Camera: Graflex RB Series B 2.25" x 3.25" (nominal 2x3" or 6x9cm)
Camera Film Back: Mamiya RB67 Pro-S 120 roll film back
Lens: Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.5 in barrel
Film: Kodak TMAX 100 ASA (black and white, expired 07/2007)
Scans will get uploaded here after I develop the negs.
Mini-review of the setup:
Camera + film back: I modified the Mamiya RB67 Pro-S back to fit on this camera. It is an easy modification to get it to fit tight up against the mounting board, just two slots need to get notched in the right area and a small ridge ground down flush and repainted black.
The rotating back feature works smoothly and this example had the ground glass marked off so it was very clear what was in the 6x9 frame and even without marking the ground glass for 6x7, it was easy to figure out exactly where the frame edges were for each photograph.
This camera has been sold already, too slow and bulky for being a 120 roll film camera compared to my Pentax 6x7 setup and I would never shoot 2x3 sheet film when I could shoot 4x5 and get even more advantages of a larger piece of film.
Ektar 127/4.5 Lens: The Kodak Ektar name is what they applied to many different designs or optical schemes. They used it as a distinguishing factor in their top-quality lenses across many different formats from 35mm or even smaller to large formats up to 8x10 and beyond, cameras with built-in lenses like the Signet series, the Retina series (famously, the 47mm f/2.0 which has a small but motivated cult follow) amongst other applications.
This one is in barrel (no built-in shutter) because it probably came on this camera from the factory where you would not really need a leaf shutter like you would on a more traditional folding press or rail camera where a focal plane shutter is not very common. Click stops on the aperture ring are nice, unfortunately this one does not stop down the lens for you so you are viewing the scene and focusing through f/11 which slows things down.
This lens has been sold with the camera.
Film: I bought a pack of 11 rolls of this film, all expired in 2007 from a seller on eBay a while back. It has been a good baseline run, I believe I am on the last of this set so I will need to buy more or I will concentrate on Fuji Acros. I believe I prefer the spectral sensitivity of the Acros emulsion compared to TMAX. Need to do some more portraits and general landscapes with both.
The images (click on any of them to see full size):
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| Nice close up capabilities |
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| Not bad flare resistance for un-coated glass |
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| Out of focus |
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| Out of focus |
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| ENMU campus building |
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| Gloved finger providing a bit too much shade. |
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