Franka Solida III

The Franka Solida III is a medium format (120 film) camera with an uncoupled rangefinder. It has an excellent f2.9/80mm lens. The example that I own is in pretty good shape. The rangefinder needs to be calibrated but I haven't had the time or inclination to figure out how to adjust it. I do better estimating the distance on my own. The one time I relied on the rangefinder, my pictures were out of focus.

The bellows are in excellent order with no light leaks to speak of. The lens can be fussy from time to time when attempting to close the lens door. The hand strap was dry rotted when I got the camera and it quickly broke within minutes of using it for its intended purpose. I was able to fashion a new handle with some leather and rivets I had. I was back in business in short order.

This camera is equipped with double exposure protection. There's a window on top of the camera with a white/red dot system. When the dot is white it means you've fired the shutter and need to advance the film. The dot will turn red and you're good to cock the shutter and take your next picture.

The Franka Solida III is an excellent camera from Germany. It's relatively easy to use and produces good results on a consistent basis.

I used Kodak Tri-X 400 film this month. Developed using R5 Monobath Developer and scanned on an Epson V550.















Next month's camera: Fujica 35-EE

Ansco Titan 20

September's camera was the Ansco Titan 20. While last month's camera, the Ansco Color Clipper, was just a step above a point-and-shoot, the Titan 20 is the polar opposite. The user is in charge of everything--focus, shutter speed, aperture and the cocking of the shutter. There is NO double exposure protection on this camera. If you're in the habit of not winding to the next frame until you're ready to snap a pic, this camera will be a challenge for you. There are a lot of cameras that cock the shutter when you wind to the next frame. Because of this, I wait until I'm ready to take a picture to wind the camera in order to keep tension off the shutter until necessary. So I had to get used to winding immediately after taking a picture so I wouldn't end up with a double exposure.

 

The Titan takes 120 spool film. There's nothing too tricky about loading this camera and winding on until you get to the number 1 on the film paper backing. I find the viewfinder a bit tiny and not very representative of what will actually end up in your picture. When I first took pictures with this camera, I ended up with way more foreground than I thought I would. There doesn't seem to be any magnification in the viewfinder so it's almost a 1:1 ratio when looking through there. I do wear glasses so I'm sure that doesn't help the situation because I can only get my eye so close to the viewfinder window.

The focus ring has a nice post on it to help turn it to the correct guessed distance. There is no rangefinder so you need to be good at zone focus or distance guessing. There's a handy depth-of-field guide that is color coded on this camera. The colors correspond to the color of the arrows below the lens aperture numbers. 

The shutter speeds range 1/2 a second up to 1/400th of a second plus "B" (Bulb) and "T" (Time). This is the first camera I've owned that had a T option. In this setting, you trip the shutter and the shutter remains open until you trip it again. I haven't tried this mode yet but I'm sure it would be great for night photography. The shutter cocking mechanism is located on the top of the lens and is quick to use with a short throw. 

This camera has a very cool minimalist design when closed. There are only two knobs and two buttons (one to open the camera and the other is the shutter button) on the top. The appearance is very art deco and the machined metal top is very attractive.

The camera is equipped with a 90mm/f4.5 lens. 

I only had to make one minor adjustment when I got this camera. The arm that trips the shutter would not travel far enough a second time when set to the "T" mode. All I had to do was bend the arm ever so slightly and now it works like a charm. All shutter speeds work properly and the camera has no other issues.

I used the LightMeter app on my phone to determine the correct exposure of these pictures. 

Film: Kodak T-Max 100

Developer: R5 Monobath

Scanner: Epson V550

Next month's camera: Canon Demi EE17 half frame camera

Ansco Color Clipper

This month's camera is the Ansco Color Clipper. This example was in excellent condition. It came with the original box that included the case, strap, and flash unit. I love the look of this medium format (120 film) camera. The metal body is painted moss green with a wrinkled paint finish. The lens portion of the camera collapses back into the camera when not in use. The shutter release bar is anodized red. The lens can be adjusted for zone focusing. On my example, turning the focus ring doesn't feel like it's doing anything. There's not a lot of resistance but the photos I've taken have proven to me that it is actually focusing (or not focusing as the case may be!). The only other control is the color or b&w selection below the lens.

The camera is very basic. You load the film, set the camera for either color or black & white film, extend the lens (by pulling out on the side indentations), compose your shot, focus, and depress the shutter bar. The bar remains collapsed until you wind to the next frame. It's designed to do this as a way to prevent double exposure. I like this feature. If you are into double exposure photography, you can easily lift the shutter bar back up and this will allow you to take a second exposure on the same frame.

I've had this camera for awhile. I think it's fun and easy to use. I can tell you that the flash is pretty harsh and lead me to create the hashtag #flashbulbsendfriendships. It's blinding. I stocked up on plenty of old flashbulbs so I can offend people for quite some time. Just be aware that using this camera with the flash instantly turns you into that crazy person with an old timey camera. (Note: I didn't end up using the flash unit for any of this month's pictures. But I carried the flash unit around with me just in case.)

Despite its lack of controls, I really like the simplicity of this medium format camera. The fact that you only need to remember to set your focus means that you can quickly compose and snap your photo. Although I'll admit that I'm pretty deliberate when I'm taking pictures so I'm just as comfortable with a "complicated" camera.

I shot these pics on expired Kodak VR-G 100 film from 1988. Processed at home using the Unicolor C-41 Kit. Scanned on an Epson V550 scanner.














Next month's camera: Ansco Titan 20 folding camera