So, I thank you for making this video, and I want to thank youtube algorithm for bringing this one when I searched about it, because, for the last 25 years of my life (I am 28) I am seeing this camera, which my grandfather left before his demise, (can you believe it was a week before my parent's marriage) and I have been wanting to understand how this camera works. Today, I really understood and thanks to you, I will try to order the films for this.. Thanks a lot!!
Once again, a very nice presentation. Yes, I can definitely tell you went about this review in a steady, deliberate manner. Well done! Just a few bits to pass along. First, the two metal posts on top of the camera are the connections for the flash. Agfa made a couple of flashes using that particular mount which both connects and clamps the flash to the camera. The Afga Clibo is one such flash unit (uses bulbs). Sadly, no hot or cold shoe. Second, I was taken by your apparent nervousness in selecting the film. Remember, just as with the Ferrania, the manufacturer is depending upon negative size and film latitude to get a good image to the user. The latitude of most any negative film available in the 50's (ASA 25, 50, or 100) would give you a good image using the sunny 16 rule. Many of those same films are available today. You saw the latitude of Ilford FP4 on the Ferrania. Selecting that same film with this camera would have been just swell! Um, watching you advance/load the film with the assistance of a screwdriver made me a bit uncomfortable. It would have been better to demonstrate a more proper means of loading which requires no tools. I can't see the average Joe or Mary wearing a lanyard with a screwdriver attached around their neck to load film out in the field! Finally, improving center sharpness can be done by using the two accessories the manufacturer included to help you get the most sharpness this camera is capable of producing: a tripod mount and cable release socket. BTW, that's the same for the Ferrania. It's sad that many photographers forget to use them. Yes, I use box cameras on occasion for my own work as an art photographer. I make money from those images. I suppose that can place these cameras definitely in the professional category when appropriate, as well, although they were intended for the casual shooter, indeed. But I have always believed that photography is more about the skill, knowledge, vision, and dedication of the photographer than any piece of equipment. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
Hello again! Thanks so much for watching and feeding back, I really appreciate it! I usually review every camera with FP4, maybe you're right, maybe I should have stuck to the game plan... this is a new way of thinking for me, leaning on the latitude of the film, rather than attempting to match my settings with exactly what the light meter is telling me. I think I need to brew on that for a while! It's going to need a shift in my head! Do you know, I actually edited out a section in the sum up where I noted that at least some of the softness is likely to be down to me and camera shake. I had a tripod and cable release with me that day but I was in too much of a hurry filming between jobs to get them out the car. I actually was thinking back to the Eura at 1/30 and thinking the images came out pretty sharp there, so maybe I could get by handheld at 1/50... but there's definitely camera shake in some of the images. On the film loading - firstly, I am all ears to what is the correct way of loading that camera! Once I had fed the leader into the take up spool there was nothing to get hold of to start turning it! Any tips? It's an interesting point for this channel - am I posting tutorials, showing how things should be done, or am posting my experiences...? I think it's more of the latter. But maybe I should have made that clearer, that this was the first time I had sat down with this camera, first time I had loaded, first time I shot it. Aaaaanyway! More to think about for me! Thanks again, I appreciate you watching and I value your feedback.
It's a pleasure to interact with you and I enjoy exploring all aspects of photography with others. I think it's great to approach the recording your video topics from an experiential viewpoint. The sticky wicket of it all is having viewers of all stages of experience watching! But that's the value of the comment section where interaction can take place to help clarify and expound on various aspects which, in my view, could be quite helpful to the beginner or novice watching your presentations. There are several videos on RU-vid which do a good job of demonstrating the loading of a box camera. My technique is the following: 1. Take the inner cartridge out of the camera body and lay both down on a flat surface, keeping the film dispensing chamber of the cartridge facing up and the film receiving chamber (take up spool chamber) on the bottom. 2. If you are right-handed, hold take up spool in your right hand and hold the film roll in your left hand. 3. Feed the film tab into the slot of the take up spool and carefully turn or roll with your fingers in a clockwise manner several inches of the leader keeping the leader very taut. It should look like you're holding a scroll with the printed side of the leader facing up and moving from left to right. 4. Now insert the film roll into the film (dispensing) chamber and while holding it in place with your left hand, smoothly move your right hand holding the take up reel and wrap the leader around the cartridge to the other side and insert. Try to keep as much tension on the leader as you can while also releasing the leader a bit so you can accomplish the wrapping. If there is slack showing, don't worry. Just reinsert the cartridge as is. 5. Close the back and reinsert the winding knob/key. 6. As you turn the winding key (it will only go in one direction), the slack will automatically be taken up and then the film numbers will begin to appear as you keep turning. That method works for me, but there are other "tool-less" methods available. I hope that helps. As for camera shake, consideration of using a tripod/cable release must be made if sharpness is of critical concern, especially when using speeds as slow as 1/50 or 1/30 of a second or even slower. For me, that's just one of the many items on my mental checklist I cover before a shoot. Finally, the sunny 16 rule is quite reliable for shooting outdoors with negative films and I have considerable success using it with transparency films, too. Remember, anyone choosing to buy this type of camera in the 50's or earlier (box cameras were around since the turn of the century with 120 film originally designed for a box camera: The No.2 Brownie) was likely a casual shooter not wanting or affording a camera with more controls. Nor were they likely to want or need a meter either. These low-tech cameras were made for the low-tech (yet very reliable) mode of sunny 16! That rule, in chart form, was printed on the inside of almost every box of film sold during that era and later. It works thanks to film latitude! The camera and film companies really knew what they were doing and they knew the markets they were trying to serve. Meters offer better value and make more sense when used with cameras appointed with more controls and under more demanding situations such as indoors, in a studio, with flash, and at night, just to name a few. I love these simple cameras. So many of the iconic photographers we know and admire today started out with a version of one of these low-tech marvels. Indeed, in the hands of those who truly know what they are doing, wonderful images can still be made with these most humble of instruments.
Ahhh ok, so as I suspected, it's better to start the film on the take up spool before inserting it. I kind of figured that as I was doing it, realised a little too late. I was worried about letting too much slack on the paper I had already rolled out and figure I was probably only 4-5 inches from the film coming in, so a screwdriver did the job this time. But I'll know for next time! Thank you. Another interesting concept for me... leaving the light meter at home... or in the bag at least. I found it quite liberating on this one not being able to obsess about focus, what with this camera having no option to focus... maybe I'll find it also liberating when using a camera like this to stop obsessing over the meter, I think I need to loosen up! Every day is a school day! I'm finding this un-learning process (or maybe retro-learning?) really quite enlightening. Like some kind of zen/jedi approach... leave the fancy gadgets behind and put your trust in the camera and the film! Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Oh, that's only one of several ways to load a box camera. Just find a method which works comfortably for you. The main point is that if a tool becomes necessary for loading film, there is either something wrong with the technique or the camera. But mistakes can happen which can require a tool! Again, it did bring a chuckle! Well, keep shooting and having fun. All the very best to you!
Thank you for your demo. I've just put hands on my grand father Agfa box. Your video shows me how to use it ... and how to open it ... and there was a exposed film in it ! I'm excited to go ouside, shot my 1st film and make the new and the old films developped !
I really enjoyed shooting with it! It's refreshing to have a lot of the choice taken out of your hands and just focusing on what you're shooting. Plus... those huge negatives! You're going to love it.
i just picked this camera up at a thrift shop and wanted to know how to open it, needless to say i got more than just that :D great review, as a person new to analog fotography i really enjoyed it.
I know right? I was pretty surprised about the results! For some reason I just can't get my head around box cameras taking good photographs... every time I pick up a box camera I have low expectations. Sometimes those low expectations are the right ones! But often the results are far better than I thought.
You can just imagine how exciting it would have been opening the box on this thing brand new back then! It’s a great little camera, fun to use and looks awesome!
Ooh could be! I actually sold that Synchro Box last year, but missed it so I bought another one! I'll have to take a look for the cable release socket. Thanks!
¡Hermosa! Estas cámaras Agfa Box son muy buenas. ¡Apuesto a que las fotos de tu abuela son increíbles y un gran recuerdo para poder conservar! ¿Has probado a hacer fotos con la cámara de caja?
Great stuff, you can't get more "back to basics" than this :) Those Negs are huge, wonder if they were intended for making contact prints and then sending them by post ? They seem pretty much like the old "postcard" size :)
Probably! Although the Synchro Box was sort of 1950s era, so later than the postcard fad, which I think was more early 1900s. The image from this little camera were pretty good though, I think you could easily enlarge a bit before you start to see the cracks, so to speak!
Hi, thank you for the review! Based off this video I went out and bought this camera as a birthday gift for my brother who loves vintage cameras. Would you be able to help me please as I haven't a rashers about cameras at all. Would you have any active links to shops where I can purchase film (of any kind that will work with this camera) that ships to the republic of Ireland? I'm scared of gifting him film that isn't compatible with the camera. Thanks a mill!
Hi Jack, great choice of gift for your brother, he'll love it! It's a great camera, easy to start using and creates some great images. The good news is that it takes a pretty common film size - 120, or medium format. You can get these films in loads of places, you can get them on amazon, and I've just done a quick google and there are plenty of places that stock it in ROI. I'd recommend you stick with black and white initially, this camera was built when black and white was the only real option for the consumer photographer. A few of the functions are BW specific, such as the yellow filter on the final stop of the aperture selector - this will give contrast to BW images, but will turn a colour image yellow! When this camera was made the only real options for people were fairly slow films, so I would stick with low ISO films. Some options for you to look at - Ilford Pan F + 120, Ilford FP4+ 120, Ilford Delta 100 120... Lots of places to buy from in ROI, but here's one I found on google - www.thephotoshop.ie And to get even more specific, here's a link to Ilford FP4+ 120, my favourite film - www.thephotoshop.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=66_74&product_id=72 Hope that helps, hope your bro likes his camera!
Very cool results. Bummer that you have minimum focus range to 3 meters, but it works, takes great pictures and love the contrast and the restrictions put you in a theme to shoot
I think this may still be the best box camera I've tried. I genuinely thought it was great. I like shooting box cameras actually, I think I may do another box camera next!
Great video !! I just found a box camera that belonged to my great-grand-father I'm planning to test it too! I juste have a question, how do you know how many turns you have to do to rewind the film so that you can move on to the next shot ? Does the button on the camera side can rewind in reverse to rewind the film back at the end ? Thanks for your time !
Hey, thank you! I really enjoyed shooting that box camera, it was great! You'll have a lot of fun with yours. So the film that most of these take is 120 film, not 35mm. When you buy it you'll see it's not in a light-tight canister like 35mm, it looks like paper wound tight around a cylinder, held closed with a bit of tape. Unlike 35mm you don't rewind it, as you take your photos you roll it from the cylinder you bought it on, onto an empty cylinder (called the take-up spool). It doesn't wind back onto the original, it winds from one to the other. So at the end of your film you just keep winding forwards until it goes loose, then you know all your film and the backing paper are now on the take up spool. Then you open it up, take out the used film, tape it up just like it was on the original (the film has a sticky tab built in) and either send that off to be developed or develop it yourself. How to know how many turns to wind on - the rear side of the 120 film is a paper backing, and it has numbers on it. The back of your box camera should have a red plastic window that you can see through. When you load your 120 film you'll see the numbers, and some other markings through that window. When you first load it you'll see no markings, just white paper. You wind forwards until you see a number 1, then when you've shot that frame you wind on, watching the red window until you see a number 2 come up. When you see the number, the film is lined up. Shoot that frame and wind on to 3, etc etc. I've been asked similar questions a few times, so I'll record a vid tomorrow showing the differences between 120 and 35mm, and I'll unroll a 120 so you can see what you're working with! Hope that helps, good luck, have fun with that camera!
Thank you for your answer !! It sure helps me a lot ! I shoot 35mm so indeed I'm not familiar with the 120 film technology. It's interesting to see the difference between them. Thanks for the tips with the red light, I think i need to clean the glasses of my box since the camera is 70 years old. But I'll be glad to do it and I am looking forward to your next video on the subject ! Thanks again and keep going !
No problem at all. Glad to help. 120 film is easily available, not hard to get hold of, and there are lots of options. You'll love the negatives you get back! I think I showed the negatives at the end of the Agfa Synchro Box film... 6cmx9cm. They're huge! You can get some amazing images out of them. I find it weirdly satisfy sitting down with cotton buds (q-tips if you're in the US) and some lens cleaning fluid and cleaning up these old cameras that have been sitting in a drawer for 50 years. I've got loads of old cameras, and people assume they broken, but so often all they need a good clean!
@@the120ist I agree, they're huge!! I'm in France so we say "coton tige". I'll clean the camera and do a test shooting session. Since it belong to my great grandfather I'd like to shoot a portrait of my grandfather. I love the idea of the same camera shooting the same subject but 60-70 years have passed.
@the120ist Thanks for your great video. I just got one of these yesterday for £6 so will give it a go. In your video you said you only had 8 frames, but the Ilford Ortho Plus 80 120 from what I can see here is 12 frames. Am I missing something or can I get 12 frames from the camera? I saw another online review mentioning 8 frames only. Also if I use your recommended Ilford FP4+ 120 do you thing that is more apropriate than the 80 ISO? thanks!
Thanks! That's a great find for £6, congrats. Still one of the best box cameras I've used. The Synchro Box shoots 6x9 frames, so you only get 8 to a 120 film. You'll get 12 frames of 6x6, and 16 frames of 6x4.5. Take a look at my other video on 120 film, I run through all the numbers on the back - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OCeUhHkXFd4.html ISO wise, if you're shooting in bright sunlight then the lower ISO you can get the better. This camera has a fixed shutter speed of 1/50, and two aperture options of f11 and f16. So if you take your sunny 16 rule (bright sunlight - ISO100 + 1/100 +f16), then running an ISO100 film in this camera would put you a full stop over exposed on a sunny day, because you can't get that shutter to fire faster than 1/50. A stop of over exposure on a BW film isn't going to cause you any problems really, you'll still get usable negatives, but you can see my point! Your Ortho 80 will be great (although an orthochromatic film, so some feel no great for portraits), or you could look at a Pan F 50, or even a Rollei RPX 25. As someone pointed out to me on my Ferrania Eura video, these cameras rely on the exposure latitude that BW films offer you. In other words, even if you over expose or under expose by a stop or two, you'll still get usable results. So don't worry too much. The reason I always say FP4 is just because I like the film, and I do all my camera reviews with FP4 so that the results are comparable. Good luck with your Synchro Box, it's a great camera, you'll have a lot of fun with it!
If you use it for snapshots on I instant option about 1/50 sek for contact prints ok but for better results always on a tripod with cable release on I instant about 1/50 sek.
Awesome video mate I’m hooked on shooting my old wedding workhorse the Bronica ETRSi just love it to bits. Currently bidding on an old Houghton ensign. Something very chilled nostalgic and enjoyable using a mechanical camera. Like and subbed mate happy to support a fellow creator 📷❤️📷
Thanks! Haven’t tried an ETRSi yet, it’s on my radar. I very nearly went for one of those back when I was getting my first S2A, but I opted for the 6x6 over 645… I still haven’t really tried 645 yet, am I missing out?? Are you going for one of the Ensign box cameras? Or do you mean the old folder? I’ve got a few folders and box cameras in the review queue, lots more coming! Thanks for the sub 👍👍
@@the120ist I love the 645 pretty light and compact it knocks out some tidy results. The ensign box camera I just fancy having a go there are loads of folders and full vues for sale too but I’ll try the box first. I used one a good few years ago and made a right balls up of it so kicked it into touch but I’m ready to succeed now 😂 maybe
@@paultaylorphotography9499 Just watched your ETRSi vid from 2020 (and subbed), looks really interesting actually. A lot of similarities with the S2A, you can tell they're related! But definitely newer. I might start watching the auctions, I'd like to try one! I really enjoy shooting the box cameras actually. Plain and uncomplicated with bags of character. I'm actually a bit sad I sold the Agfa synchro box, but I can't keep them all!! I have way too many cameras as it is!
@@the120ist cheers mate appreciate the support best advise I can offer when watching my channel is turn off the sound and look at the pretty pictures 😉 I reckon you’d love the 645 for me they’re a happy medium and you get 15 frames per roll happy days. I’m shooting digi all day at work so I’m finding it so relaxing shootin film on my own time of late I’m loving trying old cameras just to experiment I’ve had an old fujica for decades as a display thing last week I cleaned it up and aim to take it for a spin soon. I love the idea of the box cameras. I want a pinhole cam next just to tryn enhance the notion that’s it’s the photographer who makes the image 😂 dont ya just love when the kids move on and you’ve got a bit more free time and disposable brass to play with😂❤️📷❤️
@@paultaylorphotography9499 If only my kids had moved on!! I've got a house full of girls though, so this is my escape... I come into my office and lock the door! I've picked up a load of box cameras in auction lots, and the range in quality is massive. I've had only a couple that have been well looked after over the years, a few that have been ok after a quick clean up, the majority have needed dismantling in some way to get them working, and a fair few were beyond help. But I just love holding that history in your hand! I've had two forays into pinhole... one was making my own pinhole and using it on a 4x5, which you'll find if you root around in my vids. The other was a new Thingify pinhole lens for my A7R2... one word - DUST. Whichever genius came up with the idea of a zoom-capable pinhole lens for a mirrorless camera needs shooting. All that happens when you zoom it in is that it sucks in all the dust from a mile around and spits it out onto your sensor. Didn't go anywhere near pinhole for a few years after that!
No winding back needed, it’s 120 film so it rolls right through onto the other spool, and you take out the other one. Check my other vids, I’ve got one in there explains everything about 120 👍👍
It definitely is! Taking a break from the minimal control cameras now, AE-1 vid coming up and I’m heading out with my S2A this morning. Thank god, settings I can change!
Yep, you can put whatever ISO film you like in there! The camera has no meter, so you're working out your exposure times for yourself. Shutter speed is 1/50 and aperture choices are f11 or f16... so using your sunny 16 rule you'll be over exposing a bit in bright sunshine, but if you're in shade you should be fine! Either way, whatever you shoot should give you an image... might not be perfectly exposed, but it should be recoverable.
No you don't need a dark room. Once you've shot the roll, all the film is tightly wound onto the take up spool, along with the backing paper. So it's light tight. Check out my video on 120 film to see how it all works!
No, nothing special. The Syncro Box takes standard 120 film, so you shoot your roll, keep it light tight afterwards and process either yourself or send away to a lab.
Ah interesting! I haven’t seen one of them. I know the “synchro” bit simply refers to the fact that you could sync a specific flash unit with it. Maybe your non synchro version is essentially the same camera but without that facility?
No offense but Analog Insight had a better Presentation without the banging noise that you were carrying, Sorry, and it is a 1/30 of a second not a 1/50.. but I also have my 1933 Plaubel Makina 6x9 as I have use that baby too.
I’ve watched the AI one too, it’s a great video. I’m not competing, not trying to be the best, just doing whatever interests me! If you google the shutter speed you get all sorts of results, some saying 1/30, or 1/40 or 1/50! I didn’t have any tool to measure it when I did this video. I do now, but I’ve sold the synchro box so can’t check. But I’ll take your word for it, if you say it’s 1/30, then it probably is! That Plaubel Makina sounds awesome, I’ve never tried any from the range. And while the prices are so high I’m unlikely to! One day maybe…
@@the120ist Box camera shutter speeds are best described as nominal. No two models sound the same, and they often get slower with age. Box cameras rarely had a pressure plate, which meant film plane flatness depended on how taut the film was wound. Best to tweak the film advance knob immediately before taking the shot.
