
>>>>>  Para: rolleiusers at yahoogroups.com
>>>>>  Fecha: mi?rcoles, 4 de mayo de 2011, 1:03
>>>>>  Thanks, Richard, for having a go at
>>>>>  it, but unfortunately those aren't solutions (if there are
>>>>>  any).
>>>>>
>>>>>  1. No way 120, it's too fat. The early Rolleis used 117
>>>>>  film.  Phillips explains that in 1929 it was the only
>>>>>  size that had the frame numbers printed in the right place
>>>>>  on the backing paper. 117 was 6 cm wide but had a thin
>>>>>  spindle (making a thinner roll), small flanges, and
>>>>>  different holes in the ends of the spools.
>>>>>
>>>>>  When 117 was discontinued, many of the original Rolleis
>>>>>  were converted to 620 film (which is still available from
>>>>>  B&H). 620 has a skinny spindle and small flanges like
>>>>>  117, but it required a modification of the cameras: a
>>>>>  different-sized left bump and right key to engage the
>>>>>  take-up spool. These are the conversion parts I have some
>>>>>  small hope of finding, if anyone knows of an old Rollei
>>>>>  burial site where such things can be found.
>>>>>
>>>>>  2. Years of experience have proved that klutzes like me do
>>>>>  not work on their own cameras. So I still want to know if
>>>>>  there's a classic camera repairman who retains old parts and
>>>>>  skills. (Fleenor and Krikor don't work on these.)
>>>>>
>>>>>  Kirk
>>>>
>>>>  __._,_.___
>>>>  Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New 
>>>> Topic
>>>>  Messages in this topic (5)
>>>>  RECENT ACTIVITY:
>>>>  Visit Your Group
>>>>  MARKETPLACE
>>>>  Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. 
>>>> Visit
>>>  the Fibromyalgia Zone today!
>>>>
>>>>  Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on -
>>>  Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.
>>>>
>>>>  Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest * Unsubscribe * Terms of Use
>>>>  .
>>>>
>>>>  __,_._,___
>>>
>>>
>>>  _______________________________________________
>>>  Leica Users Group.
>>>  See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  --
>>  // richard <http://www.imagecraft.com/>
>>  // icc blog: <http://imagecraft.com/blog/>
>>  // photo blog: <http://www.5pmlight.com>
>>  [ For technical support on ImageCraft products, please include all 
>> previous
>>  replies in your msgs. ]
>>
>>  _______________________________________________
>>  Leica Users Group.
>>  See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Leica Users Group.
>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

-- 

       Henning J. Wulff
  Wulff Photography & Design
mailto:henningw at archiphoto.com
   http://www.archiphoto.com